🔍 Key Concepts

• Center of flotation (F) on the waterplane • Difference between center of buoyancy (B), center of gravity (G), and center of flotation (F) • How a vessel trims and lists around a point on the waterplane

💭 Think About

• Think about which point the ship seems to rotate around when you move weights fore and aft (trim) or side to side (list). Is that point under water or on the waterplane? • Ask yourself: does the center of flotation have to line up with the center of gravity or center of buoyancy, or is it defined differently? • Consider what quantity is tabulated as VCB in hydrostatic tables and whether that is related to the waterplane or to the underwater volume.

✅ Before You Answer

• Verify what VCB stands for in hydrostatic tables and whether it is measured from keel to the center of buoyancy, not the waterplane. • Confirm that the center of buoyancy (B) is the center of the displaced volume of water, not the center of the waterplane area. • Recall the standard definition: the center of flotation (F) is the centroid of the waterplane area, and the ship trims/heels about this point on the waterplane.