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In sailing and boating, a vessel's freeboard is the distance from the waterline to the upper deck level, measured at the lowest point of sheer where water can enter the boat or ship. [1] In commercial vessels, the latter criterion measured relative to the ship's load line , regardless of deck arrangements, is the mandated and regulated meaning.
They were low-freeboard, steam-powered ironclad vessels, with one or two rotating armored turrets, rather than the traditional broadside of guns. The low freeboard meant that these ships were unsuitable for ocean-going duties and were always at risk of swamping and possible loss, but it reduced the amount of armor required for protection.
The low freeboard of the galley meant that in close action with a sailing vessel, the sailing vessel would usually maintain a height advantage. The sailing vessel could also fight more effectively farther out at sea and in rougher wind conditions because of the height of their freeboard.
USS Monitor had had very little freeboard so as to bring the mass of the gun turret down, thereby increasing stability and making the boat a smaller and therefore harder target for gunfire. At the end of the American Civil War, the U.S. Navy Casco-class monitors had large ballast tanks that allowed the vessels to partially submerge during ...
AAW An acronym for anti-aircraft warfare. aback (of a sail) Filled by the wind on the opposite side to the one normally used to move the vessel forward.On a square-rigged ship, any of the square sails can be braced round to be aback, the purpose of which may be to reduce speed (such as when a ship-of-the-line is keeping station with others), to heave to, or to assist moving the ship's head ...
[4] [1] This vessel was of "three-island" construction with a forecastle, bridge house, and quarterdeck, extending to the full width of a low-freeboard hull. A distinctive feature was a long "trunk" along the centerline, with a breadth of about half the vessel's beam, which connected the three elements of the superstructure. [5]
The design called for the ship to have a low freeboard, and Coles' figures estimated it at 8 feet (2.4 m). Both the Controller and the Chief Constructor Edward James Reed raised serious concerns. Robinson noted that the low freeboard could cause flooding issues on the gun deck , and Reed criticised the design in 1866 both for being too heavy ...
These were low-freeboard vessels intended for local, coastal defense. They were badly overweight when completed, and as a result suffered from serious problems, including belt armor that was fully submerged when the ships were fully loaded, a tendency to ship excessive amounts of water, and poor handling characteristics.