Inclining Experiment

Objective
The purpose of a stability test is to determine the lightship parameters of a vessel, from which
the stability characteristics can be determined for each condition of loading, principally:
 Lightship displacement of the vessel;
 Longitudinal centre of gravity; and
 Vertical centre of gravity.
Definitions
For the purpose of this Annex, the following shall apply:
Lightship
Displacement () is the quantity of water displaced by the vessel expressed in tones (1 tone
= 1000kg). 1
Freeboard is the vertical distance from the water surface to the upper surface at side of deck.
Transverse Metacentre If a vessel is inclined transversely through a small angle, the centre of
buoyancy B will move slightly from the middle to towards the side, say B2 A vertical line
through B 2 will cut the vertical centre line at the point M, the transverse metacentre.
Metacentric Height GM in any condition of loading is the distance between the transverse
metacentre and the centre of gravity of the vessel, in the condition of loading under
consideration.
Preparation for the experiment
Inspection
The vessel must be inspected and notes made of the distribution and weight of any temporary
material or equipment on board that can not be removed at the time. All tanks should be
inspected to ensure that they are empty. This should not present the inspector with a problem
if the vessel is a new vessel at delivery stage. However, if the vessel is operational, if it is not
possible to empty the tanks, they should be topped up to ensure that there would be no free
surface effect during the experiment.
Oil in crankcases and hydraulic oil systems are acceptable, but the levels in oil reservoirs
should be carefully controlled.
The bilge should be dry as should all ballast spaces.
The vessel should be on an even keel. If it is not, weights can be added and their position
recorded both horizontally and vertically (and of course, the actual weight recorded).
Mooring
Since the weather must be good, sea flat calm and no wind, light mooring lines should be
used. Ensure that moorings are not so tight that they restrict vessel movement. The vessel
must be well clear of the quay and should not be in danger of touching the bottom during the
experiment.

1
The volume of water displace in cubic meters would be multiplied by 1.025 if floating in sea water
but since the density changes depending upon the place the experiment is conducted, the density must
also be measured at the time of the experiment.

1
Measurement of freeboard
The measurement of the freeboard is most important. The measurements should be make from
a small boat or skiff and without touching the vessel in a way that would cause it to roll or
pitch. Anyone on board should stay on the centre line and not move about.
Pendulum arrangement
If it is not possible to have more than one pendulum due to the size of the vessel, it should be
located as close to amidships as possible and on the centerline.
The pendulum should not be too short
otherwise it would be difficult to accurately
measure the deflection. Even in a small vessel it
should not be less than 2 meters in length, but
the longer, the better. The intention is to get a
reasonable measurement at small angles of heel
(not less than 2° and not more than 4°).
The longer the pendulum the longer the
measuring board. The position of the centre
mark "0" is important and if a meter stick or
ruler is used ensure that the zero mark selected
will not cause confusing when measuring Port and Starboard measurements. Alternatively, a
piece of paper can be pinned to the board and marked accordingly; this if fact provides more
substantive evidence of the experiment.
The weight at the end of the pendulum should lie within a damping liquid. The most effective
is to use a tray filled with light lubricating oil placed below the measuring board.
Provision of weights/weight measurement
Suitable weights should be selected that are easily moved by one or two persons and they
should ideally, be equal in weight. It is possible to use persons for this purpose provided that
they are each weighed and the when they are asked to move, they do so in sequence. The
position of the weights (or persons) should be marked on the deck and the measurements from
the centre line recorded.

Experiment

Vessel Name ………………… Place …………………. Date……….. Time ……….

Water density.............................
Moving weights to Port Center Moving weights to Starboard
0/4 0/3 0/2 0/1 =/- 0 =/- 0/1 0/2 0/3 0/4
1/4 1/3 1/2 1/1 +/- 1/0 +/- 1/1 1/2 1/3 ¼1 / 4
2/4 2/3 2/2 2/1 +/- 2/0 +/- 2/1 2/2 2/3 2/4

Surveyor.........................................................................

2
Phase 1
The key points of reference demonstrated in Figure 1
figure 1 all lie one under the other. These are:
 K Point at the keel
The inclining test

 B Centre of buoyancy
M

 C Centre of gravity G

 M Metacentre B

The height KB can be obtained from the

displacement tables.2

Figure 2

With the vessel steady (no movement of Experiment 0

persons on board) record the measurement or
mark the zero point in line with the pendulum.
Call this “Experiment 0” A B C D

Move weight “A” from the Port side to the

Starboard side over weight “C” If weights are
moved by hand, ensure that the carriers go
Figure 3
back to the centre line and remain still.
When the vessel settles, mark the position of Experiment 1
the pendulum line “1” or measure the
deflection and write the result in the log. A
B
C D
This is useful to detect any problems in the
exercise. Call this “Experiment 1”.

Move weight “B” to the Starboard side over

weight “D”. When the vessel is steady, mark Figure 5
the position of the pendulum. At this point, the
angle of inclination must not be more than 4º Experiment 2

(preferably about 3º)

Call this “Experiment 2”. A B
C D

2
In some cases it may be necessary to lift lines
from the vessel prior to inclining the vessel in order
to develop the displacement table.

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Figure 6
The position of the key reference points now
differ from Figure 1.
B and C are no longer in line and the righting
lever G Z can be clearly seen.

Move weights “A” and “”B back to the their

Figure 7 original positions on the Port side and when all
is steady, mark the position of the pendulum
Experiment 3
“4” which is Zero but it may not coincide with
the original Zero position (or enter the
measurement in the log).
A B C D
Call this “Experiment 3”

Move the weight “C” and to the Port side and

Figure 8 place it over weight “A”. When settled, mark
the position No. 5 or enter the measurement in
Experiment 4 the log.
As before, this will help to determine if there
C D are any problems occurring due to wind,
A B
touching bottom etc. Call this Experiment 4.

Place weight “D” over weight “B’ and when all

ism settled, mark the board No. 6 or enter the
distance moved from the new Zero position in
the log.
Experiment 5
Call this “Experiment 5”.

C D
A B

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Move weights “C” and “D” back to their Figure 8
original positions on the Starboard side. Mark
the new Zero position if not the same as before Experiment 6
or enter the distance moved by the pendulum
from position No. 6. Distance between weights

A B C D
Call this “Experiment 6”. Freeboard
W Pendulum length L

Deviation

Repeat the movement of the weights at least

three times making sure that the next set of
marks are clearly separated from the first
sequence and always being careful to record
the correct Zero position.

Figure 9
The freeboard must be measured. This should
be done as accurately as possible and patience
is required, particularly if the water tends to lap
the side of the hull. The key points are:
 forward
 amidships P and S Water line

 aft.
Base line
At the same time, the draft can be measure and
this will provide a check on the accuracy of the
draft marks.

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 In the example given in the
description of the inclining
experiment, two weights per side
are used but in practice 3-4 aside
would be common and for small
vessels, probably 3 persons per
side. If the healing moment is
calculated for each change of
weight, the result can be plotted on
a graph. If all is well, after all
weights have been moved (and
results plotted) the line through the
plots should be reasonably straight.
If not, the reasons could be too
strong a wind or touching the
bottom or the moorings are having an effect. Unless the fault is cured, the experiment should
be abandoned.
Calculation
In the experiment described above, (drawn from an actual experiment) the following data was
logged:
Weight moved (w) The four weights used measure 87...kg each
Distance moved by the weight. (d) 2.708
Length of pendulum (l) 1.690 m
Displacement Δ 29.579 Tons
The deflection of the pendulum being recorded as follows:

Measurement from
Experiment No. Deflection of Pendulum
meter stick on baton
0 100 0
01 113 13 mm weight “A’ to “B”
02 129 16 mm weight “B’ to “D”
03 97 32 weights A + B returned to Port side
positions (2 moves)
04 80 17 mm weight “C” to “Ä”
05 68 12 mm weight “D” to “B”
06 97 29 mm weights C + D returned to Starboard
side (2 moves)
Total deflection 119 mm Mean deflection γ 14.874 mm

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To obtain GM
Solving for GM:
𝑤𝑥𝑑
𝐺𝑀 =
∆ 𝑥 tan 𝜃
or
𝑤𝑥𝑑𝑥𝑙
𝐺𝑀 =
∆𝛾

Note that KM is constant for a particular draft and can be obtained from the vessel’s curves of
form and GM is obtained from the experiment noting also that KG = KM - GM
Thus to find the GM from the experiment given in the example,

87.23 𝑥 2.708 𝑥 1.69

𝐺𝑀 =
29597 𝑥 0.014874

𝐺𝑀 = 0.907 𝑚