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4.7 REMOVING WATER FROM BILGE
A bailer should be carried to bail out any water which gets into the
boat to increase crew comfort and prevent any adverse effect on
stability and buoyancy.
4.8 STABILITY AND BUOYANCY
The Trinity 500 is naturally stable and very buoyant but can, in
exceptional circumstances, be capsized or sunk. To minimise this
possibility the following measures should always be taken:
• Balance all weight, including that of the crew, so that the boat
floats upright.
• Carry any heavy equipment as low down in the boat as is practical,
and as near as possible midway between bow and stern. Balance
the weight of equipment and crew so that the boat floats in level fore
and aft trim.
• Nobody should stand up in the boat. When standing is necessary, to
board and leave the boat or change crew places for example, only
one person should stand up at a time.
• Bail or drain any water which gets into the buoyancy chamber before
the boat is used. Find where the water got in. The boat should not
be used with a leak into the buoyancy chamber.
• Bail out any water lying in the bilge as soon as possible.
• The hull is moulded in buoyant triple layered plastic. The empty boat
will not sink even when the buoyancy chamber in the moulding
and the inside of the boat are completely flooded. In this state,
the buoyancy provided by the plastic will not support the weight of
crew or equipment. If the crew and equipment remain in the flooded
boat, it may sink.
• The boat’s buoyancy will not be immediately affected by minor splits
in the hull as the plastic tends to reseal, limiting flooding. However, if
there has been an accident which may have caused a split in the
hull, take the boat to the nearest safe landing ashore as soon as
possible. Get the crew out of the boat and check the buoyancy
chamber visually as well as checking for flooding by removing one of
the access hatches and pushing the end of the boat down. There is
a drain fitted near the stern which can be used to drain water from
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