Equalizing the weight

[Catherine Ehlers]

Hi again. Just recently reread Walter Lord's "A Night to Remember" for the first time in quite a while, and there was an incident mentioned therein that I recall being mentioned nowhere else. Lord states that at one point the passengers (and perhaps crew, as well) were ordered to go over to the other side of the ship in order to correct the list, and that everybody (this was before any boats were launched, I think) dutifully trooped over to one side of the ship. I find it hard to believe that, with Titanic weighing 46,000 tons, that the weight of even 2000+ people on one side of the ship or the other would have made that much difference. (Not to mention that quite a few of those people were below decks, in either steerage or the engine and boiler rooms.) Yet I seem to have read that this has also been done on some other ships. Does anyone know exactly when this was done on the Titanic? And did it make any difference?

Thanks.

Cathy Ehlers

 

[Mark Chirnside]

Catherine,

Yes, the weight of the people would not have made that much difference, but possibly if it did make any difference, the flooding would 'shift,' magnifying the effect of their movement.

Haven't got my references with me at the minute, but I do recall mention that the order was intended to get people out of the way for one of the last boats' lowering.

Titanic's tonnage was 46,000 tons, she did not actually weigh that: she weighed 52,310 tons at a draught of 34 feet 7 inches, if memory serves.

 

[Parks Stephenson]

Cathy,

I was on a liberty boat, leaving the 88,000-ton USS Constellation for the port of Fremantle, Australia, when two pleasure yachts pulled alongside the starboard side of the aircraft carrier, advertising some local pubs. A group of women on the boats offered to lift their shirt tops if a sailor would throw them a uniform hat. The word spread quickly and hundreds of sailors rushed to the starboard side. A shower of white dixie cups fell on the dancing girls. From my vantage point off the stern of the ship, I was amazed to see the Constellation take on a sudden list of at least 5 degrees, maybe more, to starboard.

Yes, shifting a large mass of people well above a ship's centre of gravity can cause a list, even in a large vessel.

Parks

 

[Michael F. Koch]

Wow, so how were the....???ummm....oh nevermind

Michael.

 

[Andrew Rogers]

All the girls do that down here!
Can't seem to stop them lifting their shirts no matter how much us men complain!