Posted by Mike Field on September 06, 2001 at 00:19:09 from 203.32.93.6:
In Reply to: Capsizability of Swallow/Amazon posted by Alexis on September 05, 2001 at 17:50:32:
Both would have been considerably more difficult to capsize than today's dinghies, Swallow more so than Amazon. They were of heavier construction and displacement, with reasonably high initial stability. John and Susan could probably have both stood on Swallow's gunwale without putting it under, but it's a moot point in my mind as to whether Amazon would have escaped being swamped uner such a test.
The point about these boats, though, is that they were designed and built built-in bouyancy and flotation was used. So once you did put a gunwale under it was quite likely to stay there until the boat filled up and sank. Sink she would (and did) too, if she was Swallow, because Swallow, you'll remember, carried internal ballast. Depending on what her cargo was at the time, Amazon might have stayed just awash -- but unbailable and unsailable.
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