Titanic’s Initial List to Starboard

Asymmetrical Flooding:

• The initial list to starboard was due to asymmetrical flooding in various compartments, particularly No. 2 Hold, No. 3 Hold, and the starboard bunker in No. 5 Boiler Room.
• The firemen’s tunnel in No. 2 and No. 3 Holds confined the floodwater to the starboard side until it overflowed.

Flooding Calculations:

• The starboard bunker in No. 5 Boiler Room filled with approximately 41.5 tons of water, contributing a heeling moment of 1120.5 ft-tons.
• No. 2 Hold took on about 198 tons of water, contributing a heeling moment of 1529 ft-tons.
• No. 3 Hold took on about 416 tons of water, contributing a heeling moment of 5277 ft-tons.

Heeling Moments:

• The total heeling moment from No. 2 Hold, No. 3 Hold, and the starboard bunker in No. 5 Boiler Room was 7926.5 ft-tons.
• Additional heeling moment from No. 6 Boiler Room due to water sloshing towards the starboard side was 3492 ft-tons.

Total Heeling Moment and List:

• The combined heeling moment was 11,418.5 ft-tons.
• Using the ship’s displacement (48,300 tons) and metacentric height (2.63 ft), the calculated angle of list was approximately 5.15 degrees.

Observations and Assumptions:

• The analysis assumes a permeability of 75% for No. 2 and No. 3 Holds and 65% for No. 6 Boiler Room.
• The initial list to starboard was expected to be around 5 degrees, which would lessen over time as water filled the port side of No. 2 and No. 3 Holds.

Conclusion:

• The initial list to starboard was primarily due to asymmetrical flooding in specific compartments.
• The list would decrease as water overflowed to the port side, and the bunker door in No. 5 Boiler Room likely gave way, contributing to the observed rush of water.