The sheer curve refers to the shape of a ship’s deck, where it curves upwards at both the bow and stern, creating a “bowed downward” appearance in the middle. This design, used in older ships, made them look more sleek and improved their performance in heavy seas. Modern ship design has largely abandoned the sheer curve in favor of flatter decks.
The Grazyna is both an old design, c.1880 and a mostly river or costal steamer so the sheer curve would have been less. What I do have was created by me copying plans of the Grazyna. It seems that “back in the day” the bow sheer was about twice that of the stern for ocean going ships. The sheer at the stern is 0.4″ and the bow is 0.8″ – both measured from the Centerline/lowest part of the deck.
The sheer curve therefore curves down from the stern to the centerline then curves back up to the bow. This means that a superstructure sitting on the deck slants down at the back of the ship and slants up at the front. The illustration shows this .. exaggerated.
- A – if there isn’t a sheer the deck is flat and the structure sits flat on the deck. This is like a barge. No problem.
- B – The structure sits on the sheer at the back of the ship and slopes down. Obviously this is a problem.
- C – Here vertical lines are drawn from where the structure sits on the deck. The structure needs to rotate counter-clockwise.
- D – The area in red needs filling in. My solution is a wedge shape .. a base that the structure will sit on.
Engine Room Superstructure
With the Engine Room superstructure horizontal there is a 0.060″ gap at the front.
My solution was to 3d print a wedge shape to sit between the superstructure and the deck. I made it 1/16′ wider than the superstructure – no attempt to hide it … make it look like an intentional base.
Tapering to a point at the back is a “no no” for my filament printer so I made that 0.040″ thick which then made the front 0.1″ thick.