🔍 Key Concepts

• Metacenter (M), center of gravity (G), center of buoyancy (B) and how they relate to each other • What metacentric height (GM) actually represents in terms of a ship’s initial stability • The purpose of an inclining experiment on a vessel

💭 Think About

• Think about what quantity we use to judge how stiff or tender a ship is when it first starts to heel slightly—what name do we give that distance? • Consider the vertical order of points G, B, and M in a normally upright, stable vessel. Where is M usually located relative to B? • Ask yourself: when naval architects perform an inclining experiment, what are they fundamentally trying to find—G, M, GM, or something else?

✅ Before You Answer

• Be clear on the definition of metacentric height (GM): between which two points is it measured? • Recall the typical vertical relationship among G, B, and M in a stable, upright vessel. • Review the main goal of the inclining experiment and what ship property it is designed to determine.