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Parts of a Boat

By W Tsang

Boats or ships have hulls, while sailboats have masts, spars and rigging which are carefully constructed in the engineering process of Boat Building. Building a real boat is not at all like making a origami paper boat, some folds here and there and you already have a boat. A real boat has a number of parts that requires detailed and careful designing and safety considerations before it can be built.

Some parts of a boat are:

  • The Bow is the forward part of the hull, ship or boat that points forward as the vessel is underway. This boat part is so designed to decrease the resistance of the hull cutting through water and must be tall enough to prevent water from easily washing over the top of it.
  • The Bulkhead or Partition is the vertical wall within the hull of a ship that serves to increase the structural rigidity of the vessel, divide functional areas of the room and create watertight compartments which could contain water in cases or hull breaches or other leaks.
  • The Chines, which describe the sharp angle in the hull, are actually the long, longitudinal strips on hydroplaning hulls that redirects downwards the spray produced by the hull when the boat travels at a speed. The sharp angles in the hull section is when the bottom blends into the sides of a flat bottomed skiff.
  • The Deck is the permanent covering over the compartment or hull of the ship. As a horizontal structure forming the roof of the hull, the primary deck both reinforces the hull and makes for the primary working space. For boats with more than one level, 'deck' is used to refer to the actual level itself.
  • The Gunwale is the upper longitudinal structural part of the hull or the top edge of the side of the boat. This hull part was originally the 'gun ridge' on sailing warships. Different terms in each type of boat are used to refer to the 'gunwale'. On a rowing boat, it is called as the saxboard. On a narrow boat or canal boat it is the same as the side deck.
  • The Keel is the main central member along the length of the bottom of the boat that contributes to the boat's turning performance. In sailboats, the keel resists the sideways pressure of the wind.
  • The Kelson or Keelson lies parallel to the keel but placed above the transverse members such as timbers, frames or in a larger vessel, floors. The kelson is secured to the keel to add longitudinal stiffness and bind keel and hog to frames and floors, respectively. The Rudder is a steering device on a boat located at the rear of the hull made by a turnable blade on a vertical axis.
  • The Sheer is the curved shape of the hull's top that maximizes the freeboard at the ends of the hull.
  • The Stem is the part which is the extension of the keel in the upward direction towards the hull's front.
  • The Stern refers to the back of the boat.
  • The Strake is the strip running along the vessel's side in a longitudinal fashion.
  • The Transom is the wide, flat board at the end of the hull that carries an outboard motor. This boat part also increases width and buoyancy at the stern.

For more information about boat construction, or to find a professional boat builder that can help you with your custom boat design or boating supplies. Please visit BoatBuilders.com.au, an Australian boat builders directory.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/