What Do These Waterline Numbers Mean?

In the first picture, the numbers refer to the draft of the vessel at the bow. The second picture is the load line. The vessel shouldn't be loaded any heavier than that. Freighters have more markings for true fresh, fresh, salt, true salt.

Hi,

Loadline explained in detail.

Waterline - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

As for the variation between loaded and empty - there are a lot of things that can have bearing on this.

Things like the vessel being heavier on launch than calculated at design time can reduce the loaded condition by making the difference between loaded and un loaded - (with a yacht this generally refers to fuel and water) to a smaller amount while the total full load displacement remains the same.

Hi,

The keel or deepest part isn't attached directly below the bow normally.

This is the draft forward, as she loads fuel she will no doubt go down by the head more than overall so when full and that boat looks like it has been down by the head a lot she will be even on her marks.

Just a thought but 2 meters is 6 1/2 feet. It still doesn't seem like the "8" can be made to work if the markings are in meters.

Hi,

The OP states everything in Feet so where did the Metric system come into it?

Here is something about draft marks.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draft_(hull)

There is definately 2 feet between the 4 and 6 and also 2 feet between the 6 and 8 in that picture. It is accurate, but it looks decieving in the picture.

In the top picture the center lineof the circle is the salt load line, the line next to the F is the freshwater line.

I didn't see him mention anything about the draft marks being in feet. He also said they aren't right if they're in feet. It was just a guess since meters are about the only other units that would be used.

I don't know if they do it any differently in the States, but usually the draught numbers are in dm (decimeters). So 4 would mean a draught of 40 cm.
That also seems to be correct with your statement that there's about two feet between mark 2 and mark 8.

That said, the numbers seem to be very low to me, because even forward, you should be referring the draught to the baseline, not to the local deepest point. That way, if you read the same numbers fore and aft, the boat is "on even keel".

Bruno

PS - looking at the numbers, I think there's perhaps a number 2 missing in front of each number. Numbers would then be 28, 26, 24, 22, which would represent 2.8 m, 2.6 m, 2.4 m, 2.2 m draught.

I believe K1W1's explanation is on the money. If you look at the water mark it's just below the 6' mark which would be reasonable for the bow (did you happen to notice the numbers at the stern?). Loading fuel could account for why she's sitting high or that bow could be touching bottom.

I see a reflection of something in the blue paint about 4' forward of the stern. That looks like it.

draft marks

From Wiki:

The draft aft (stern) is measured in the perpendicular of the stern.
The draft forward (bow) is measured in the perpendicular of the bow.
The mean draft is obtained by calculating from the averaging of the stern and bow drafts, with correction for water level variation and value of the position of F with respect to the average perpendicular.

The draft of a ship can be affected by multiple factors, not considering the rise and fall of the ship by displacement:
Draft variation by list
Draft variation by water level change[clarification needed]
Allowance of fresh water draft variation by passage from fresh to sea water or vice versa
Heat variation in navigating shallow waters

Draft scale

The drafts are measured with a "banded" scale, from bow and to stern, and for some ships, the average perpendicular measurement is also used. The scale may use traditional English units or metric units. If the English system is used, the bottom of each marking is the draft in feet and markings are 6 inches high. In metric marking schemes, the bottom of each draft mark is the draft in decimeters and each mark is one decimeter high.

Sorry, I'm used to seeing that in feet which is what it appears to be at the bow. I also can't imagine them leaving the 2 in 2.3 meters to the imagination nor using fractions of feet or meters. Since I can't actually see it, I'm going to guess that (from what you've written) that the "3" is actually an "8" with maybe a little heavy handed painting on one side. Meaning that the stern is just under 8' draft and the bow normally (per the water stain) at just under 6' but currently just over 3'.