Cutwater

{{For|the architectural detail|starling (structure)}}{{More citations needed|date=August 2024}}File:Parma - cutwater at the stem.jpg Parma, photograph by Alan Villiers, 1932-33.]]

A cutwater is the forward part of the prow or stem of a watercraft around the waterline.{{Cite book |title=The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea |date=2006 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780191727504 |chapter=cutwater |doi=10.1093/acref/9780199205684.001.0001 |editor-last1=Dear |editor-last2=Kemp |editor-first1=I. C. B. |editor-first2=Peter }} Its purpose is to make a vessel move more easily through water.