The Plimsoll mark

I remember my father talking about the mark on USCG vessels. As many of you know not all vessels that the USCG sails were built specifically for the USCG. So, the mark could appear on USN/USA vessels as well as on any vessel which they may have purchased from another source.

Andy

You two ... *chuckles* ... but that IS a little eerie. Because I looked at EXACTLY the same thing! But wanted to be sure regarding warships.

What is funny about this is that the whole thing was prompted by a set of decals I got from Gold Medal Models for my Perry frigate project, it contained Plimsoll marks in black and white. I was debating putting them on the 1/700 Victory ship I just finished but decided not to for three reasons: 1) I would have had to do the gloss over flat paint/decal/hand paint entire side of hull flat coat routine; 2) It's a waterline kit, so you would have seen may 1/16th of an inch of the thing, and 3) I proclaimed this epic "done" last week, and am NOT in a mood to tempt fate.

Well, there's one of the more remarkable coincidences I've encountered since discovering this forum. Ed Grune and I must have Googled at exactly the same time - and made our posts within a few seconds of each other.

Well, that research project took all of two minutes. Here's a link that clarifies the story pretty well:

http://amchouston.home.att.net/plimsoll.htm

For those trying to figure out what the mark is and does ...


A description of the markings is here
http://amchouston.home.att.net/plimsoll.htm

Dai Jones is right. I should have mentioned the circle, which is the most conspicuous part of the graphic. The additional horizontal lines are relatively recent additions.

This is an interesting topic; I'll see if I can do a little digging about it. I seem to recall reading somewhere that when the Plimsoll mark initially was made mandatory for merchant ships the authorities failed to specify just how its location was to be determined - and one cynical shipowner painted it on his ship's smokestack.

The actual plimsol mark is a 12in dia circle with an horizontal line to indicate the load waterline and was bought about by Samuel Plimsol, an Englishman who had an interest in the safety of merchant ships and seamen.
I am not sure what the other marke is called but they are used in conjunction.
Other shipping organisations, ie Norske Veritas have other shaped marks, Triangles etc, to indicate lwl.
Dai

Warships don't have Plimsoll marks.

I'd have to look up the full story of how the system originated, but it has to do with safety regulations. I believe the Lloyd's insurance company was involved in the origins of it. A full Plimsoll mark (though you usually can't make this out on a small-scale model) is a series of horizontal lines, marked to indicate how deep in the water the ship is permitted to ride in different oceans at different parts of the year. (The lowest one is marked "WNA" - Winter, North Atlantic.)