Hull

The hull of a ship is the primary assembly of structural elements and provides the general shape of the vessel as well as the mountings for such extras as weapons, bridges, engines and all the other things that make a ship live. In real life, most ships are very tightly confined to a limited number of hull designs by realistic considerations about moving through water. In science fiction, a great many more kinds of hull are possible, ranging from the saucer and cylinder of the original Enterprise to the utilitarian triangle of an Imperial-class Star Destroyer.