Exam Question
Write short notes on each of the following with respect to their contribution to the strength of ships:
(a) Strake
(b) Bracket
(c) Stinger
(d) Girder
Class 4 (4th Engineer)
SC&S
📅 Jul 2025
Reference Answer
### (a) Strake
A strake is a continuous fore-and-aft course or line of hull plating. The shell plating, deck plating, and tank top plating are all constructed from strakes.
**Contribution to Strength:**
* **Primary Longitudinal Strength:** Strakes are the principal contributors to the ship's longitudinal strength, acting as the flanges of the hull girder. The deck plating strakes resist compressive forces in sagging and tensile forces in hogging, while the bottom plating strakes resist the opposite forces. The resistance is proportional to the distance from the neutral axis, making the outermost strakes critical.
A strake is a continuous fore-and-aft course or line of hull plating. The shell plating, deck plating, and tank top plating are all constructed from strakes.
**Contribution to Strength:**
* **Primary Longitudinal Strength:** Strakes are the principal contributors to the ship's longitudinal strength, acting as the flanges of the hull girder. The deck plating strakes resist compressive forces in sagging and tensile forces in hogging, while the bottom plating strakes resist the opposite forces. The resistance is proportional to the distance from the neutral axis, making the outermost strakes critical.
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