center of flotation calculation and implications?

Discussion in 'Boat Design' started by capt vimes, Jan 7, 2010.

  1. Eric Sponberg
    Joined: Dec 2001
    Posts: 2,021
    Likes: 248, Points: 73, Legacy Rep: 2917
    Location: On board Corroboree

    Eric Sponberg Senior Member

    Hi John (Ad Hoc) and David, Thanks for your greetings. We make the most of what we have as we travel. Thankfully, there is a great vegetarian restaurant right at the head of the dock here in the marina, plus they have open mic nights on Monday nights--I get to sing to live audiences.

    Cheers, Eric
     
  2. Mr Efficiency
    Joined: Oct 2010
    Posts: 10,386
    Likes: 1,042, Points: 113, Legacy Rep: 702
    Location: Australia

    Mr Efficiency Senior Member

    Gawd, you were recreating the "adventures" of James Cook, by sustaining damage and having to put into Cooktown for repairs. I was reading recently that Darwin has had three severe cyclones in its history, I guess the odds are slender you would strike a fourth one there. I had a thought about those "crackers" that can be bought in the NT, it occurs to me they could be handy as a way to scare off crocodiles that are becoming too bold around boats !
     
  3. clmanges
    Joined: Jul 2008
    Posts: 576
    Likes: 144, Points: 43, Legacy Rep: 32
    Location: Ohio

    clmanges Senior Member

    Thank you for posting that; it may become useful to me if I ever get around to designing my boat.
     
  4. Eric Sponberg
    Joined: Dec 2001
    Posts: 2,021
    Likes: 248, Points: 73, Legacy Rep: 2917
    Location: On board Corroboree

    Eric Sponberg Senior Member

    Correct, 251 years later, almost to the day, we were within about 150 yards from where Cook beached the Endeavor in June, 1770 to repair the bottom of its hull. We were on the lone slipway there, and we left a piece of Corroboree's rudder skeg nailed to a tree next to the slipway to prove we were there (see first photo). Just as we were finishing the repairs, a group of traveling artists encamped for the day in the park near the slipway as Corroboree was the main subject of their paintings. We had our picture taken in our grotty yachtie clothes next to the best example.

    As for hurricanes, cyclones in this part of the world, yes, we know about those, the last and most serious of which was Tracy in 1974--it wiped out the entire town. Now, the four major marinas are all locked in basins so we are pretty much immune to storm surge, we would only fear high winds. Since we have owned Corroboree, we have been in 4 major hurricanes. The fist was Matthew in October 2016 before we left Florida. It did a lot of damage to St. Augustine, the first hurricane that had hit that area in more than 50 years. The in Antigua in September 2017, less than a year later, hurricanes Irene, Jose, and Maria all came across the Windward Islands with tropical storm force winds at Antigua and within 14 days of each other. Maria, of course, went on to wreak havoc with the remainder of the Caribbean, destroying a lot of the harbors we had visited--St. Martin, BVI, US Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic. We hope we don't have to go through that again.
     

    Attached Files:

  5. Mr Efficiency
    Joined: Oct 2010
    Posts: 10,386
    Likes: 1,042, Points: 113, Legacy Rep: 702
    Location: Australia

    Mr Efficiency Senior Member

    That would have been a nice painting to buy from the artist ! Talking of cyclones, as you sailed north from Cooktown, you would have passed Bathurst Bay, the scene of a massive loss of life in the late 19th Century, when a pearling fleet sheltering there from an approaching cyclone, was devastated. The barometer supposedly dropped lower than any other recorded cyclone in Australian waters. An interesting book was written about it, Cyclone, by Hector Holthouse. Some astonishing things happen in severe cyclones, a significant wreck, the Yongala, a good way further south, also lost in a cyclone, was reportedly cleaned of marine growth after a fairly recent cyclone, despite sitting in 100+ feet of water.
     
  6. Eric Sponberg
    Joined: Dec 2001
    Posts: 2,021
    Likes: 248, Points: 73, Legacy Rep: 2917
    Location: On board Corroboree

    Eric Sponberg Senior Member

    We are very familiar with the marine history in Queensland. While we were in Townsville last year, we volunteered at the Townsville Maritime Museum, working on displays--including a new one on the navigation instruments that Cook used on his first voyage--and wrote student tours (Shipwreck Tour, Pirate Tour, and Lightnouse Tour) for 4th-5th graders. This included an outside scale along the boardwalk overlooking the harbor to show how big the Bounty, Endeavour, and Pandora are. One of the main displays, complete with two looped videos, was of the Yongala, including stories of the people who lost their lives and some of the artifacts from the wreck. We met one of the archeologists who documented the Yongala wreck and was featured in one of the videos.

    The James Cook Museum in Cooktown was also intriguing about the Endeavour wreck, the repairs, and some artifacts on display, including one of Endeavour's anchors and a cannon. You may know that the wreck of the Endeavour is believed to lie at the bottom of Newport Harbor, Newport, RI, where we lived for 24 years.
     

  7. Mr Efficiency
    Joined: Oct 2010
    Posts: 10,386
    Likes: 1,042, Points: 113, Legacy Rep: 702
    Location: Australia

    Mr Efficiency Senior Member

    Good to see you are getting in to the swing of things, volunteering and what not. You certainly have been in the right places to avoid the COVID dramas.
     
Loading...
Forum posts represent the experience, opinion, and view of individual users. Boat Design Net does not necessarily endorse nor share the view of each individual post.
When making potentially dangerous or financial decisions, always employ and consult appropriate professionals. Your circumstances or experience may be different.