Keel fracture
A keel fracture is a gradual deformation (and therefore damage) of - especially wooden - hulls .
The keel break occurs in ships floating in the water due to the different buoyancy of the bow and stern in contrast to the rest (middle part) of the ship's hull.
At the bow and stern, due to the hull becoming narrower and less deep there (which therefore has less displacement there), there is less buoyancy than on the central part of the hull. As a result, the bow and stern tend to lie deeper in the water - to "hang" on the central part of the hull - which causes the hull to bend gradually.
A keel break occurs especially in large, long and long wooden ships in the water. Additional weight from the ship's fort increases the effect.
Others
The physical breakage of the keel , the load-bearing element of the ship's hull, for example when it hits a shoal , is often referred to as a keel break.
The loss of the keel on a keel yacht (sailing ship) is not actually a broken keel, but leads to a complete loss of stability of the ship. It will capsize very quickly and probably sink even in small cross winds or waves, which is why this is often fatal for the crew (e.g. in the case of the Cheeki Rafiki ).
Web links
- Entry under Kiel at Seefahrer-Lexikon: Terms from the Seefahrt GL on windjammer-weltweit.de and a directory of frequently occurring maritime expressions and their meanings. on faro.at