🔍 Key Concepts

• On a heeled vessel, the righting arm is the horizontal distance between the lines of action of buoyancy (B₁) and gravity (G). • In stability diagrams, points G, M, B, B₁, and Z each represent different parts of the ship’s geometry and stability (center of gravity, metacenter, centers of buoyancy, etc.). • The notation used in these diagrams often shows distances as straight line segments and angles with curved arcs; the righting arm is a distance, not an angle.

💭 Think About

• Look at the tilted condition in the illustration: which labeled line segment shows the horizontal separation between the vertical line through G and the vertical line through the shifted center of buoyancy? • Which of the choices refers to a length (lever arm) rather than an angle or a vertical distance? • In the figure, find point Z and see which labeled quantity directly connects G to Z; how is that segment oriented?

✅ Before You Answer

• Confirm which symbol in the figure is drawn as a horizontal line segment between two points at the same vertical level. • Identify which choices represent angles (measured in degrees) versus distances (measured in feet or meters). • Verify that the righting arm is defined as the lever arm between the forces of weight and buoyancy, not the distance from G to M or B to M.