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Stability
Definitions

1. Density is defined as mass per unit volume.

2. Relative Density is the ratio of the density of the substance to the density of fresh
water.
3. Volume of Displacement is the volume of water displaced by the hull.
4. Displacement is the weight of water equivalent to the immersed volume of the hull.
5. Archimedes Principle a body immersed in a fluid will experience an upthrust equal to
its own weight. In other words, in order to float, a vessel must displace its own weight
in water.
6. Waterplane Coefficient (Cw) the ratio between the actual waterplane and the
corresponding rectangular waterplane.

7. Block Coefficient the ratio between the volume of a ship shape and the corresponding
box shaped vessel.

8. Tonnes per centimetre immersion (TPC) for any draft is the mass which must be
loaded or discharged to change a ship’s mean draft in salt water by one centimetre.

WaterplaneArea
TPC SW = x Density of water
100

R.D.ofDW
TPC DW = x TPC SW
1.025
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9. Fresh Water Allowance is the number of millimetres by which the mean draft changes
when a ship passes from salt water to fresh water or vice versa while floating at the
loaded draft

SummerDisplacement
FWA (in mm) =
4 xTPC

10. Centre of Gravity of a body is the point at which all the mass of the ship may be
assumed to be concentrated and is the point through which the force of gravity is
considered to act vertically downwards, with a force equal to the weight of the ship
11. Centre of Buoyancy is the centre of gravity of the underwater volume. The force of
buoyancy is considered to act vertically upwards through this point, with a force equal
to weight of the water displaced.
12. Heel: A ship is said to be heeled when she is inclined by an external force, eg. Wind
or waves
13. List: A ship is said to be listed when she is inclines by forces within the ship. For
example, when the ship is inclined by shifting a weight transversely within the ship.
This is a fixed angle of heel.
14. Transverse Metacentre: when a ship is heeled by an
external force, the centre of buoyancy of the ship moves
laterally. The point at which a vertical line through the heeled
centre of buoyancy crosses the line through the original,
upright centre of buoyancy is the metacentre. In the diagram,
B shows the CoB of a ship upright and B 1 when heeled due
to an external force and M is the metacentre.
15. Metacentric Height is the distance between the centre of gravity of a ship and its
metacentre, at small angles of heel, commonly abbreviated as GM.
16. Righting arm/ lever is the perpendicular distance between
the centre of gravity (G) and the imaginary veticfal line
passing through the center of buoyancy when the vessel is
heeled by an external force; it causes the floating body to right
itself until both G and B are in line, i.e., the lever becomes
zero, commonly abbreviated as GZ.
17. Righting Moment is the torque which tends to restore a
vessel heeled over to its upright position; it is the product of the righting arm
and the weight of the vessel.
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18. Stable Equilibrium is the kind of equilibrium of a vessel so placed that if disturbed it
returns to its former position, as in the case when the centre of gravity is below the
transverse metacentre which is the axis of heel/ movement.
19. Neutral Equilibrium is the kind of equilibrium of a vessel so placed that if disturbed it
neither tends to neither return to former position nor move further away from it, as in
the case when the centre of gravity coincides with the transverse metacentre.
20. Unstable Equilibrium is the kind of equilibrium of a vessel so placed that if disturbed
it doesn’t tend to return to its former position, but to move further away from it, as in
the case when the centre of gravity is above the transverse metacentre which is the
axis of heel/ movement.
21. Free Surface Effect: The virtual loss of GM (metacentric height) due to the sloshing
of liquid in a partially filled tank when the vessel heels due to an external force, which
in effect reduces the GZ (righting lever) and hence the righting moment. This effect is
called Free Surface Effect.

22. Angle of Loll is the angle to which a ship with initial negative GM will lie at rest in still
water, i.e., where the righting lever is zero, it is the new angle which the ship will now
oscillate about instead of her normal upright position.
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23. Longitudinal Centre of Gravity (LCG) is the longitudinal distance from the aft
perpendicular to the point at which all the mass of the ship may be assumed to be
concentrated.
24. Longitudinal Centre of Buoyancy (LCB) is the longitudinal distance from the aft
perpendicular to the centre of displaced volume of water when the vessel is not
moving.
25. Longitudinal Centre of Floatation (LCF) is the longitudinal distance from a point of
reference (Aft Perpendicular) to the centre of the area of water plane when the ship is
not moving. (The area of water plane can be visualised as being the area defined by
the water’s surface and the hull.)

It is also the position of the True Mean Draft of the vessel, the point about which the
vessel trims, and centre of the water plane area

26. MCTC The moments required to change the trim of the vessel by one centimetre.