reserve buoyancy

American  

noun

Nautical.

1. the difference between the volume of a hull below the designed waterline and the volume of the hull below the lowest opening incapable of being made watertight.

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Etymology

Origin of reserve buoyancy

First recorded in 1900–05

Example Sentences

Their metal frame and heavy chassis and transmission combined with the lack of reserve buoyancy mean they sink quickly.

From Washington Times • May 5, 2020

There�s plenty of reserve buoyancy to keep the nose up when entering the back of a wave, and the chine flats aft add good bearing surface to prevent squatting.

From Time Magazine Archive

Like the 20- and 23-footers, she will have a fine entry, a slight keel and tightly rounded bilges topped by an integral chine ledge that adds reserve buoyancy aft and controls spray forward.

From Time Magazine Archive

When full, we still have three hundred pounds reserve buoyancy, and would have to go ahead and steer down.

From The Wreck of the Titan or, Futility by Robertson, Morgan

The Holland boats have a reserve buoyancy, so that if anything should happen to the machinery they would rise unaided to the surface.

From Stories of Inventors The Adventures of Inventors and Engineers by Doubleday, Russell