Which action will best increase the transverse stability of a merchant vessel at sea?
• Transverse stability (GM) and how weight location affects it • Effect of adding or removing ballast water low in the ship • Effect of moving weights upward vs. downward on the vessel’s center of gravity
• For each option, ask: does this move weight up or down, and does it make the vessel more or less stiff (greater GM)? • Think about what happens to GM when you add weight low in the ship versus high in the ship. • Consider which actions will cause the ship to have a larger righting arm for small angles of heel.
• For each choice, decide if it raises or lowers the center of gravity (G). • Recall that lowering G increases GM and transverse stability, while raising G decreases it. • Check which option clearly puts more weight as low as possible in the hull rather than high above the waterline.
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