The Nautical Encyclopedia
Patterson’s Illustrated Nautical Encyclopedia — Howard Patterson, 1891

Head

Shipbuilding

The upper end of anything but more particularly applied to all the work fitted afore the stem, as the figure, the knee rails, etc. A "scroll head" signifies that there is no carved or ornamental figure at the head, but that the termination is formed and finished off by a volute, or scroll turning outwards. A "fiddle head" signifies a similar kind of finish, but with the scroll turning aft or inwards.

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