The earlier reply re the "forefoot" is spot on. The first bit to hit the rocks if head on. But it has its equivelant at the back end called the "coffin plate". Carry on upwards from the coffin plate and you will arrive at the "oxter plates". These are at the curve of the hull where it goes from the vertical to the nearer horizontal. This ties in with the expression "up to his oxters", meaning armpits. A more polite way of saying "in deep poo". Lots of odd and traditional names come from ships...some nowadays considered "rude", for example, the "correct" name for the bottom of a block (of the tackle variety). BY.