| A | B |
|---|
| aft | toward the rear of the ship |
| aft end | the portion of the ship at or near the stern (the back end) |
| amidship | halfway between bow and stern |
| assemble | to fit two or more parts together forming a section or a complete unit |
| bilge | a rounded part of the hull between the side and the bottom |
| bilge keel | prevents the ship from rolling excessively |
| bitt | a short iron column on the deck where you can attach hawsers |
| booby hatch | a watertight covering on the deck for a stairway or ladder |
| boom | a steel or wooden arm fastened to a mast or king post to support loads that are being moved |
| bow or stem | the forward end of the ship, the front |
| bulkhead | a partition or wall that divides the interior of a ship into compartments |
| bulwark | shell plating extending above the top deck |
| butt joint | a joint formed by putting the edges of two plates together |
| coaming | a plate or shape extending above the deck at the edges of a hatch or skylight |
| collar | a flanged band or ring or a welded plate used to close a frame beam penetration through plating |
| deck | the part of a ship that corresponds with the floor of a house |
| declivity | the slope or angle of shipways to provide for launching |
| dogs | holding devices that use a moveable arm - for example fastening doors |
| double bottom or inner bottom | the space between the tank top and the bottom shell plating |
| fabrication | the operations done on plates or shapes to make them into useable pieces - shearing, drilling, bending, punching out, flanging, welding |
| flange | the turned-up edge of a shape, which strengthens it or allows to you attach it to something else |
| flat | a partial deck |
| floor | plates between the inner bottom plating and bottom shell plating |
| foundation | supports engines, boilers, machinery, etc. |
| girder | a fore and aft stiffener that provides support for the deck or bottom shell |
| hull | the body of a ship including shell plating, framing, decks, bulkheads, keel, floors, etc. |
| inboard | the area of the ship from the shell plating to the centerline of the ship |
| intercoastal | between frames, not continuous |
| lightening holes | holes cut into a plate to eliminate weight and provide access to various sections |
| longitudinal | the long way, fore and aft - describes things that run from the front to the back of the ship |
| main deck | the principal deck of the hull |
| manhole | an entrance to a compartment or tank |
| outboard | from the centerline of the ship to either side |
| port | the left side of the ship (when looking forward) |
| shell plates | the plates that make the outer "skin" of the hull |
| starboard | the right side of the ship (when looking forward) |
| stern | the back end of the ship |
| stiffener | an angle bar, T-bar, or channel used to strengthen the plating of a bulkhead or other member |
| swash plate | plates in oil or water tanks to prevent excessive movements of liquids |
| tank top | plating on top of floors forming the double bottom |
| transverse or antwarship | the direction at right angles to the centerline of the ship |
| watertight | not allowing water to pass |
| web | the vertical part of a beam |
| web frame | a frame with a deep web |
