Its part of a bygone era, a carry over from stout sailing ships. It's called a " bowsprit " and was at one time used to steer a vessel to a given point it land mark to bring it to safe harbor, simple really, line the bowsprit up with the point on land and your home. On this particular vessel, it was put on as an after thought, because it looked good, but served no real function as the vessel had radar that could and was much more accurate to pinpoint harbors and other landmarks. The tip was made of brass and you can see just behind it a small light so you could see it at night. ........thanks for the peek