Talk:Bow (ship)

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[edit] Bow and prow

It isn't made clear what the difference is between the bow and prow of a ship. And do all boats have a bow and/or prow, including rowboats, sailing ships, yachts, cruise ships? Or just some kinds? Badagnani 05:28, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Figurehead

Does a figurehead appear on a bow or on a prow? Badagnani 05:43, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Merge

Bow and Prow are basically synonyms, though Prow is sometimes used in a more poetic context. They might be worth different pages at Wiktionary, but for encyclopedia articles, I think we can merge them together under "Bow". --Elonka 11:45, 8 April 2008 (UTC)

Thanks for your idea. While you're at it, do you have the nautical expertise to answer the long-neglected questions just above? It appears we have a dearth of sailing enthusiasts at WP. Badagnani (talk) 16:51, 8 April 2008 (UTC)

I don't have my sources handy, but my "off the top of my head" answer is that all boats can be referred to as having both a bow and a prow, though just as there is a difference between boats and ships (a ship carries boats, boats don't carry ships), that "prow" is probably a term more likely to apply to a ship. Which doesn't mean it would be wrong to use it on a boat. Ditto with figureheads, it would be a bit non-intuitive to think of one on a small boat, they are more big "ship" things. Then again, even small cars have hood ornaments. "Prow" is often more a historical or literary term, so I could see reading, "the ship's prow sliced majestically through the waves", or "On the great sailing ship, the mate stationed himself stoically at the ship's prow." Whereas in modern naval language, someone might say they were heading "forward" on the ship, or to the ship's bow, but I'd find it unnatural to say, "Hi, I'm heading up to the prow." It would just sound too formal. I could also see that "prow" might be used to avoid confusion since "bow" can be used in other contexts. For example, it would sound off to say, "The archer with his bow was stationed at the bow," so it would flow better to say, "The archer with his bow was stationed at the prow." Now, that's just my opinion, and someone better versed in naval terminology might come along and say I'm completely wrong, heh. But in the absence of actual reliable sources, I hope that helps? --Elonka 23:24, 8 April 2008 (UTC)

This is very good info, that should be integrated into the article(s). Badagnani (talk) 23:26, 8 April 2008 (UTC)