Stem

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A model of the French ship Soleil-Royal held at the Musée National de la Marine de Paris. The most forward and lowest curved part of the ship is the stem (not normally the extended part beyond the hull).

The bow of the oil/chemical tanker Bro Elizabeth in dry dock in Brest, France. This ship does not have a stem.

The stem is the very most forward part of a boat or ship's bow and is an extension of the keel itself and curves up to the wale of the boat. The stem is more often found on wooden boats or ships, but not exclusively. The stem is part of the physical structure of a wooden boat or ship that gives it strength at the critical section of the structure, bringing together the port and starboard side planks of the hull.

See also

• Prow
• Bow
• Beakhead
• V-hull (boat)

Further reading

• Steward, Robert; Boatbuilding Manual, 3rd ed. International Marine Publishing Company. Camden, Maine (1987). ISBN 0-87742-236-2