🔍 Key Concepts

• Keel – the main fore‑and‑aft backbone of the vessel at the very bottom • How strakes are named by their position on the hull plating or planking • Difference between parts near the keel versus parts near the gunwale (top edge of the side)

💭 Think About

• Picture a cross‑section of a hull: where would the very first row of planking or shell plate be placed in relation to the keel? • Which of the options describes something that runs along the bottom centerline of the vessel, and which describe items nearer the sides or upper edge? • Ask yourself: is the garboard strake a separate appendage (like a keel or rub rail), or is it part of the hull planking/plates next to the keel?

✅ Before You Answer

• Verify that garboard strake refers to a plank or plate, not an external protective strip or fin. • Check whether it is located at the bottom centerline (near the keel) or up near the top edge of the hull (the gunwale). • Eliminate any choices that confuse the garboard strake with a bilge keel or rub rail, which have different purposes and locations.