Types of ships

See also: List of types of naval vessels and List of boat types Ships are difficult to classify, mainly because there are so many criteria to base classification on. One classification is based on propulsion; with ships categorized as a sailing ship, a steamship, or a motorship. Sailing ships are propelled solely by means of sails. Steamships are propelled by steam engines. Motorships use internal combustion engines; they include ships propelled by a combination of sail and internal combustion. Ships can also be classified by other criteria such as: The number of hulls (corp de na a!coca": monohull, catamaran, trimaran. The shape, size, and function, gi ing categories such as dinghy (lotca", #eelboat, and icebrea#er. The hull material: steel, aluminum, wood, fiberglass, and plastic. The type of propulsion system used, gi ing human$propelled (e.g., historical triremes", mechanical, and sails. The epoch in which the essel was used, triremes of %ncient &reece, ships of the line of battle in the '(th century. The geographic origin of the essel; many essels are associated with a particular region, such as the pinnace of )orthern *urope, the gondolas of +enice, and the ,un#s (ambarcatiune cu ele" of -hina. The manufacturer, series, or class. %nother way to categorize ships and boats is based on their use, as described by .aulet and .resles./012 This system includes military ships, commercial essels, fishing boats, pleasure craft and competiti e boats. 3n this section, ships are classified using the first four of those categories, and adding a section for la#e and ri er boats, and one for essels which fall outside these categories. 1. Commercial vessels Main article: Commercial vessel

Two modern container ships in San 4rancisco -ommercial essels or merchant ships can be di ided into three broad categories: cargo ships, passenger ships, and special$purpose ships./052 -argo ships transport dry and li6uid cargo. 7ry cargo can be transported in bul# ( rac" by bul# carriers, pac#ed directly onto a general cargo ship in brea#$bul#, pac#ed in inter modal containers as aboard a container ship, or dri en aboard as in roll$on roll$off ships. 8i6uid cargo is generally carried in bul# aboard tan#ers, such as oil tan#ers which may include both crude and finished products of oil, chemical tan#ers which may also carry egetable oils other than chemicals

and 8.&!8)& tan#ers, although smaller shipments may be carried on container ships in tan# containers. .assenger ships range in size from small ri er ferries to ery large cruise ships. This type of essel includes ferries, which mo e passengers and ehicles on short trips; ocean liners, which carry passengers from one place to another; and cruise ships, which carry passengers on oyages underta#en for pleasure, isiting se eral places and with leisure acti ities on board, often returning them to the port of embar#ation. Special$purpose essels are not used for transport but for other tas#s. *9amples include tugboats (remorchere", pilot boats, rescue boats, cable ships, research essels, sur ey essels, and icebrea#ers. Most commercial essels ha e full hull$forms to ma9imize cargo capacity. /citation needed2 :ulls are usually made of steel, although aluminum can be used on faster craft, and fiberglass on the smallest ser ice essels./citation needed2 -ommercial essels generally ha e a crew headed by a captain, with dec# officers and marine engineers on larger essels. Special$purpose essels often ha e specialized crew if necessary, for e9ample scientists aboard research essels. -ommercial essels are typically powered by a single propeller dri en by a diesel or, less usually, gas turbine engine./citation needed2 The fastest essels may use pump$,et engines./citation
needed2

2. Naval vessels Main article: Naval ship

%merican aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman and a replenishment ship )a al essels are those used by a na y for military purposes. There ha e been many types of na al essel. Modern na al essels can be bro#en down into three categories: surface warships, submarines, and support and au9iliary essels. Modern warships are generally di ided into se en main categories: aircraft carriers, cruisers(crucisatoare", destroyers, frigates, cor ettes, submarines and amphibious assault ships. The distinction between cruisers, destroyers, frigates, and cor ettes is not rigorous; the same essel may be described differently in different na ies. ;attleships were used during the Second <orld <ar and occasionally since then (the last battleships were remo ed from the =.S. )a al +essel >egister in March ?@@1", but were made obsolete (in echit" by the use of carrier$borne aircraft (transportoare de aerona e" and guided missiles./0(2 Most military submarines are either attac# submarines or ballistic missile submarines. =ntil the end of <orld <ar 33 the primary role of the diesel!electric submarine was anti$ ship warfare (na a anti$razboi", inserting and remo ing co ert agents and military forces, and intelligence$gathering. <ith the de elopment of the homing torpedo (torpila", better sonar systems, and nuclear propulsion, submarines also became able to effecti ely

hunt each other. The de elopment of submarine$launched nuclear and cruise missiles ga e submarines a substantial and long$ranged ability to attac# both land and sea targets with a ariety of weapons ranging from cluster bombs to nuclear weapons. Most na ies also include many types of support and au9iliary essel, such as minesweepers, patrol boats, offshore patrol essels, replenishment ships, and hospital ships which are designated medical treatment facilities./0A2 4ast combat essels such as cruisers and destroyers usually ha e fine hulls to ma9imize speed and maneu erability. /B@2 They also usually ha e ad anced electronics and communication systems, as well as weapons. 3. Fishing vessels Main article: Fishing vessels

The lbatun !os, a tuna boat at wor# near +ictoria, Seychelles 4ishing essels are a subset of commercial essels, but generally small in size and often sub,ect to different regulations and classification. They can be categorized by se eral criteria: architecture, the type of fish they catch, the fishing method used, geographical origin, and technical features such as rigging (tachela,". %s of ?@@0, the worldCs fishing fleet consisted of some 0 million essels. /0D2 Of these, '.D million were dec#ed essels with enclosed areas and the rest were open essels. /0D2 Most dec#ed essels were mechanized, but two$thirds of the open essels were traditional craft propelled by sails and oars ( asla"./0D2 More than 1@E of all e9isting large fishing essels /B'2 were built in Fapan, .eru, the >ussian 4ederation, Spain or the =nited States of %merica./B?2 4ishing boats are generally small, often little more than D@ meters (A( ft" but up to '@@ metres (DD@ ft" for a large tuna or whaling ship. %board a fish processing essel, the catch can be made ready for mar#et and sold more 6uic#ly once the ship ma#es port. Special purpose essels ha e special gear. 4. Weather vessels Main article: "eather ship

The weather ship MS #olarfront at sea. % weather ship was a ship stationed in the ocean as a platform for surface and upper air meteorological obser ations for use in marine weather forecasting. Surface weather obser ations were ta#en hourly, and four radiosonde releases occurred daily. /B02 3t was also meant to aid in search and rescue operations and to support transatlantic flights. /B02 /BB2 .roposed as early as 'A?5 by the a iation community,/B12 the establishment of weather ships pro ed to be so useful during <orld <ar 33 that the 3nternational -i il % iation Organization (3-%O" established a global networ# of weather ships in 'A0(, with 'D to be supplied by the =nited States./BB2 This number was e entually negotiated down to nine.
/B52

Their crews were normally out to sea for three wee#s at a time, returning to port for '@ day stretches./B02 <eather ship obser ations pro ed to be helpful in wind and wa e studies, as they did not a oid weather systems li#e other ships tended to for safety reasons./B(2 They were also helpful in monitoring storms at sea, such as tropical cyclones. /BA2 The remo al of a weather ship became a negati e factor in forecasts leading up to the &reat Storm of 'A(5./1@2 ;eginning in the 'A5@s, their role became largely superseded by weather buoys (geamandura" due to the shipsC significant cost./1'2 The agreement of the use of weather ships by the international community ended in 'AA@. The last weather ship was #olarfront, #nown as weather station M (GMi#eG", which was put out of operation on ' Fanuary ?@'@. <eather obser ations from ships continue from a fleet of oluntary merchant essels in routine commercial operation. 5. Inland and coastal oats See also: $iverboat and %arge

.assenger ship of HIln$7Jsseldorfer on the ri er >hine Many types of boats and ships are designed for inland and coastal waterways. These are the essels that trade upon the la#es, ri ers and canals. ;arges are a prime e9ample of inland essels. 4lat$bottomed boats built to transport hea y goods, most barges are not self$propelled and need to be mo ed by tugboats towing or towboats pushing them.

>i erboats and inland ferries are specially designed to carry passengers, cargo, or both in the challenging ri er en ironment. >i ers present special hazards to essels. They usually ha e arying water flows that alternately lead to high speed water flows or protruding roc# hazards. -hanging siltation patterns may cause the sudden appearance of shoal waters (bancuri de apa", and often floating or sun#en logs and trees (called snags" can endanger the hulls and propulsion of ri erboats. 8a#e freighters, also called la#ers, are cargo essels that ply (a na iga, a strabate" the &reat 8a#es. The most well$#nown is the SS &dmund Fit'gerald, the latest ma,or essel to be wrec#ed on the 8a#es. Since the freshwater la#es are less corrosi e to ships than the salt water of the oceans, la#ers tend to last much longer than ocean freighters. 8a#ers older than B@ years are not unusual, and as of ?@@B, all were o er ?@ years of age./1?2 The St. Mary(s Challenger, built in 'A@1 as the "illiam # Snyder, is the oldest la#er still wor#ing on the 8a#es. Similarly, the &.M. Ford, built in '(A( as the #res)ue *sle, was sailing the la#es A( years later in 'AA1. %s of ?@@5 the Ford was still afloat as a stationary transfer essel at a ri erside cement silo in Saginaw, Michigan.

!rchitect"re
Further information: Naval architecture Some components e9ist in essels of any size and purpose. * ery essel has a hull of sorts. * ery essel has some sort of propulsion, whether itCs a pole, an o9, or a nuclear reactor. Most essels ha e some sort of steering system. Other characteristics are common, but not as uni ersal, such as compartments, holds, a superstructure, and e6uipment such as anchors and winches. 1. #"ll

% shipCs hull endures harsh conditions at sea, as illustrated by this reefer ship in bad weather. 4or a ship to float, its weight must be less than that of the water displaced by the shipCs hull./1D2 There are many types of hulls, from logs lashed together to form a raft to the ad anced hulls of %mericaCs -up sailboats. % essel may ha e a single hull (called a monohull design", two in the case of catamarans, or three in the case of trimarans. +essels with more than three hulls are rare, but some e9periments ha e been conducted with designs such as pentamarans. Multiple hulls are generally parallel to each other and connected by rigid arms. :ulls ha e se eral elements. The bow (pro a" is the foremost part of the hull. Many ships feature a bulbous bow. The #eel (chila" is at the ery bottom of the hull, e9tending the entire length of the ship. The rear!bac#side part of the hull is #nown as the stern (pupa", and many hulls ha e a flat bac# #nown as a transom (tronson". -ommon hull appendages (echipament" include propellers for propulsion, rudders (carme" for steering, and stabilizers to 6uell (a tempera" a shipCs rolling motion. Other hull features can be related to the esselCs wor#, such as fishing gear and sonar domes. :ulls are sub,ect to arious hydrostatic and hydrodynamic constraints. The #ey hydrostatic constraint is that it must be able to support the entire weight of the boat, and maintain stability e en with often une enly distributed weight. :ydrodynamic constraints include the ability to withstand shoc# wa es, weather collisions and groundings (esuare!naufragiere". Older ships and pleasure craft often ha e or had wooden hulls. Steel is used for most commercial essels. %luminium is fre6uently used for fast essels, and composite materials are often found in sailboats and pleasure craft. Some ships ha e been made with concrete hulls.

2. $rop"lsion systems

% shipCs engineroom Main article: Marine propulsion .ropulsion systems for ships fall into three categories: human propulsion, sailing, and mechanical propulsion. :uman propulsion includes rowing, which was used e en on large galleys. .ropulsion by sail generally consists of a sail hoisted on an erect mast, supported by stays and spars and controlled by ropes. Sail systems were the dominant form of propulsion until the 'Ath century. They are now generally used for recreation and competition, although e9perimental sail systems, such as the turbosails, rotorsails, and wingsails ha e been used on larger modern essels for fuel sa ings. Mechanical propulsion systems generally consist of a motor or engine turning a propeller, or less fre6uently, an impeller (rotor" or wa e propulsion fins. Steam engines were first used for this purpose, but ha e mostly been replaced by two$stro#e or four$stro#e diesel engines, outboard motors, and gas turbine engines on faster ships. )uclear reactors producing steam are used to propel warships and icebrea#ers, and there ha e been attempts to utilize them to power commercial essels (see )S Savannah". 3n addition to traditional fi9ed and controllable pitch (pas" propellers (elice" there are many specialized ariations, such as contra$rotating and nozzle$style propellers (elice tip duza". Most essels ha e a single propeller, but some large essels may ha e up to four propellers supplemented with trans erse thrusters (propulsoare" for maneu ring at ports. The propeller is connected to the main engine ia a propeller shaft (a9" and, in case of medium$ and high$speed engines, a reduction gearbo9 (cutie de iteza". Some modern essels ha e a diesel$electric power train (tren de putere" in which the propeller is turned by an electric motor powered by the shipCs generators. 3. %teering systems

The rudder and propeller on a newly built ferry

4or ships with independent propulsion systems for each side, such as manual oars or some paddles (padele",/102 steering systems may not be necessary. 3n most designs, such as boats propelled by engines or sails, a steering system becomes necessary. The most common is a rudder, a submerged plane located at the rear of the hull. >udders are rotated to generate a lateral force which turns the boat. >udders can be rotated by a tiller (motosapaKKK", manual wheels, or electro$hydraulic systems. %utopilot systems combine mechanical rudders with na igation systems. 7ucted (comducta" propellers are sometimes used for steering. 4. #olds& compartments& and the s"perstr"ct"re 8arger boats and ships generally ha e multiple dec#s and compartments. Separate berthings (legaturi" and heads (parame" are found on sailboats o er about ?B feet (5.1 m". 4ishing boats and cargo ships typically ha e one or more cargo holds. Most larger essels ha e an engine room, a galley, and arious compartments for wor#. Tan#s are used to store fuel, engine oil, and fresh water. ;allast tan#s are e6uipped to change a shipCs trim (balans! repartizarea incarcaturii! diferenta de pesca," and modify its stability. Superstructures are found abo e the main dec#. On sailboats, these are usually ery low. On modern cargo ships, they are almost always located near the shipCs stern (pupa". On passenger ships and warships, the superstructure generally e9tends far forward. 5. '("ipment Shipboard e6uipment aries from ship to ship depending on such factors as the shipCs era, design, area of operation, and purpose. Some types of e6uipment that are widely found include: Masts (arborada" can be the home of antennas, na igation lights, radar transponders, fog signals, and similar de ices often re6uired by law. &round tac#le includes e6uipment such as mooring winches, windlasses, and anchors. %nchors are used to moor ships in shallow water. They are connected to the ship by a rope or chain. On larger essels, the chain runs through a hawse pipe (nara de ancora". -argo e6uipment such as cranes and cargo booms are used to load and unload cargo and shipCs stores. Safety e6uipment such as lifeboats, liferafts, and sur i al suits are carried aboard many essels for emergency use. ). *esign considerations :ydrostatics

Some essels, li#e the 8-%-, can operate in a non$displacement mode. ;oats and ships are #ept on (or slightly abo e" the water in three ways: 4or most essels, #nown as displacement essels, the esselCs weight is offset by that of the water displaced by the hull. 4or planing ships and boats, such as the hydrofoil, the lift de eloped by the mo ement of the foil through the water increases with the esselCs speed, until the essel is foilborne. 4or non$displacement craft such as ho ercraft and air$cushion ehicles, the essel is suspended o er the water by a cushion of high$pressure air it pro,ects downwards against the surface of the water. % essel is in e6uilibrium when the upwards and downwards forces are of e6ual magnitude. %s a essel is lowered into the water its weight remains constant but the corresponding weight of water displaced by its hull increases. <hen the two forces are e6ual, the boat floats. 3f weight is e enly distributed throughout the essel, it floats without trim or heel. % esselCs stability is considered in both this hydrostatic sense as well as a hydrodynamic sense, when sub,ected to mo ement, rolling and pitching, and the action of wa es and wind. Stability problems can lead to e9cessi e pitching and rolling, and e entually capsizing and sin#ing. +. #ydrodynamics

4ishing boat !ona !elfina The ad ance of a essel through water is resisted by the water. This resistance can be bro#en down into se eral components, the main ones being the friction of the water on the hull and wa e ma#ing resistance. To reduce resistance and therefore increase the speed for a gi en power, it is necessary to reduce the wetted surface and use submerged hull shapes that produce low amplitude wa es. To do so, high$speed essels are often more slender, with fewer or smaller appendages. The friction of the water is also reduced by regular maintenance of the hull to remo e the sea creatures and algae that accumulate there.%ntifouling paint is commonly used to assist in this. %d anced designs such as the bulbous bow assist in decreasing wa e resistance. % simple way of considering wa e$ma#ing resistance is to loo# at the hull in relation to its wa#e. %t speeds lower than the wa e propagation speed, the wa e rapidly dissipates to the sides. %s the hull approaches the wa e propagation speed, howe er, the wa#e at the bow begins to build up faster than it can dissipate, and so it grows in amplitude. Since the water is not able to Gget out of the way of the hull fast enoughG, the hull, in essence, has to climb o er or push through the bow wa e. This results in an e9ponential increase in resistance with increasing speed.

This hull speed is found by the formula: or, in metric units: where L is the length of the waterline in feet or meters. <hen the essel e9ceeds a speed!length ratio of @.A0, it starts to outrun most of its bow wa e, and the hull actually settles slightly in the water as it is now only supported by two wa e pea#s. %s the essel e9ceeds a speed!length ratio of '.D0, the hull speed, the wa elength is now longer than the hull, and the stern is no longer supported by the wa#e, causing the stern to s6uat, and the bow rise. The hull is now starting to climb its own bow wa e, and resistance begins to increase at a ery high rate. <hile it is possible to dri e a displacement hull faster than a speed!length ratio of '.D0, it is prohibiti ely e9pensi e to do so. Most large essels operate at speed!length ratios well below that le el, at speed!length ratios of under '.@.

+essels mo e along the three a9es: '. hea e, ?. sway, D. surge, 0. yaw, B. pitch, 1. roll 4or large pro,ects with ade6uate funding, hydrodynamic resistance can be tested e9perimentally in a hull testing pool or using tools of computational fluid dynamics. +essels are also sub,ect to ocean surface wa es and sea swell as well as effects of windand weather. These mo ements can be stressful for passengers and e6uipment, and must be controlled if possible. The rolling mo ement can be controlled, to an e9tent, by ballasting or by de ices such as fin stabilizers. .itching mo ement is more difficult to limit and can be dangerous if the bow submerges in the wa es, a phenomenon called pounding. Sometimes, ships must change course or speed to stop iolent rolling or pitching. :ow it has been con incingly shown in scientific studies of the ?'st century, /1B2 /112 controllability of some essels decreases dramatically in some cases that are conditioned by effects of the bifurcation memory. This class of essels includes ships with high manoeu ring capabilities, aircraft and controlled underwater ehicles designed to be unstable in steady$state motion that are interesting in terms of applications. These features must be considered in designing ships and in their control in critical situations. ,. -ifecycle % ship will pass through se eral stages during its career. The first is usually an initial contract to build the ship, the details of which can ary widely based on relationships between the ship owners, operators, designers and the shipyard. Then, the design phase carried out by a na al architect. Then the ship is constructed in a shipyard. %fter construction, the essel is launched and goes into ser ice. Ships end their careers in a number of ways, ranging from shipwrec#s to ser ice as a museum ship to the scrapyard.

8ines plan for the hull of a basic cargo ship .. *esign See also: Naval architecture % esselCs design starts with a specification, which a na al architect uses to create a pro,ect outline, assess re6uired dimensions, and create a basic layout of spaces and a rough displacement. %fter this initial rough draft, the architect can create an initial hull design, a general profile and an initial o er iew of the shipCs propulsion. %t this stage, the designer can iterate on the shipCs design, adding detail and refining the design at each stage. The designer will typically produce an o erall plan, a general specification describing the peculiarities of the essel, and construction blueprints to be used at the building site. 7esigns for larger or more comple9 essels may also include sail plans, electrical schematics, and plumbing and entilation plans. %s en ironmental laws are strictening, ship designers need to create their design in such a way that the ship $when it nears its end$of$term$ can be disassembled or disposed easily and that waste is reduced to a minimum.

MS Freedom of the Seasunder construction in a shipyard in Tur#u. 1/. Constr"ction Main article: Shipbuilding Ship construction ta#es place in a shipyard, and can last from a few months for a unit produced in series, to se eral years to reconstruct a wooden boat li#e the frigate Hermione, to more than '@ years for an aircraft carrier. :ull materials and essel size play a large part in determining the method of construction. The hull of a mass$ produced fiberglass sailboat is constructed from a mold, while the steel hull of a cargo ship is made from large sections welded together as they are built.

% ship launching at the )orthern Shipyard in &dans#, .oland

% shipyard at Herala, Southern 3ndia &enerally, construction starts with the hull, and on essels o er about D@ meters (A( ft", by the laying of the #eel. This is done in a drydoc# or on land. Once the hull is assembled and painted, it is launched. The last stages, such as raising the superstructure and adding e6uipment and accommodation, can be done after the essel is afloat. Once completed, the essel is deli ered to the customer. Ship launching is often a ceremony of some significance, and is usually when the essel is formally named. % typical small rowboat can cost under =SL'@@, L',@@@ for a small speedboat, tens of thousands of dollars for a cruising sailboat, and about L?,@@@,@@@ for a +endMe &lobe class sailboat. % ?B meters ((? ft" trawler may cost L?.B million, and a ',@@@$ person$capacity high$speed passenger ferry can cost in the neighborhood of LB@ million. % shipCs cost partly depends on its comple9ity: a small, general cargo ship will cost L?@ million, a .anama9$sized bul# carrier around LDB million, a supertan#er around L'@B million and a large 8)& carrier nearly L?@@ million. The most e9pensi e ships generally are so because of the cost of embedded electronics: a Sea+olf$ class submarine costs around L? billion, and an aircraft carrier goes for about LD.B billion. 11. 0epair and conversion

%n able seaman uses a needlegun scaler while refurbishing a mooring winch at sea Ships undergo nearly constant maintenance during their career, whether they be underway, pierside, or in some cases, in periods of reduced operating status between charters or shipping seasons. Most ships, howe er, re6uire trips to special facilities such as a drydoc# at regular inter als. Tas#s often done at drydoc# include remo ing biological growths on the hull, sandblastingand repainting the hull, and replacing sacrificial anodes used to protect submerged e6uipment from corrosion. Ma,or repairs to the propulsion and steering systems as well as ma,or electrical systems are also often performed at dry doc#.

+essels that sustain ma,or damage at sea may be repaired at a facility e6uipped for ma,or repairs, such as a shipyard. Ships may also be con erted for a new purpose: oil tan#ers are often con erted into floating production storage and offloading units.

% ship gra eyard in 4rance 12. 'nd of service Main article: Ship disposal Most ocean$going cargo ships ha e a life e9pectancy of between ?@ and D@ years. % sailboat made of plywood or fiberglass can last between D@ and 0@ years. Solid wooden ships can last much longer but re6uire regular maintenance. -arefully maintained steel$ hulled yachts can ha e a lifespan of o er '@@ years. %s ships age, forces such as corrosion, osmosis, and rotting compromise hull strength, and a essel becomes too dangerous to sail. %t this point, it can be scuttled at sea or scrapped by shipbrea#ers. Ships can also be used as museum ships, or e9pended to construct brea#waters or artificial reefs. Many ships do not ma#e it to the scrapyard, and are lost in fires, collisions, grounding, or sin#ing at sea. There are more than D millionshipwrec#s on the ocean floor, the =nited )ations estimates./152 The %llies lost some B,'B@ ships during <orld <ar 33./1(2 13. 1eas"ring ships One can measure ships in terms of o erall length, length of the ship at the waterline, beam (breadth", depth (distance between the crown of the weather dec# and the top of the #eelson", draft (distance between the highest waterline and the bottom of the ship" andtonnage. % number of different tonnage definitions e9ist and are used when describing merchant ships for the purpose of tolls, ta9ation, etc. 3n ;ritain until Samuel .limsollCs Merchant Shipping %ct of '(51, ship$owners could load their essels until their dec#s were almost awash, resulting in a dangerously unstable condition. %nyone who signed on to such a ship for a oyage and, upon realizing the danger, chose to lea e the ship, could end up in ,ail. .limsoll, a Member of .arliament, realised the problem and engaged some engineers to deri e a fairly simple formula to determine the position of a line on the side of any specific shipCs hull which, when it reached the surface of the water during loading of cargo, meant the ship had reached its ma9imum safe loading le el. To this day, that mar#, called the G.limsoll 8ineG, e9ists on shipsC sides, and consists of a circle with a horizontal line through the centre. On the &reat 8a#es of )orth %merica the circle is replaced with a diamond. ;ecause different types of water (summer, fresh, tropical fresh, winter north %tlantic" ha e different densities, subse6uent regulations re6uired painting a group of lines forward of the .limsoll mar# to indicate the safe depth (or freeboard abo e the surface" to which a specific ship could load in water of arious densities. :ence the GladderG of lines seen

forward of the .limsoll mar# to this day. This is called the Gfreeboard mar#G or Gload line mar#G in the marine industry.