Cathead

A cathead is a large wooden beam located on either side of the bow of a sailing ship, and angled forward at roughly 45 degrees.

In common practice, the projecting end of the beam was carved to resemble the face of a lion or cat.

The origin of the term "cathead" is obscure, but dates at least to the 17th century, as it was used by Mainwaring and Boteler[clarification needed] in their dictionaries.

[1] Nautical author Robert Charles Leslie, writes: "The term catheads used for the two stout projecting timbers on either bow, from which the anchor hung clear of the ship before letting go, was no doubt connected with the fact of a lion or large cat usually carved upon the end of the item.

In German, however, it was called a Kattenkopf (cat-head), and in this case it is a reference to the traditional way the top was notched and chamfered off so that in cross section, it resembled the ears of a cat.

An anchor secured to the ship's side. The projecting beam the anchor hangs from when not secured is a cathead (left). The anchor has a stock (cross-piece, in this case wooden) below, and curved flukes above (end-on); the shank is the near-vertical metal bar running between them, lashed with the shank painter
Cathead on bow of the barque James Craig ; the cat tail protrudes onto the deck and is fastened to the cat-beam.
The 17th century warship Vasa with cathead visible upper middle right