Does QE2 have sheer?

[Thomas Hypher]

QE2 definitely was built with sheer, very apparent particularly on Three Deck and certain photo angles! But yes with her current level of trim walking to her bow will be more "uphill" than usual.

[Pete Hamill]

Gav,

No massacre, and whilst you can see a lot more of her, she needs her lifeboats to be complete. You can see too much - a lady needs to keep an air of mystery 

[Clydebuilt1971]

QE2 definitely was built with sheer, very apparent particularly on Three Deck and certain photo angles! But yes with her current level of trim walking to her bow will be more "uphill" than usual.

I will bow to your superior knowledge there Thomas - as I was never on board. It must be subtle though as there is no suggestion of any sheer unlike the two previous Queens.

Gav

[Thomas Hypher]

I will bow to your superior knowledge there Thomas - as I was never on board. It must be subtle though as there is no suggestion of any sheer unlike the two previous Queens.

Gav

It is quite apparent at certain angles such as this bow quarter view photo taken by my Dad. Look at the lines of portholes up to One Deck at the bow and the stern, although from Quarter Deck upwards it is not as significant or is non-existent due to Quarter Deck being the first fully Aluminium Deck. However her federal/charcoal grey hull has an exaggerated sheer too.

My Dad's photos of QE2's 25th June 2005 departure from Southampton by Thomas Hypher, on Flickr


One gets some idea of the sheer in this photo of Three Deck particularly if you zoom in on the photo (up to One Deck, one noticeably walked uphill at each end of the ship and each handmade cabin reflected this, on at least one occasion me and my parents were in a forward cabin and the floor was not level at all!):

QE2 - Interior by sharon.ramsbottom, on Flickr


https://www.flickr.com/photos/31803347@N08/3028312900/


Thomas

PS. My Dad did put something in our cabin's porthole on one of our earlier trips and took a photo of that part of her from what I can remember but I cannot find the photo for the life of me haha! It showed how far forward our cabin on that trip was for a passenger cabin.


QE2 is definitely a hybrid in this sense, also in that she was welded and built in box sections but on a slipway. Makes her even more unique!

[Twynkle]

It seemed that the finest sheer of passenger ships built during the same period QE2 could be seen on the outside deck of, and experienced on board the sister ships Vistafjord and Sagafjord.
QE2 did have sheer, however not only was it more difficult to experience because of the configuration of her decks and lifeboats, her hull was proportionately longer, the gradient was seemingly less pronounced.
Where QE2 scored was across her beam - being able to watch her rocking from side to side across the Caronia Dining Room, this was impressive!

[Rob Lightbody]

This is one that I'd like to ask Stephen Payne about.

QE2's passenger seemed completely flat for most of their length, it seemed like it was only at the ends that they rose up.  Is that correct?  Is it how the original Queen Elizabeth and Queen Mary were also?

I have an unpublished video of me walking round 3-deck, a complete lap, must try to find it.  Its one of the reasons I filmed it.

[Thomas Hypher]

This is one that I'd like to ask Stephen Payne about.

QE2's passenger seemed completely flat for most of their length, it seemed like it was only at the ends that they rose up.  Is that correct?  Is it how the original Queen Elizabeth and Queen Mary were also?

I have an unpublished video of me walking round 3-deck, a complete lap, must try to find it.  Its one of the reasons I filmed it.

From the photos and my memory, QE2's sheer is continuous but becomes much more pronounced at the bow and stern. The original QE and QM's respective sheers appear to be the same too but a bit more pronounced than QE2's.

It seemed that the finest sheer of passenger ships built during the same period QE2 could be seen on the outside deck of, and experienced on board the sister ships Vistafjord and Sagafjord.
QE2 did have sheer, however not only was it more difficult to experience because of the configuration of her decks and lifeboats, her hull was proportionately longer, the gradient was seemingly less pronounced.
Where QE2 scored was across her beam - being able to watch her rocking from side to side across the Caronia Dining Room, this was impressive!

From the photos and my memory, QE2 has no sheer above One Deck as her structure becomes aluminium above but yes the gradient is less pronounced because of her longer hull.

[Rob Lightbody]

But her portholes are completely horizontal...

[Thomas Hypher]

But her portholes are completely horizontal...

If you zoom in on the Three Deck photo she appears to gently curve from amidships to either end, with the sheer becoming more pronounced at either end. The portholes may be at slightly different heights in each cabin, not sure.

[Peter Mugridge]

We need a side on picture of her in grey livery in order to really examine the porthole angles... and as it happens, one exists on this forum - the last picture in the post below is just about perfect for this purpose.  I'd say there is a sheer, but only at the extremities.

Rob - I see you posted the original post that I am quoting

QE2 - 90-20a by Captain Martini, on Flickr


QE2 - 90-08ab by Captain Martini, on Flickr


QE2 - 90-07a by Captain Martini, on Flickr


QE2 - 93-06b by Captain Martini, on Flickr


QE2 - 93-04 by Captain Martini, on Flickr


QE2 - 90-05a06a by Captain Martini, on Flickr

[Thomas Hypher]

It's tricky to be sure whether it is continuous or only at either end, the Three Deck passageway photo I posted earlier suggests it's continuous but becomes more pronounced at either end (if viewed when zoomed in) whereas the grey hull photos suggest otherwise - only at the extremities. However, the portholes may not follow the shape of their corresponding deck all the time (such as only when the sheer becomes noticeable at either end). I suppose we'll need to wait until she opens in Dubai to find out the extent of her sheer once and for all (digital measurements and all that jazz)! If I visit her I would investigate this further. Also, if someone has access to all cabins on a particular deck up to One Deck - to measure the heights of the deck to the bottom of each porthole along her length, to establish what links there are with her sheer. One thing that is not debatable is that she has sheer!

Thomas

[Rob Lightbody]

I need to have a read of the various books I have (in the loft) about her building, and also have a look at her blueprint drawings to understand more!

I've been expressing myself badly, I'm not doubting she has sheer or that the rises at the ends, but I think they are completely flat for the main part, - my question is - is this the same as the earlier Queens?  Queen Mary, when I was on her, felt much more banana-ish!

[Pete Hamill]

Here's a photo I took (A deck I think) when I was on Queen Mary Last year.
The sheer is extremely noticeable - I was down on the floor to take this picture in order to get the far end in!
QE2 never had this extreme curvature. Compare with the photo taken on One Deck.
Not quite comparing like for like since this was taken at the shop half way along, but I was standing up and the other end is fully in view.

Thomas's photo down on Three Deck shows more, so perhaps the sheer is more in evidence further down - as you would probably expect.
QE2's hull is painted to give the appearance of sheer, but I don't think her structure follows the paint lines.

[Bob C.]

QE2 was built with a flat sheer - a flat center section with inclined bow section (not sure if the stern has sheer but if so it would be less than the bow).  QM and QE were built with faired sheer lines or a continuous line of curvature from bow to stern.  The purpose of sheer is to provide additional buoyancy to the bow and stern areas to reduce pitching motion but with the advent of the bulbous bow, sheer was designed out as it significantly reduced construction costs. QE2 was right on the cusp of that advent and I can only assume that there was a desire to stay with classic lines and so her designers incorporated the flat sheer. Or the design incorporated a combined bulbous bow and sheer to achieve the desired sea-keeping/stability objectives.

On an interesting note, I remember attending a QE2 lecture in 1979 (don't ask me why I remember this that far back) and the lecturer was commenting on the QE2's sheer and how the faired sheer look is achieved with the paint and not the structure.  If she was painted to the lines of the flat sheer there would be a noticeable angle in the hull section below the mast and forward.

[Rob Lightbody]

This has been a fascinating discussion all, thanks to Thomas for kicking it off!

Bob your reply helps clarify my thoughts - and I have just had an email from Stephen Payne which I hope to post here shortly which basically tallies with your description of her.

Rob - I see you posted the original post that I am quoting; the first few pictures seem to have vanished though?

The photo-links still work and you can view them if you click on them, but he's changed the sharing settings so they don't show here.

[Thomas Hypher]

QE2 was built with a flat sheer - a flat center section with inclined bow section (not sure if the stern has sheer but if so it would be less than the bow).  QM and QE were built with faired sheer lines or a continuous line of curvature from bow to stern.  The purpose of sheer is to provide additional buoyancy to the bow and stern areas to reduce pitching motion but with the advent of the bulbous bow, sheer was designed out as it significantly reduced construction costs. QE2 was right on the cusp of that advent and I can only assume that there was a desire to stay with classic lines and so her designers incorporated the flat sheer. Or the design incorporated a combined bulbous bow and sheer to achieve the desired sea-keeping/stability objectives.

On an interesting note, I remember attending a QE2 lecture in 1979 (don't ask me why I remember this that far back) and the lecturer was commenting on the QE2's sheer and how the faired sheer look is achieved with the paint and not the structure.  If she was painted to the lines of the flat sheer there would be a noticeable angle in the hull section below the mast and forward.

That's good to know Bob! I will commit that to my QE2 memory banks.

[Twynkle]

This has been a fascinating discussion all, thanks to Thomas for kicking it off!

Bob your reply helps clarify my thoughts - and I have just had an email from Stephen Payne which I hope to post here shortly which basically tallies with your description of her.


The photo-links still work and you can view them if you click on them, but he's changed the sharing settings so they don't show here.

Excellent - thank you!
Whilst we are on sheer, do you think Stephen Payne might also talk about sheer in relation to his design of QM2?

[Rob Lightbody]

This is my email to Stephen earlier :-

We've been having a discussion about Sheer on the forum and I wanted to ask you a question about it, please.  Obviously, QM2 has none, but what did QE2 have?  Her passenger decks were flat for the majority of their length, weren't they?  Flatter than the original Queen Mary's for example?   Is it still called sheer if the deck is flat and only rises at the ends?   

and his reply :-

Rob,

I believe that you are correct. QE2’s decks were flat for most of the length, sheer only being introduced forward of the mast. Aft it was much more limited and local. It’s still called sheer though! QM2 has sheer only on the forecastle deck as shown here (attached) for clearing water from the deck in conjunction with camber -where the decks slope across the width with the high point on the centre-line. Yesteryear these plates would be rolled to produce a parabolic curve, but for cost savings it’s now normal to have it with a flat slope for both the camber and sheer.

Stephen

[Lynda Bradford]

Interesting topic. 

Thank-you Bob C for the explanation and to Stephen Payne for answering Rob's question about the sheer. 

[Bob van Leeuwen]

This is my email to Stephen earlier :-

and his reply :-

Rob, do you mind sending a followup question that I just thought off?
If the QM2 didn't have the breakwater, would the sheer still been made in the forecastle deck for cosmetic reasons?