page_title: Draft (hull)
section_title: Of a ship
hierarchical_section_title: Draft (hull) / Of a ship
caption_attribution_description: English: The restored stern (with stern draft and rudder) of the Cutty Sark elevated 3 metres above its dry-dock under its glass-roofed visitors' centre in June 2012.
context_page_description: The draft or draught of a ship's hull is the vertical distance between the waterline and the bottom of the hull, with the thickness of the hull included; in the case of not being included the draft outline would be obtained. Draft determines the minimum depth of water a ship or boat can safely navigate.
  A table made by the shipyard shows the water displacement for each draft. The density of the water and the content of the ship's bunkers has to be taken into account. The draft can also be used to determine the weight of the cargo on board by calculating the total displacement of water and then using Archimedes' principle.
  The closely related term "trim" is defined as the difference between the forward and aft drafts.
context_section_description: The draft aft (stern) is measured in the perpendicular of the stern.
  The draft forward (bow) is measured in the perpendicular of the bow.
  The mean draft is obtained by calculating from the averaging of the stern and bow drafts, with correction for water level variation and value of the position of F with respect to the average perpendicular.
  The trim of a ship is the difference between the forward and aft draft. When the aft draft is greater the vessel is deemed to have a positive trim, and it has a negative trim when the forward draft is the greater. In such a case it is often referred to as being down-by-the-head.
  In commercial ship operations, the ship will usually quote the mean draft as the vessel's draft. However in navigational situations, the maximum draft, usually the aft draft, will be known on the bridge and will be shared with the pilot.
caption: English system used on the stern of the Cutty Sark
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