TOPIC:

Related to my thread about a leaking rudder tube I'm wondering if these two strips of metal on either side of my boat, towards the stern, are significant. I have attached two pictures.  With the bathing platform no longer half full of water they are both just above the surface, one rather higher than the other (I'm trying to adjust the trim to get them level).

Do they have a name?  Are they there simply to make it easier to see how low (or not) the boat is in the water, or do they have some more significant purpose?