Flare is the angle at which a ship'shull plate or planking departs from the vertical in an outward direction with increasing height. A flared hull typically has adeck area larger than its cross-sectional area at thewaterline. Most vessels have some degree of flare above the waterline, which is especially true for sea-going ships. Advantages of hull flare can include improvements in stability, splash and wash suppression, anddockside utility.[1] Flare can also induce instability when it raises thecenter of gravity and lateral torque moment of a vessel too much (by negatively impacting its righting moment andmetacentric height).
Tumblehome is the inverse of flare, where the hull becomes narrower with increasing height.
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