naval architecture Naval architecture, or naval engineering, is an engineering discipline incorporating elements of mechanical, electrical, electronic, software and safety engineering as applied to the engineering design process, shipbuilding, maintenance, and ...

, a taffrail is the

handrail A handrail is a rail that is designed to be grasped by the hand so as to provide safety or support. In Britain, handrails are referred to as banisters. Handrails are usually used to provide support for body or to hold clothings in a bathroom o ...

around the open deck area toward the

stern The stern is the back or aft-most part of a ship or boat, technically defined as the area built up over the sternpost, extending upwards from the counter rail to the taffrail. The stern lies opposite the bow, the foremost part of a ship. Or ...

of a

ship A ship is a large watercraft that travels the world's oceans and other sufficiently deep waterways, carrying cargo or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research, and fishing. Ships are generally distinguished ...

boat A boat is a watercraft of a large range of types and sizes, but generally smaller than a ship, which is distinguished by its larger size, shape, cargo or passenger capacity, or its ability to carry boats. Small boats are typically found on i ...

. The rear deck of a ship is often called the

afterdeck In naval architecture an afterdeck or after deck, or sometimes the aftdeck, aft deck or a-deck, is the open deck area toward the stern or aft back part of a ship or boat. The afterdeck can be used for a number of different purposes. Not all ship ...

poop deck In naval architecture, a poop deck is a deck that forms the roof of a cabin built in the rear, or "aft", part of the superstructure of a ship. The name originates from the French word for stern, ''la poupe'', from Latin ''puppis''. Thus ...

. Not all ships have an afterdeck or poop deck. Sometimes taffrail refers to just the curved wooden top of the stern of a sailing

man-of-war The man-of-war (also man-o'-war, or simply man) was a Royal Navy expression for a powerful warship or frigate from the 16th to the 19th century. Although the term never acquired a specific meaning, it was usually reserved for a ship armed wi ...

East Indiaman East Indiaman was a general name for any sailing ship operating under charter or licence to any of the East India trading companies of the major European trading powers of the 17th through the 19th centuries. The term is used to refer to vesse ...

ship. The rails of these wooden sailing ships usually had hand-carved wooden rails, often highly decorated. Sometimes taffrail refers to the complete deck area at the stern of a vessel. A taffrail should not be confused with a ''pushpit,'' which is a common name for the tubular protection rail running around the stern of a small yacht. A taffrail log is a mechanical speed logging device, used like a car

odometer An odometer or odograph is an instrument used for measuring the distance traveled by a vehicle, such as a bicycle or car. The device may be electronic, mechanical, or a combination of the two ( electromechanical). The noun derives from ancient G ...

. The taffrail log was towed from the stern or taffrail of the ship by a long line. Taffrail logs were developed in the eighteenth century and became a practical device in the nineteenth century. Mystic seaport, taffrail log
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Gallery

File:Taffrail (PSF).png, Taffrail (#1) File:William Heysmann Overend Naval Captain on the Poop deck taffrail.jpg, William Heysmann Overend painting: Naval Captain on the Poop deck taffrail File:Vasa-weather deck view.jpg, Weather deck of the Swedish 17th-century warship '' Vasa'' looking aft toward the sterncastle, with a hand carved taffrail File:Gdańsk - Galeon Lew (rufa).jpg, Gdańsk "Lew" a seventeenth century galleon replica, stern with wooden carved taffrail File:Sail amsterdam 05 stern prins willem.jpg,

Prins Willem The ''Prins Willem'' (), also spelled ''Prins Willim'', was a 17th-century East Indiaman of the Dutch East India Company. She was their largest ship at the time. The ship made her first voyage to the Dutch East Indies in 1651. After several voyage ...

stern with wooden carved taffrail File:Star of India stern 1.JPG, Star of India stern taffrail

References

{{Sailing ship elements Sailing ship components Shipbuilding Nautical terminology

Gallery

See also

References