King Plank

The king plank is the central, fore-and-aft deck plank laid along a vessel’s centerline, into which the ends of the curved covering-board or margin planks are nibbed (let in at an angle) on a laid timber deck. Wider than the field planks, it carries the deck’s symmetry line and is often the plank pierced for the mast partners or fittings. On a teak-laid deck over steel or fiberglass, the king plank serves the same visual and joinery role even where it carries no structural load.