Professional Documents
Culture Documents
The Problem
a) Numerous small commercial passenger vessels
operate on inland waters outside the jurisdiction of
the U.S. Coast Guard and the Code of Federal
Regulations (CFR) governing such vessels under
46 CFR.
b) There is currently no generally recognized stability
standard applicable to such inland commercial
vessels.
c) The states seldom have personnel trained to apply
46 CFR stability requirements or assess the safety
of a boat with regard to stability.
d) Lack of standards and lack of trained personnel
leaves a gap in public safety for commercial
passenger vessels operating on inland waters.
??
150 Passengers?
Ethan Allen
Passenger Deck
Ethan Allen
40 ft.
Fiberglass
boat, on
Lake
George, NY
Lady D Capsize
On March 6, 2004, the inspected passenger vessel
(a pontoon water taxi) Lady D capsized in
Baltimore harbor.
a) 3 crew and 23 passengers were aboard.
b) 5 passengers died.
c) 4 passengers suffered serious injury.
d) 12 passengers suffered minor injuries.
The weather was poor, with rain, developing
strong winds and nearby thunderstorms.
Lady D Capsized
SCItantic Capsize
On July 7, 1984, the passenger vessel SCItantic (a
90-foot stern wheeler) capsized on the Tennessee
River, near the Redstone Arsenal, in Alabama.
a)3 crew and 15 passengers were aboard.
b)11 passengers died.
c)7 individuals (3 crew and 4 passengers) escaped
with little or minor injuries.
The forecast was for the possibility of typical
afternoon summer thunderstorms. After leaving the
dock, a severe thunderstorm warning was broadcast.
By 11:03, winds of 38 knots were reported, and a
local downburst/microburst with 70 knot winds then
occurred, striking SCItantic broadside.
The Boat Had Insufficient Displacement & Was Severely Down by the Stern
The Boat Was Listing to Port and in Danger of Capsizing in Calm Water Right
at the Dock!
Solution Part 1
Create an Applicable Inland Stability Rule that Will:
a) Conform with the general principles and requirements of 46
CFR Simplified Stability, and/or to ABYC standards for
pontoon boats, or other existing stability standards as
applicable and appropriate.
b) Be as direct and straightforward to read and interpret as
possible.
c) Apply only to vessels carrying 149 passengers or less.
(Vessels carrying more passengers will be required hire a
qualified naval architect, small-craft designer, or marine
surveyor to conduct full stability tests under 46 CFR, and
present documentary proof of compliance with 46 CFR to the
appropriate state regulatory agency to operate in the state.)
d) Be applicable to monohull powerboats, multihull powerboats,
pontoon powerboats, monohull sailboats, and multihull
sailboats. (Pontoon sailboats will not qualify.)
Operating Procedure
a) Designated, approved state personnel will act as
inspectors to conduct the review, inspection, and
tests required to pass stability requirements.
b) Upon a vessels passage of stability requirements, the
state will issue a license or permit to operate while
carrying up to the approved number of passengers.
c) The license or permit will be good for a limited period
(recommend five years) at which time it must be
renewed.
d) The license or permit will also specifically state that it
is void if any alterations or additions are made to the
vessel.
e) In the event of such alterations or additions, a new
ISS will be required for a new license or permit.
Solution Part 2
Create Distance-Learning
ISS Inspector Training Program:
Wind Heel
a) For powerboats, use a multiplier in pounds per square foot of wind
pressure for the appropriate maximum average wind speed the boat is
likely to experience.
b) Take the complete area of the profile of the boat. The designer finds the
full area of this in outline including all: stanchions, rails, lee cloths,
davits, radar masts, and so on. Also the designer finds the center of the
area (CE) above the waterline.
c) Next, the designer locates the center of the lateral plane (CLP) of the
hull underbody. Measure the distance it is down from the waterline. This
can be estimated as 50% of draft on powerboats.
d) Add the distance WL to CLP to the distance WL to CE to find the total
heeling arm HA.
e) Enter this in the powerboat wind-heel formula. The answer should be
one quarter to one half freeboard or no more than 14 degrees or less
depending on whether its an open boat, or a boat with a cockpit, or a
flush-deck boat with no cockpit at all.
f) If the resulting heel angle is greater, you must either reduce the sail
area of the boats profile, increase beam, or lower the center of gravity,
or some combination of these.
immersion = f x (2 x LOD) - cl
4 x LOD
Where:
immersion = maximum allowable immersion due to heel, ft.
f = lowest or minimum freeboard, ft.
LOD = length on deck, ft.
cl = cockpit length, ft.
Passenger Heel
a) Passenger heel determines how far the boat will heel with the
passengers moved to one side of the boat.
b) The U.S. Coast Guard formula for passenger heel uses 140
pounds per person, assuming a mix of men, women, and
children. (Other rules from the CFR use as much as 165
pounds.)
c) These weights were settled on decades ago when the U.S.
population was physically smaller.
d) Over the last few years, there have been a few capsizing
incidents where it became apparent that the average weight of
the passengers aboard was well over 140 pounds.
e) In May 2006, the U.S. Coast Guard issued voluntary guidelines
for owners and operators of small passenger vessels to reevaluate the passenger capacity for their vessels based on an
updated average weight allowance of 185 pounds. This has
not yet been officially changed in the CFR.
W
lb.
x
d
f
t.
Where:
W = weight moved, lb.
d = distance moved, ft.
Disp. = boat displacement, lb.
GM = metacentric height, ft.
arcsin = The arcsin of X is an angle whose sine is X, often
notated as sin-1. It is not the same as 1/sine. The arcsin or
arc sine can be found quickly on any inexpensive scientific
calculator or in any standard spreadsheet program.
1,110
lb.
x
2.8
ft.
=6.7 degrees passenger heel
arcsin
6,900 Disp. x 3.85 ft GM.
Nxb
24 passengers/long ton x W x tanT
Where:
GM = metacentric height, ft.
N = number of passengers
b = distance from the boats centerline to the geometric center
of the passenger deck, ft.
W = weight of vessel (displacement), long tonstons of 2,240
lb.
The 24 passengers/long ton makes the following assumptions:
That the average weight of all passengers (a mix of men,
women, and children) is 140 pounds each, and that 2/3rds of
them move to the side of the vessel, so 2/3 x 140 lb. = 93.34
lb., and 2,240 lb./long ton 93.34 lb. = 24 passenger/long ton.
T = heel angle = Heel not greater than between 1/4 to 1/2 of
freeboard (as explained earlier regarding cockpit size from CFR
178.330), but never more than 14 degrees.
Procedure:
a) Determine maximum allowable heel
b) Determine passenger heel moment
c) Determine wind heel moment
d) Incline boat with weights to the
larger of the moments
e) Check that allowable heel or
immersion is not exceeded
immersion = f x (2 x LOD) - cl
4 x LOD