🔍 Key Concepts

• Stopping distance versus maneuvering tools like bow thrusters • Meaning of the term dead in the water • What a Doppler log actually measures and how current from astern affects stopping distance

💭 Think About

• Think about what devices actually create or reduce forward motion versus those that only help sideways movement. • Consider the precise condition required before you can say a vessel is truly "dead in the water"—what must the ship’s speed through the water be? • Ask yourself how current affects the distance needed to stop: does being light or loaded usually make it easier or harder to stop, all else equal?

✅ Before You Answer

• Verify which equipment (main engines, propellers, thrusters) can significantly change ahead/astern momentum, and which mainly affects lateral movement. • Confirm the definition of dead in the water: is it tied to propeller wash, or to speed through the water? • Check what a Doppler log measures (speed through the water or over the ground) and how that relates to current and stopping distance.