January 1977 - Maritime Reporter and Engineering News

SNAME Chesapeake Section Hears Paper On Level Flotation—Research To Regulation

The Chesapeake Section of The Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers held its second meeting of the 1976-77 season at the Officers' Club of the Bethesda Naval Hospital. The subject of the paper presented at the meeting was USCG Level Flotation— Research and Regulations for Small Boats.

Following a social hour and dinner, chairman Frank Sellars introduced Capt. Richards T.

Miller, USN (ret.), who acted as moderator for the technical program.

Captain Miller introduced the authors, Messrs. Lysle B.

Gray, William J. Blanton and Lars E. Granholm, who presented their paper entitled "Level Flotation— Research to Regulation." Many news writers, politicians, and other private citizens seem to believe that the rules and regulations of government agencies are the products of uniformed and perhaps malevolent bureaucratic whim. The paper traced the development of a major lifesaving regulation for recreational boats from its beginning in research and statistics and going on through an analysis of several approaches, and an extensive diplicant, a subsidiary of American Marine Industries, Inc., proposes to build three 2,000-dwt breakbulk vessels 288 feet long, having beams of 45 feet and drafts of 14.9 feet, and requiring 11 crewmen each.

The vessels will be operated between the U.S. Atlantic Coast and the Leeward and Windward Islands and the north coast of South America.

The second computation is not in response to an application for CDS, but is a preliminary step in a Maritime Administration effort to determine the domestic and foreign construction costs for dry bulk carriers. That effort is a response to one of the recommendations resulting from the National Assessment and Planning Conference on U.S.-flag Dry Bulk Shipping, which MarAd sponsored in July in Hyannis, Mass.

alog with members of the public and the boating industry who will be affected by this regulation, to final publication in the Federal Register. Its purpose was to show that the Coast Guard Office of Boating Safety, supported by the Office of Research and Development, attempts to live by the following policies: all regulations must respond to proven needs and produce more benefits for society while enhancing the enjoyment of our waterways. The Coast Guard has interpreted this to require a steady reduction in the fatality rate in recreational boating, without unduly restricting the freedom of people to enjoy boating without an unnecessary increase in cost of that recreation.

At the conclusion of the presentation, formal discussions were presented by John Gill, Peter Ball and Steve Judson. Mr. Gray responded to the discussions. In particular, he demonstrated that great care and consideration went into the anticipation of practical problems caused by such regulations, and presented a convincing case that the researchers were at all times cognizant of the impact of their work.

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