P/p

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The correct title of this article is p/p. The initial letter is shown capitalized due to technical restrictions.

p/p, p.p., pp or lbp is an abbreviation for length between perpendiculars, and is used when describing the length of a ship. This term refers to the length of a vessel along the waterline from the forward surface of the stem, or main bow perpendicular member, to the after surface of the sternpost, or main stern perpendicular member. This was believed to give a reasonable idea of the ship's carrying capacity, as it excluded the small, often unusable volume contained in her overhanging ends. On some types of vessels this is, for all practical purposes, a waterline measurement. In a ship with raked stems, naturally this length changes as the draught of the ship changes, therefore it is measured from a defined loaded condition.