# Shell plating

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**Shell plating** is the outer-most structure on the [hull](/source/Hull_(watercraft)) of a [steel](/source/Steel) or [aluminum](/source/Aluminum) [ship](/source/Ship) or [boat](/source/Boat).

## Strakes

A [strake](/source/Strake) is the name given to each line of planking in a wooden vessel.[1] In modern ship construction it refers to the longitudinal run of plating covering the hull, deck and bulkhead structure. Certain specific strakes are uniquely identified:

**[Keel](/source/Keel)**: is a special strake of the Bottom plating extending from the centerplane outboard.

**Bottom**: the Bottom Shell plate strakes extend from the Keel to the Bilge.

**[Bilge](/source/Bilge)**: is the plating which transitions from the more-or-less horizontal Bottom Shell to the more-or-less vertical Side Shell and is generally curved. See also [Chine (boating)](/source/Chine_(boating)).

**Side**: is the plating which extends from the Bilge strake(s) to the Shear strake.

**Shear**: is a special strake of the Side plating. It is the strake that connects the Side Shell to the Strength Deck.

**Stringer**: is a special strake of the Strength Deck plating. It is the strake that connects the Strength Deck to the Side Shell.

**Strength Deck**: is a special deck. It is normally the uppermost continuous deck and forms the top flange of the hull girder.

## See also

- - [Strength of ships](/source/Strength_of_ships) - [Hull (watercraft)](/source/Hull_(watercraft)) - [Naval architecture](/source/Naval_architecture)

## References

1. Kemp, *The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea* , p. 838 (definition of 'strake').

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Shell plating](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shell_plating) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shell_plating?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.