What is a recommended mooring arrangement to ensure accurate results during an inclining experiment?

Mooring bow and stern only with minimal lines is the recommended arrangement for ensuring accurate results during an inclining experiment. This method minimizes the effect of additional lines that can restrict the natural movement of the vessel, allowing for a more accurate measurement of its heel. The vessel needs to be able to freely rotate about its center of gravity to precisely assess its stability characteristics during the experiment.

When the vessel is only moored at bow and stern with minimal lines, it allows for a clear and unobstructed assessment of the heeling angle, as the mooring does not interfere with the vessel’s motions. This is crucial for obtaining reliable data regarding the center of gravity and metacentric height, which are fundamental for stability analysis.

In contrast, using multiple lines or mooring at shallow depths can introduce unnecessary forces that could alter the behavior of the vessel during the inclining experiment, leading to inaccurate results. Mooring at the dockside to stabilize the vessel might also restrict the freedom of movement needed to properly conduct the inclining test, which could similarly compromise the validity of the data gathered. Thus, the bow and stern mooring with minimal lines is the most appropriate choice to achieve accurate and reliable results in such experiments.