🔍 Key Concepts

• Structural support on jack-up rigs – where horizontal braces most effectively reduce leg bending and stress • Relationship between hull guides and jack-up legs – upper vs lower guide function • How brace location changes load paths when the unit is elevated in air (not afloat)

💭 Think About

• Think about where the legs experience the highest bending moment when the unit is elevated and wave/wind loads act on them. Which brace position best resists that? • Consider how upper and lower hull guides interact with the legs. Which guide location, if braced, would most directly stiffen the legs where they pass through the hull? • Compare what happens structurally if the brace is placed near the hull bottom versus near a hull guide: which does more to keep the leg from ‘racking’ or wobbling as the unit is jacked up?

✅ Before You Answer

• Identify which parts listed in the choices are fixed structural guides for the legs versus just general structure (like hull bottom or jack house). • Verify which location is closest to the main transverse support point of the legs through the hull structure when the unit is elevated. • Eliminate any choice that is mainly associated with housing machinery rather than directly guiding or supporting the legs.