Hull n.
1. The outer covering of anything, particularly of a nut or of grain; the outer skin of a kernel; the husk.
2. Naut. The frame or body of a vessel, exclusive of her masts, yards, sails, and rigging.
Deep in their hulls our deadly bullets light. --Dryden.
Hull down, said of a ship so distant that her hull is concealed by the convexity of the sea.