What is the minimum length of the buoyant lifeline that is fitted to a lifebuoy which is stowed at a distance of 10 metres above the waterline (light condition)?
20 metres
10 metres
30 metres
15 metres
The minimum length of the buoyant lifeline is 15 metres.
To determine the minimum length of the buoyant lifeline fitted to a lifebuoy stowed at a distance of 10 meters above the waterline, we need to consider a few factors.
Since the lifebuoy is stowed at a distance of 10 meters above the waterline, the length of the lifeline must at least be able to reach the surface of the water. This means that the minimum length of the buoyant lifeline should be equal to or greater than 10 meters.
The options given are:
- 20 metres
- 10 metres
- 30 metres
- 15 metres
Out of these options, the only one that meets the requirement of being equal to or greater than 10 meters is "10 metres". Therefore, the minimum length of the buoyant lifeline would be 10 metres.
To determine the minimum length of the buoyant lifeline, we can use the following formula:
Minimum Lifeline Length = Distance from Lifebuoy to Waterline + Freeboard + Reserve Length
In this case, the distance from the lifebuoy to the waterline is given as 10 meters.
Freeboard is the distance between the waterline and the top of the lifebuoy, which is typically 1 meter.
Reserve length is an additional length of lifeline that is required for deployment and to provide some slack. This reserve length is usually 4 meters.
Plugging in the values, we can calculate the minimum lifeline length as follows:
Minimum Lifeline Length = 10 meters (distance to waterline) + 1 meter (freeboard) + 4 meters (reserve length) = 15 meters
Therefore, the correct answer is 15 metres.