Waves and Boat Stability

I found myself standing on the wet and

slippery fish deck of a 200-foot Russian
fishing trawler staring across several
hundred yards of extremely rough and
breaking seas at the 180-foot black hulled
Coast Guard cutter, which was my real
home, and wondered if I would ever return
to her warm, clean, and dry surroundings. I
was in the Bering Sea, above the Arctic
Circle, and wondering how in the world the
crew of our rigid hull inflatable was ever
going to make it across the gap between
our cutter and this Russian ship. All vessels roll in heavy seas. The
aware skipper will be attuned to wave
And if they did make it across, how was I period, how his or her craft is handling
the conditions, and make the necessary
going to maneuver down the 60-foot, wet
adjustments.
and swinging Jacob's ladder that provided
the only route from the deck where I stood to the little boat that would take me
home. Well, the boatswain mate driving the RIB did make it across the rough and
breaking seas, and I was truly motivated to return to the warmth of real coffee
and olive green bulkheads, so I somehow found a way down that Jacob's ladder
and into the RIB.

Why do I tell this story that occurred many years ago? Because seas and swell
conditions, i.e. sea state, are what mariners are concerned with the most. Waves
control our abilities to perform, as well as the actions and stability of our vessels.
Waves are the critical component of vessel design and operation. Ignore the
effect of waves and you might find yourself going to sea in an unsafe vessel, or
attempting passages that cannot be accomplished!

So how are waves capable of exerting such influence? For starters, know that
water is 800 times more dense than air and the force generated by a wave
contains tremendous energy. You cannot push a wave aside the way you can
push aside an annoying sail or line whipped about by the wind.
So how do waves affect vessels stability? In
calm water a boat will rarely turn over, but when
waves begin pushing against a boat’s hull they
can exert sufficient force to a capsize the most
seaworthy of vessels. Capsizing occurs when
wave energy overcomes the restoring forcing
inherent in a boat’s design. This inherent,
designed force is a combination of a vessel’s
buoyancy (displacement) pushing upward at a
distance (called a righting arm) from a vessel’s
centerline, where the center of gravity is found
Lightweight ocean-going boats
(CG). So what am I saying? That for a vessel to like this one can get a major boost
return to an upright position after being rolled to in speed from a favorable swell,
one side it must be able to generate a restoring and take a major beating in
force, and this force requires a certain distance unfriendly conditions.
between CG to CB, or its center of buoyancy. A
vessel with a high CG will develop a small righting arm and have a slow roll,
while a vessel with a low CG will have a long righting arm and will have a snappy
and powerful righting force.

Knowing the boat's natural roll period is an excellent indication of its stability, and
there are several rules of thumb we can use to evaluate roll period. In general an
acceptable, but minimum, natural roll period (seconds) should be equal to a
vessels maximum waterline beam in yards. For example a boat with a 30-foot
beam should have a roll period of 10 seconds (30 feet/3 feet per yard = 10 yards
or 10 seconds). Cruise ships with beams of 100 feet have roll periods of
approximately 30 seconds (100 feet/3 feet per yard = 33 yards or 33 seconds).
Additionally, a vessel's natural roll period may be calculated using this formula:

Natural Roll Period = (.44 x Vessel’s Beam)/ Square Root of GM

GM is the distance between the vessel's center of gravity (CG) and the
metacenter (M), where metacenter is defined as the point through which the
center of buoyancy acts when a vessel heels. GM is provided in a vessel’s
design and can be general defined as eight percent of a vessels maximum beam.
Waves have periods, which is the time it takes
for successive crests to pass a given point. If the
natural roll period of a vessel equals or is an
even interval of wave period, then synchronous
rolling or pitching is likely to occur. Synchronous
rolling and pitching, at the least, makes vessels
motion painful, and at its worst is sufficiently
dangerous to capsize a vessel. What is
synchronous rolling and pitching? It is wave
action enhancing a boats roll such that the
vessel is unable to come to an upright position
All boats have stability curves.
and stop. It is similar to pushing a swing, where Losing the keel, as this ocean-
a person pushes at the outer ends of the swing, racing maxi did, illustrates what
increasing the motions amplitude, and can happen when the righting
preventing the swing from slowing down and force sinks into the abyss.
reaching equilibrium.

All vessels have stability curves that show the righting force at increasing angles
of heel. There is always a maximum angle of heel, after which there is no righting
force and a capsizing force comes into action. A righting force exists so long as
CG and CB are separated, but once a vessel rolls to an angle where CB and CG
are no longer separated but are in line, a vessel reaches the point of neutral
stability. There is no restoring force and the vessel will roll over.

When synchronous rolling occurs a vessel can be pushed to this ultimate angle
very quickly, and without much warning, over the vessel goes! To assist in
identifying these potentially dangerous conditions the Marine Prediction Center
(MPC) produces a Wave Period Charts twice each day (00Z and 12Z). These
charts are found on the MPC web page (http://www.mpc.ncep.noaa.gov) and are
broadcast via Coast Guard Wefax. It is important for mariners to examine both
Sea State Charts (height measured in feet and meters in three-foot increments)
and Wave Period Charts (wave periods in seconds) to determine if a present or
projected track will provide safe and comfortable conditions for a vessel, its crew,
and cargo.
A vessel’s stability can be divided into two
categories; initial stability and ultimate stability.
Initial stability defines the angles of heel that are
normal to a vessel's operation. This is usually
between zero and 15 degrees of heel. At these
angles a vessel’s CG and CB have the greatest
horizontal separation and create the greatest
restoring force. When the vessel exceeds the
range of initial stability, it enters the arena of
ultimate stability. The separation between CG
and CB begins to decrease, due to an
For the crews of Coast Guard surf
asymmetrical shape of the immersed hull due to boats, like those used in the
these extreme heeling angles. The lesson Columbia River and river bars of
here—in both sail and powerboat operation—is the Pacific Northwest, the idea is
to keep a vessel within its range of initial to keep the vessel in the range of
stability. Do not allow prolonged exposure to sea its initial stability, which means
avoiding beam-to situations.
conditions that roll a boat to its beam-ends.

Every effort should be made to operate a vessel inside its limits of initial of
stability. Knowing its natural roll period can help you avoid extended periods of
exposure to seas that match the roll period, which could lead to synchronous
rolling and pitching. Keep the CG low by storing heavy gear below deck, and
reduce wave impact by choosing courses that keep seas abaft the beam.

Article Provided by: SailNet

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