(Airfoil) Why do boats have a pointy bow?

[anorlunda]

the hull stem

I never heard that phrase. What does it mean?

 

[Paulus Suluap]

Forward vertical edge of a hull.

 

[anorlunda]

Forward vertical edge of a hull.

Thanks. I forgot the phrase, "from stem to stern."

 

[tech99]

My sailboat had a full keel and a double-ended hull (pointed at both ends). Both features aid lateral stability. Joshua Slocum bragged that he sailed his boat, Spray (double-ended, full keel), from Perth Australia to the desired port in Africa without ever touching the steering wheel. I think he exaggerated, but nevertheless his feat was remarkable.

Slocum's "Spray" had the bulbous head of a Cod and the thin tail of a Mackerel. The clipper-like bow seen in pictures is created by a decorative flat sheet of wood called a cut-water, located beneath the bowsprit and above the water line.

 

[pbuk]

Slocum's "Spray" had the bulbous head of a Cod and the thin tail of a Mackerel. The clipper-like bow seen in pictures is created by a decorative flat sheet of wood called a cut-water, located beneath the bowsprit and above the water line.

A cod's head maybe, but far from the "mackerel" lines of a canoe or counter stern, Spray had a transom.

 

[anorlunda]

Slocum's "Spray" had the bulbous head of a Cod and the thin tail of a Mackerel. The clipper-like bow seen in pictures is created by a decorative flat sheet of wood called a cut-water, located beneath the bowsprit and above the water line.

That's interesting. Do you have a link to a source?

I found http://www.ibiblio.org/eldritch/js/a22.htm which has the drawing of Spray below. I find that hard to match with "the bulbous head of a Cod and the thin tail of a Mackerel" It looks like a pretty standard full keel.

Edit: I see @pbuk beat me to it.