A wooden plank or steel plate inserted at the bow or stern where the hull narrows. Because the girth of the ship decreases near the ends, there is not enough room for all the strakes running from the midships to reach the stem or sternpost. A stealer absorbs two strakes into one, keeping the plating lines fair and preventing the remaining planks from becoming dangerously narrow.
Heard on the job
We'll need to cut a stealer for the aft section where the garboard strake tapers off.
Also heard as
- stealer plate
- stealer plank