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Keel: The keel is the backbone of the ship. When building a ship, it is the first thing laid. The keel of most steel ships does not extend below the ship's bottom; therefore, it is known as a flat keel. Its usual shape is that of an I-beam. All other members used in constructing the hull are attached either directly or indirectly to the keel.

Hull: The hull is the main body of a ship. Inside the hull are strengthening members to prevent the hull from collapsing, and decks, bulkheads, and partitions that form individual compartments.

Waterline: The water level along the hull of a ship that is afloat is the waterline.

Draft: The vertical distance from the bottom of the keel to the waterline on the hull is the ship's draft.

Freeboard: Freeboard is the distance from the waterline of the hull to the upper edge of the hull.

Braces: Brackets attached to the hull that support the propeller shaft after it exits the hull.

Propeller: The screw at the end of the shaft that turns to propel the ship.

Rudder: A device that extends vertically at the stern of a ship. It is used to steer the ship as it moves through the water by redirecting the water moving past the hull to impart a turning or yawing motion to the ship.

Bulbous Bow: Some ships have a protruding bulb at the bow just below the waterline that modifies the way water flows around the hull to reduce drag and thus increase speed, range, fuel efficiency, and stability.

Sonar Dome: Some hulls have a sonar dome that extends below the keel that house sonar equipment.

Aircraft Elevators: Elevators on the sides of a ship's hull that are used to move aircraft between the hanger deck and flight deck.

Bulkheads: Bulkheads are watertight vertical walls. The word bulki meant "cargo" in Old Norse. Sometime in the 15th century, sailors and builders in Europe realized that walls within a vessel would prevent cargo from shifting during passage. In shipbuilding, any vertical panel was called a "head." So walls installed abeam (side-to-side) in a vessel's hull were called "bulkheads." Now, the term bulkhead applies to every vertical panel aboard a ship, except for the hull itself. Bulkheads serve to increase the structural rigidity of the vessel, divide functional areas into rooms, create watertight compartments that can contain water in the case of a hull breach or other leak, and create firebreaks to contain fires. Primary transverse bulkheads are watertight and extend from the keel to the main deck and from side to side. Since they are watertight, they divide the hull into large independent watertight sections. Large ships have a series of longitudinal side bulkheads and tanks that provide protection against attack, such as by torpedoes or mines. The outer tanks are usually filled with oil or water; the inner tanks, called voids, are empty. The innermost bulkhead is called the holding bulkhead. Secondary transverse and longitudinal bulkheads are mostly non-watertight partitions that, in conjunction with decks, divide the spaces between the transverse watertight bulkheads into individual compartments.

Decks: The horizontal structures that divide the ship into levels (layers); they also provide additional hull strength and protection for internal spaces. When using “deck,” to mean the floor, it means just the upper surface of the deck, not the entire structure of the deck, such as “Swab the deck.” Deck may also refer to an entire level, such as “The supply office is on the second deck.”

Overhead: The underside of a deck; the “ceiling” of a space.

Gunwale: The gunwale (pronounced "gunnel" to rhyme with "tunnel") is the top edge of the hull. Originally the gunwale was the "Gun ridge" on a sailing warship. This represented the strengthening wale or structural band added to the design of the ship, at and above the level of a gun deck. It was designed to accommodate the stresses imposed by the use of artillery.

Bulwarks: A solid fence along the gunwale of the main weather deck.

Scuppers: Ports along the bulwarks that allow water to drain over the side of the ship during heavy weather.

Complete Deck: A deck that extends from side to side and stem to stem.

Partial Deck: Any deck that is not a complete deck.

Weather Deck: A deck or part of a deck that is exposed to the weather.

Flight Deck: On an aircraft carrier, the uppermost complete deck from which aircraft take off and land.

Walk-Ways. Platforms with safety sanctions and chains that extend around the edge of a fight deck and lower than the deck itself to permit people to walk safely around the edge of the fight deck without interfering with flight operations.

Main Deck: On all ships, except aircraft carriers, it is the uppermost complete deck. On an aircraft carrier, the hangar deck is the main deck. The hangar deck is the deck on which aircraft are stowed and serviced when not on the flight deck. The first complete deck below the main deck is the second deck, the next the third, the next the forth and so on.

Forecastle: Pronounced "fohk'sel." The deck above the main deck at the bow where anchor machinery is located. Ships that do not have raised forecastles are called flush-deckers.

Gallery Deck: First half or partial deck below the flight deck on an aircraft carrier.

Bridge: The space from which the ship is controlled.

Afterdeck: Deck behind the bridge.

Bridge Wings: Decks on each side of the bridge.

Level: A general term used to designate decks above the main deck. The first level above the main deck is the 01 (pronounced oh-one) level; the second level is the 02 level, etc.

Poop Deck: A partial deck above the main deck located all the way aft.

Fantail: A flush-decker does not have a poop deck, so the stern area of the main deck is called the main deck aft or the fantail.

Quarterdeck: The quarterdeck is not an actual deck, but an area designated by the commanding officer for the conduct of official functions, and it serves as the station of the officer of the deck. Its location in port depends on how the ship is moored.

Flats: Flats are similar to decks, but they are not actual decks; they are plates or gratings installed to provide working or walking surfaces above bilges.

Sponsons: Structures, similar to mini decks or pourches, that protrude from the hull or a weather deck that are used to support weapons, antennas, etc. box.

Superstructure: The structure that rises above the main deck of a ship, such as the island on an aircraft carrier.

Funnels: Smokestacks on the superstructure for engines, fireboxes, burners, turbines, etc.

Mast: Spars that extend above the superstructure that support a yardarm used for hoisting flags and as a support for various antennas.

Crow’s Nest: The highest platform on the main mast that will support a person.

Passageways: The hallways of a ship that connect compartments.

Ladders: Aboard ship, stairs are called ladders. Ladders may also be actual vertical ladders that lead between decks.

Ladders Wells: Contain the ladders (stairs) that lead from one deck level to another.

Compartments: The interior of a ship is divided into compartments “rooms” or “spaces” by the decks and bulkheads. Compartments contain everything needed to operate the ship. Generally speaking, compartments are not called rooms; they have names related to their use, such as berthing compartment, mess deck, medical, etc. However, some compartments are called rooms, such as the wardroom, stateroom, fan room, engine room, and others.

Space: A compartment, or a section of a compartment, may also be referred to as a space. For example, “There is a workout space on the after end of the hanger bay.”

Hatch: A hatch is horizontal or vertical, watertight door through a water tight deck or bulkhead. It has dogs (levers) or clamps around all edges so it may be tighten to make it watertight.

Porthole: A porthole is a small, generally circular, window through the hull of a ship to admit light and air or for viewing. It consists of a circular glass disk encased in a metal frame that is attached securely into the side of a ship's hull. The glass section may swing open to provide access to outside air. The porthole has a metal cover that may be closed and dogged to secure it for heavy seas, prevent light from escaping, and to provide armor protection.

Sometimes, novice seamen will ask "Why are holes on the starboard side called portholes instead of starboardholes?" The name "porthole" has nothing to do with its location. The word originated during the reign of Henry VI of England (1485) whens the king insisted on mounting guns too large for his ships and therefore the conventional methods of securing the weapons on the forecastle and aftcastle could not be used.

A French shipbuilder named James Baker was commissioned to solve the problem, which he did by piercing the ship's sides so the cannon could be mounted inside the fore and after castles. Covers were fitted over the holes in heavy weather or when the cannons were not in use.

The holes were named by the French word "porte" meaning door, which was Anglicized to "Port" and later corrupted to porthole. Eventually, it came to mean any opening in a ship's side.

Door: A ship door is similar to the door in any house; it is used for ready access to a high use compartment. It may be a freestanding door, or one that is incorporated with a hatch; the hatch is normally kept open and only closed when it is necessary.

Bilge: The bottom of a ship just over and around the keel. Since this is the lowest part of the ship, water will collect here. Thus, resulting the bilges needing to be pumped.

Hole: A large open compartment used mostly for storage or cargo or items needed for ship operation.

Void: An empty space that is not used for anything. Since it is sealed for long periods of time, before entering a void, the air must be sampled for dangerous gasses and oxygen content.