Parts of a Boat

Boating provides relaxation and adventure while giving you an opportunity to appreciate the marine environment. When you're on board, the captain and crew will use various nautical terms to identify parts of the vessel. Understanding the basics is as important as knowing where the life jackets are located.

  1. Sections

    • The forward or front end of the boat is the bow (forward); the rear or back end is the stern (aft). Facing forward, the left side is port side and the right side is starboard.

    Outer Structure

    • The center bottom frame of the boat, extending from bow to stern, is the keel; the sides make up the hull. Navigation is managed in the bridge, the command center often located above the main deck.

    Interior

    • Interior rooms on levels or decks are generally considered cabins. Specialized areas are the galley (kitchen), head (toilet) and bilge (bottom or basement). Bulkheads are walls that form water-tight compartments oriented from port to starboard.

    Propulsion

    • Powerboats can have outboard or inboard motors. Sailboats have tall fixed poles called masts that hold the mainsail (big sail) and secondary sail (jib or headsail); the sails are attached to a moveable horizontal pole called a boom.

    Fun Fact 1

    • The elevated back deck, called the poop deck, comes from the French word for stern ("poupe"), which facilitates oversight of the crew working on the main deck.