passengers to circumnavigate the deck while protected from the winds; one circuit is long. The flanking promenades are created by the need to step the superstructure to allow space for lifeboats. By SOLAS standards, these should have been lower on the hull ( above the waterline), but for the sake of appearance as well as to avoid the danger of large waves damaging the boats, Payne convinced SOLAS officials to exempt Queen Mary 2 from this requirement, and the boats are above the waterline. Payne's original intention was for a stern profile with a spoon shape, similar to most previous liners, but the mounting of the propeller pods required a flat transom. The compromise was a Costanzi stern – a combination of the two, which provides the transom required for azimuthal pod propulsors and has better seaholding characteristics in a following swell. In common with many modern ships, Queen Mary 2 has a bulbous bow to reduce drag and thereby increase speed, range, and fuel efficiency. While of a design similar to that of Queen Elizabeth 2, Queen Mary 2s funnel has a slightly different shape, because a taller funnel would have made it impossible for the ship to pass under the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge in New York City at high tide. The final design permits a minimum of of clearance under the bridge. As Queen Mary 2 is too large to dock in many ports, passengers are often ferried to and from the ship in tenders, which can also be used as lifeboats. These are stored at sea in davits alongside the lifeboats. To transport passengers ashore the tenders pull up to one of four loading stations, each of which has a large hull door that opens hydraulically to form a boarding platform, complete with railings and decking.Queen Mary 2 is a post-Panamax ship, too wide to use the Panama Canal before its expansion in 2016. As a result, she had to circumnavigate South America to transit between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The decision not to constrain her width to transit the Panama Canal was taken as Queen Elizabeth 2 only transited once a year, during the world cruise. Cunard decided to pass up the convenience of the occasional passage in favour of a greater passenger capacity. Interior As is the case with many modern passenger ships, many of the major public rooms on board Queen Mary 2 are