What is meaning of Sheer ?

Sheer is defined as  Curvature of decks in the longitudinal direction. Measured as the  height of deck at side at any point above the height of deck at side amidships.

Points to pounder for sheer of ship:

• Most of ships, the intersection of the deck surface and the plane of symmetry is a curved line with the concavity upwards. Usually, that line is tangent to a horizontal passing at a height equal to the ship depth, D, in the midship section, and runs upwards towards the ship extremities. It is higher at the bow. This longitudinal curvature is called sheer.
• The deck sheer helps in preventing the entrance of waves and is taken into account when establishing the load line in accordance with international conventions.