A knuckle is a hard chine or sudden change of angle in the exterior plating of a hull, rather than a smooth, continuous curve. It is commonly found where the topsides meet the flat bottom of a barge or canal boat, or at the stern of certain ship designs. Shipwrights use knuckles to simplify construction with flat steel plates or to deflect spray away from the deck.
Heard on the job
Check the weld integrity along the forward knuckle, we took some heavy pounding there.
Also heard as
- chine