Nautical Term: Out of trim
Definition of Out of trim
…Out of trim refers to a vessel that is not correctly trimmed or ballasted. In other words, the ship is not on an even keel. For instance, during a sailing race, a skipper may intentionally heel the boat to present a larger sail area to the wind. However, if the boat is heeled too much or for too long, it can result in the vessel being out of trim, leading to instability, reduced performance, and even capsize in extreme cases.
For example, During the Transatlantic race, the sailing yacht ‘Sea Tiger’ was out of trim due to excessive weight on the port side. The cause was the accidental flooding of the port ballast tank during a rough sea passage earlier in the race. As a result, ‘Sea Tiger’ experienced instability, reduced performance, and even dangerous rolling and pitching in the heavy seas. The skipper and crew had to work together to re-ballast the ship and get it back on an even keel.
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