Innaval architecture, ataffrail is thehandrail around the opendeck area toward thestern of aship orboat. The rear deck of a ship is often called theafterdeck orpoop deck. Not all ships have an afterdeck or poop deck. Sometimes taffrail refers to just the curved wooden top of the stern of a sailingman-of-war orEast Indiaman ship. Thesewooden sailing ships usually had hand-carved wooden rails, often highly decorated.[1] Sometimes taffrail refers to the complete deck area at the stern of a vessel.[2][3][4][5]
A taffrail should not be confused with apushpit, which is a common name for the tubular protection rail running around the stern of a small yacht.[6]
Ataffrail log is a mechanical speed logging device, used like a carodometer. The taffrail log was towed from the stern or taffrail of the ship by a long line. Taffrail logs were developed in the eighteenth century and became a practical device in the nineteenth century.[7]
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