Flotation
Introduction
This guide is intended to help a boat manufacturer
comply with the flotation requirements for certain boats.
Compliance with these requirements IS THE RESPONSIBILITY of
the boat manufacturer. This guide shows the calculations necessary
for design and production considerations, and describes the
test methods necessary to achieve and confirm compliance.
The methods of calculating the amount of flotation
material needed are included and usually work toward the safe
side; in other words, they will result in a little more than
the regulation requires rather than a little less. As an example,
using the formulas to determine the amount of flotation material
necessary to provide for the persons capacity in Basic and
Modified Basic flotation, this Guideline calls for 0.25 of
the persons capacity, whereas the regulation calls for 2/15ths,
which is about 0.133. Using the formulas contained in this
Guideline will always meet the requirements of the regulations
and will often exceed them.
CAUTION
This guideline only
addresses provisions of the Federal Regulations. It
is not a complete engineering manual for the design
of ventilation systems for boats. There are other manuals
and standards available for that purpose. |
NOTE:
The formulas and methods contained in this Guideline do not
alter, modify, supersede or otherwise replace the requirements
of the federal regulations now in effect.
FORMAT
Because the wording of the regulation may be
difficult to understand, this guide is written in somewhat
simple terms. It is organized in a manner in which the reader
(presumably the boat manufacturer) can go directly to the
section dealing with the type of boat to be built following
a review of Sections 1.0 - Applicability and 2.0 - Definitions.
There are different flotation requirements for different types
of boats and we address the specific tests each type of boat
must pass.
It is recommended that Section 1 be read first
so that a general idea of the requirements can be obtained
- particularly since it relates to the applicability of the
regulations. Then read Section 2.0 - Definitions, since these
may vary from similar definitions in other contexts. Next,
deal only with your boat type - either Section 4.0, 5.0, or
6.0. This will make the flotation requirements much easier
to understand. Finally, review the flotation material requirements
described in Section 7.
There are three types or modes of flotation
requirements, namely: Basic Flotation, Level Flotation, and
Modified Level Flotation. Each one has its own requirements
and specific tests. This Guideline is organized in an easy-to-follow
format. Each subpart describes the boats included, explains
the general requirements for these boats, and lists the type
of flotation necessary in each. Based on the type of boat,
the reader can determine what flotation is required by going
directly to the appropriate section in the Guideline.
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