Your vessel displaces 368 tons and measures 96'L x 28'B. You ship a large wave on the after deck. What is the reduction to GM due to free surface before the water drains overboard, if the after deck measures 42'L x 28'B and the weight of the water is 36 tons?

Correct Answer: Option C — 5.43 feet

Deck flooding creates high transverse free surface moments that threaten smaller vessels. For a 368-ton vessel retaining 36 tons of water across a 42' by 28' after deck area, the resulting reduction in metacentric height equals 5.43 feet.