Accommodation Ladder a ladder or stairway up the side of a

ship allowing access, especially to and from a small boat, or from

a dock.
After Peak - A compartment just forward of the stern post. It is
generally almost entirely below the load water line.
Anchor - A heavy steel device (of variable design) so shaped as
to grip the sea bed to hold a vessel or offshore installation in a
desired position.

plating. A double bottom is usually fitted in large ships extending

from bilge to bilge and nearly the whole length fore-and-aft.
Fair lead - a block, ring, or strip of plank with holes that serves as
a guide for the running rigging or any ship's rope and keeps it
from chafing. 2. : a course of running ship's rope that avoids all
chafing.
Flagstaff - Flag pole, usually at the stern of a ship, carries the
ensign.
Forepeak - The large compartment or tank, at the bow in the
lower part of the ship.

Bitts - Twin stout posts welded to

the deck to which mooring lines
are fastened.

Funnel - External fairing through which exhaust ducting is

conducted.

Boat Deck a deck on which life boats are kept.

Forecastle Raised and enclosed forward superstructure section

of the hull.

Bollard - The equivalent of a

vessels mooring bitts used
onshore; a single tie post

Hatch Opening in a deck providing access for cargo, personnel,

stores, etc.

Boom - a term applied to a spar

used in handling cargo, or as the
lower piece of a fore-and-aft sail.

Hatch coaming Raised rim of vertical plating around a

hatchway to prevent entrance of water, the upper edge of which
forms a sealing surface with the hatch-lid or cover.

Breakwater - A term applied to plates fitted on a forward weather

deck to form a V-shaped shield against water that is shipped over
the bow.

Hatch cover
Hawse pipe Steel pipe duct through
which the anchor cable is led overboard.

Bridge - Elevated centre dedicated to the control and navigation

of the vessel. [Alt. Navigating bridge or wheelhouse.]
Bulwark - Barrier of stiffened plating at the outboard edge of the
main or upper deck to prevent or inhibit entry of the sea. Bulwarks
may be additionally employed at the forward edges of
superstructure decks in lieu of safety railings as a barrier to wind
and spray.

Hold That part of a ship where cargo or

supplies are carried.
Hull - The main body or primary part providing global strength,
buoyancy and hydrodynamic qualities of a vessel.
Jackstaff - Flagpole at the bow of a ship.

Chain locker - The compartment for storing the anchor chains,

located near the hawse pipes in the bow of the ship.
Cofferdam - A small space
left open between two
bulkheads as an air space, to
protect another bulkhead
from heat, fire hazard or
collision.
Crows nest - The platform or tub
mast for the look-out.

Keel - The lowest structural member of a ship or boat which runs

the length of the vessel at the centerline and to which the frames
are attached.
Lifeboat - Rigid-hulled survival craft deployed from a parent
vessel.

on the

Double bottom - A tank whose bottom is formed by the bottom

plates of a ship, used to hold water for ballast, for the storage of
oil, etc. Also a term applied to the space between the inner and
outer bottom skins of a vessel. Also applied to indicate that a ship
has a complete inner or extra envelope of watertight bottom

Mast - A spar or hollow steel pipe tapering smaller at the top,

placed on the center line of the ship with a slight after rake. Masts
support the yards and gaffs. On cargo vessels they support cargo
booms.
Mast house a deckhouse built around a mast as a platform for
cargo-handling machinery, gear, and controls

Poop deck - A partial deck at the stern above the main deck,
derived from the Latin puppio for the sacred deck where the
pupi or doll images of the deities were kept.
Rudder - A swinging flat frame hung to the stern post of a ship, by
which the ship is steered.
Samson post - Short heavy masts used as boom supports, and
often used for ventilators as well.
Stem - The upright post or bar of the bow; forging, casting, or
plating forming extreme bow of ship and extending from keel to
forecastle deck.
Stern post - The after post to which the rudder is hinged and
placed on the skeg, with sufficient clearance for the propeller to
revolve.
Wheelhouse - a part of a boat or ship serving as a shelter for the
person at the wheel.
Windlass - An apparatus in which horizontall or vertical drums or
gypsides and wildcats are operated by means of a steam engine
or motor for the purpose of handling heavy anchor chair hawsers,
etc; a machine used to hoist the anchors by winding in the anchor
chain.

camber Transverse convex curvature of exposed decks to

accelerate runoff. It is measured by the difference in height
between the deck at center and the deck at side.

length between perpendicular (LBP) The length of a ship

measures from the forward side of stem to the aft side of the stern
post at the height of the designed water line.

rise of floor (dead rise) Transverse inclination of the hull bottom

from keel to bilge

length on the waterline (LWL) is the length of aship or boat at

the point where it sits in the water. It excludes the total length of
the boat, such as features that are out of the water.
length overall (LOA) The length of a ship measured from the
foremost point of the stem to the aftermost part of the stern.

extreme beam
extreme draught
flat plate
offset bulb plate
equal angle
unequal angle
channel
tee A rolled shape, generally of mild steel, having a cross
section shaped like the letter T. In ship work it is used for
bulkhead stiffeners, bracket and floor clips, etc. The size is
denoted by dimensions of its cross section and weight per running
foot.
scupper Any opening or tube leading from the waterway through
the ships side, to carry away water from the deck.

tumblehome
An inboard
slant of a
side above
bilge. The
the top of the
shell slopes

sounding pipe Vertical pipe in oil or water tank, used to guide a

sounding device when measuring the
depth of liquid in tank.

ship's
the
amount
side
back toward
the

centerline
between the point of widest breadth and the deck at side

panama fairlead A fitting through or over

which a rope, line, etc., may be led so as
to change its direction without excessive
friction; A device consisting of
base line A horizontal fore and aft reference line for vertical
measurements. This line is perpendicular to the vertical center
line.

flare Outward curvature or widening of the hull above the

waterline present in the bow section (of a conventional bow) to
avoid shipping water; The sudden widening of the shell attop near
the bow.

pulleys or rollers arranged to

permit the reeling in of a cable
from any direction; often used in
conjunction with winches and
similar apparatus.
The part of the propeller to which blades are
attached. Also the aparture in the stern frame where
propeller shaft enters.
boss

sheer Upward longitudinal curvature of the upper deck.

rake The forward pitch of the stem. The backwark slope of the
stern; slope aft of a mast, kingpost or stack.

rake The

parallel middle body Midship portion of a hull within which the

longitudinal contour is unchanged.

skew

entrance The forward under-water portion of a vessel at and

near the bow.
run The narrowing sides of a vessel aft where they meet at the
hooding-ends.
forward perpendicular (FP) A line perpendicular to the keel line,
and intersecting the forward side of the stem at the designed load
water line; a vertical line through the inersection of the stem with
the load water line.
after perpendicular (AP) A vertical line usually at the after end of
the rudder post. If there is no rudder post, it usually is taken at the
center of the rudder stock.

forward pitch of the stem. The backwark

slope of the stern.
moulded = measuring inside of the ship
moulded depth Greatest breadth of a hull measured between
inner surfaces of the side shell plating.

face plate - A narrow

moulded beam 1) The registered breadth of a vessel, measured

at the outside of the hull amidships, or at its greatest breadth. (2)
A transverse structural member supporting a deck and/or
strengthening a hull.

back

moulded draught The distance from the surface of the water to

the ships keel (how deep the ship is into the water).
extreme = measuring outside of the ship
extreme depth

stiffening plate welded alone the

edge of any web frame or stiffener.

tip
radius
pitch