Barges and Buoyancy

What
does it
all
mean?

Knot Speed = Chip Log and Reel

Knot Speed = Chip Log and Reel

The rope had knots tied into it every 47'3"

One person timed for 30 seconds
One person held the spool to let it play out
One person counted the number of knots over the
stern in that time.
The length was based on converting [1 nautical mile
per hour] to [feet per second(fps)], and then
multiplying [fps] by 30 seconds
1 knot = 1 nautical mile per hour = 6076 feet per
hour (Circumference of Earth 360 degrees 60 minutes)
1 mph =1 mile per hour = 5280 feet per hour

1 knot = 1.15077945 mph

Parts of a Boat

Parts of a Boat

Turn to the STERN

BOW to the Front

BOW to the Front

Bismarck

Bismarck

Parts of a Boat

Parts of a Boat

Turn to the STERN

STARBOARD = Right

Turn to the STERN

PORT = Left

PORT = Left

4 letters in both

4 letters in both

BOW to the Front

BOW to the Front

Bismarck

Bismarck

Length = Distance from Bow to Stern

Beam = Distance from Port to

Starboard

Containers

Number of Layers

Each Container represents 1 TEU

Containers are 4 x 1 x
Our Containers weigh approximately 1.2
oz.

7 Layers
above the
Freeboard
17 Boxes
wide (ex.)

Displacement = The weight of the

boat and the containers
The boat weighs 1 ounce
Each cargo container weighs
1.2 ounce
Multiply the number of
containers by the number of
layers on the boat
Displacement = Cargo + Hull

Displacement is
measured in ounces
Each in3 of water
weighs .58 ounces
By dividing the weight
of the boat by .58, you
will calculate the
number of cubic inches
necessary to float the
boat

Draft = The distance from the Keel

to the Water line on a boat
Take the Volume of Water necessary to float the
boat and divide by the Area of the Keel. By
dividing in3 by in2, the number of inches below
the waterline will be calculated

DRAFT = Keel to Waterline

Keel

Volume = The amount of water

needed to float the boat

Water

Stability = Will it stay upright?

In theory, you could make a boat as
skinny as and as tall as you want,
just add more to the freeboard and
the draft. In reality, the heavier and
the taller a boat is, the more
unstable it is. You can measure this
by calculating the Metacenter and
compare it to the Center of Gravity

Line

What happens if you ignore this?

Eastland Steamer Disaster

What Happened?

Background
Commissioned in 1903
Occurred July 24, 1915
at 7:30 AM
Occurred on the Chicago
River (downtown)
Western Electric Family
Picnic Outing

What Happened (continued)?

6:40 passengers started boarding

6:41 ship began to list starboard
6:48 port ballast 2 and 3 were partially filled
6:53 ship lists to port- starboard ballast 2 was
partially filled
7:07 water was emptied from port ballast 3
7:10 no more passengers allowed on board
7:10-7:15 listing to port increased to 10-15
degrees

Picture from newspaper

7:16 tried to fill starboard ballast 2 and 3

7:18 ship righted itself
7:20 port list returned- water came on
ship- stopped the engines
7:23 list became worse
7:27 list reached angle of 25-30 degrees
7:28 list reached 45 degrees
7:30 capsized

Pictures from Newspaper

What it looked like

Metacentric Height? Positive

The Ships
Metacenter is above
the center of gravity
Righting arms are
created
The ship rights itself

Eastland Steamer Stats

Original design had a metacentric height of 18
inches
60ft of length taken away (lower metacentric
height)
Another deck added (raises Center of Gravity)
Originally designed for freight (decreases center
of buoyancy)
There was an easy inclination test to measure
and calculate the height- never done

Ballast System
Large empty containers at the bottom of
the boat used to stabilize the boat (By
increasing the weight, the boat drafts
more, which should lower it in the water)
Eastland had 12 ballast tanks

Metacentric Height? Negative

Center of gravity
is above the
metacenter
Negative righting
arms
Ship capsizes

Eastland Steamer Stats

Addition of Ellis and Eaves Draft System
(speed) and McCreery System of AirConditioning (cooling)
Sleeping compartments taken out to add more
people
Concrete added (15-20 tons)
Addition of lifeboats due to sinking of the Titanic
(LaFollettes Seamans Act)
All of these factors contribute excess weight to
the boat

Problems with the Ballast System

There were no gauges- time was used
Same manifold used for water to leave
ballast tanks
Water couldnt be pumped from tanks on
one side to the other
Slow process of opening and closing
different tank valves

The Gruesome Results

Eastland Steamer on side

841 passengers died

22 families were wiped
out
Worst disaster in terms
of loss of life in history
of Chicago
Morgue was set up in
the Armory because
there were so many
dead that needed to
be identified

Why did people die?

KB = Keel to the Center of

Buoyancy
This is of the draft measurement.

B
People were stuck in the lower decks
They were crushed or drowned

BM = Center of Buoyancy to the

Metacenter
Metacenter = The intersection of lines
through the Center of Buoyancy at
equilibrium and at an angle. As a ship is
rocked by waves in the water, it will tilt.
The Metacenter will serve as a righting
arm, which prevents the boat from
capsizing. The metacenter is the point
where the lines intersect (at angle ) of
the upward force of buoyancy.
To calculate: Beam2

(12 x Draft)

KM = Keel to the Metacenter

KM = KB + BM

M
B
K

KG = Keel to the Center of Gravity

KG = the height of the cargo

GM = Center of Gravity to
Metacenter
GM = KM-KG
Must be Greater than
If it is less than this,
your boat will capsize!

M
G
B
K

Depth = Draft + Freeboard

Freeboard = 1 tall for our barges
FREEBOARD = Waterline to Top of Side

Water
Line

DRAFT = Keel to Waterline

Keel

Keel

Water
Line