'Nuther question:

Did all the tugboats of Mr. Darby vintage have steel decks, or were any of them planked?

I don't want to stray too far from realism. I like the planked effect, and already have material that, scale-wise, would represent planks ~6" wide. But, I don't want to display something that will look ridiculous to other builders!

There will be other departures from the Darby drawings, such as deck fittings and hardware, etc. And, as a favor to my 3 grandchildren who were born in Germany, the project will be known as "HERR SCHLEPPER" (Mr. Tugboat).

Any thoughts?

GO FOR IT!!! Plank that deck!!! It's fun to customize kits--makes them very special !!!!!! Build it the way YOU want it to look. Just don't use things like pink paint

azcaptain

if you're talking about if the 'real' mr darby aka atlantic salvor were from a era of planked decks, then no. some salvage tugs have a "soft" surface aft near the transom planked with super heavy wood beams as not to damage the steel underneath with towing gear. thats the only place modern tugs will have wooden decks.