aftercastle afterdeck bilgeboard jibboom skeg jackline cathead centreboard daggerboard leeboard boatbuilding taffrail kelson gunwale beakhead whipstaff prow sternpost transom wetness raked quarterdeck orlop bowsprit 0944 centreline strake capstan canting windlass
what is the stern and bow of a boat
Bow ( ship ) - wikipedia Bow ( ship ) Jump to : navigation , search This article does not cite any sources . Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed . ( May 2016 ) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message ) Bow of the cruise ship Spirit of Endeavour The bow / ˈbaʊ / is the forward part of the hull of a ship or boat , the point that is usually most forward when the vessel is underway . Both of the adjectives fore and forward mean towards the bow . The other end of the boat is the stern . Contents ( hide ) 1 Etymology 2 Function 3 Parts 4 Types 5 See also 6 References 7 Further reading Etymology ( edit ) From Middle Dutch boech or Old Norse bógr ( shoulder ) . Function ( edit ) The bow of Severn class lifeboat 17 - 31 in Poole Harbour , Dorset , England . The bow is designed to reduce the resistance of the hull cutting through water and should be tall enough to prevent water from easily washing over the top of it . On slower ships like tankers , a fuller bow shape is used to maximise the volume of the ship for a given length . A `` wet bow '' results from seawater washing over the top of the hull . A raked stem can help to reduce the wetness of the bow . Aside from making the deck slippery , water can corrode the metal of the ship . If the temperature is low enough this water can also freeze on the deck , rails , turrets , and other exposed surfaces , increasing the topside weight . The bow may be reinforced to serve as an ice - breaker , one example being the bow of container - ship Sea Witch whose reinforcement was the cause of significant damage to another ship in a 1973 collision . Parts ( edit ) The forward part of the bow , usually on the ship 's centreline , is called the stem . Traditionally , the stem was an upright timber or metal bar into which side planks or plates were joined . Types ( edit ) Several types of bows exist . These include : notable bow types Bulbous bow clipper bow curved bow Inverted bow plumb bow raked bow Ram bow High - chin spoon bow Low - chin spoon bow Straight bow ( Direct angle close to 90 degr . ) See also ( edit ) Aft Boat building Bow ( rowing ) Deck Figurehead Naval architecture Port Prow Shipbuilding Starboard Stem ( ship ) Superstructure References ( edit ) Further reading ( edit ) Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bows ( ship part ) . Look up bow in Wiktionary , the free dictionary . Sleight , Steve ; The New Complete Sailing Manual , Dorling Kindersley Co. , ( 2005 ) ISBN 0 - 7566 - 0944 - 5 Steward , Robert ; Boatbuilding Manual , 3rd ed . International Marine Publishing Company . Camden , Maine ( 1987 ) , p2 - 3 . ISBN 0 - 87742 - 236 - 2 <Th_colspan="2"> ( hide ) Parts of a sailing ship <Td_colspan="2"> Aftercastle Afterdeck Anchor Anchor windlass Beakhead Bilge Bilgeboard Boom brake Bow Bowsprit Capstan Cathead Centreboard Chains Cockpit Crow 's nest Daggerboard Deck Figurehead Forecastle Gangway Gunwale Head Hull Jackline Jibboom Keel Keel ( Canting ) Kelson Leeboard Mast Orlop deck Poop deck Prow Quarter gallery Quarterdeck Rudder Ship 's wheel Skeg Stem Stern Sternpost Strake Taffrail Tiller Top Transom Whipstaff Winch Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bow_(ship)&oldid=794474547 '' Categories : Watercraft components Hidden categories : Articles lacking sources from May 2016 All articles lacking sources Talk Contents About Wikipedia Afrikaans Aragonés Беларуская Български Català Dansk Deutsch Eesti Ελληνικά Español Esperanto Euskara Français Galego 한국어 Hrvatski Bahasa Indonesia Íslenska Italiano ქართული Kiswahili Bahasa Melayu Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Occitan Polski Português Română Русский Simple English Slovenčina Српски / srpski Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Türkçe Українська 粵語 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 8 August 2017 , at 07 : 52 . Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply . By using this site , you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy . Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation , Inc. , a non-profit organization . About Wikipedia