Innaval architecture, a taffrail is the handrail around the open deck area toward the stern of a shiporboat. The rear deck of a ship is often called the afterdeckorpoop deck. Not all ships have an afterdeck or poop deck. Sometimes taffrail refers to just the curved wooden top of the stern of a sailing man-of-warorEast Indiaman ship. These wooden 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 a pushpit, 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 car odometer. 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]
