Bow (watercraft)
The bow is the forward part of the hull of a ship or boat, the point that is farthest forward when the vessel is underway in the usual direction. The aft end of the boat is the stern.
Prow may be used as a synonym for bow, or it may refer specifically to the foremost part of the bow above the waterline.
Function
[Image:PénicheRecyclageFerrailles2008Deûle2.jpg|thumb|right|A heavily laden barge in France. Note the bluff bow and the limited freeboard.]A ship's bow should be designed to enable the hull to pass efficiently through the water. Bow shapes vary according to the speed of the boat, the seas or waterways being navigated, and the vessel's function. Where sea conditions are likely to promote pitching, it is useful if the bow provides reserve buoyancy; a flared bow is ideal to reduce the amount of water shipped over the bow.
Ideally, the bow's shape should both reduce water resistance and block water from regularly washing over the top of it. Large commercial barges on inland waterways rarely meet big waves and may have remarkably little freeboard at the bow, whereas fast military vessels operating offshore must be able to cope with heavy seas. On slower ships like tankers and barges, a fuller bow shape is used to maximise the volume of the ship for a given length. The bow may be reinforced to serve as an ice-breaker.
The forward part of the bow is called the "stem" or "forestem". Traditionally, the stem was a timber post into which side planks were joined. Some boats such as the Dutch barge "aak" or the clinker-built Viking longships have no straight stem, having instead a curved prow.