🔍 Key Concepts

• Trim and draft change due to added weight at one end of the vessel • Using the Stability Data Reference Book – white pages for SS AMERICAN MARINER hydrostatic/trim data • Difference between change in mean draft and change in trim when ballasting a forepeak tank

💭 Think About

• First, think about what happens to the forward and aft drafts when you add weight all the way forward. Which end goes deeper and which rises slightly? • Consider that the added weight causes both a sinkage (mean draft increase) and a trim change. How do you separate these two effects using the reference book data? • After finding the trim change, how do you adjust the initial FWD and AFT drafts to get the final drafts?

✅ Before You Answer

• Be sure you are using the correct displacement and trim table for the vessel’s starting condition in the white pages • Confirm that you convert tons, feet, and inches consistently (watch the inches-to-feet conversions when adjusting drafts) • Check that the sum of FWD and AFT draft changes makes sense: overall draft should increase with added ballast, and the forward draft should increase more than aft when filling the forepeak