Hulls are either Round-bilge or Hard-chine, the latter form resulting where the hull is built from flat sheets so that the sides meet the bottom at a dis¬tinct angle. The line along which the side and bottom meet is in fact the chine, and if there is an angle it is ‘hard’. Obviously there is no common term ‘soft chine’, though it would be useful where the angle of a hard-chine form is a little rounded, perhaps by using a substantial chine stringer with a rounded bevel. Some people tend to suppose that a hard-chine hull is inherently inferior to a round-bilge form, but in fact a hard-chine hull can be very satisfactory.