THanks for your help. The books I consulted are Marine Design Manual
by Gibbs and Cox and GRP Boat Construction by Figg and Hayward.
It is hard for novices to really understand everything from these
books albeit they are great when it comes to Fibreglass Construction.
Does anyone have any recommendations for any beginner books I would
like to build a boat just the economy down under is also heading for a
slowdown not as bad as USA but a little bit of a slowdown.....When The
USA economy hiccups The Aussie economy starts coughing sometimes
violently.....
All the best Judith







Glenn Ashmore wrote in message ...
The turn of the bilge is the curve between the sides and the bottom. A
slack bilge is narrower with a sloping topsides leading to a deeper wine
glass shaped bottom. A full bilge is wider with less slope to the
topides leading to with less dead rise.

Slack bilged boats tend to roll more slowly and have higher maximum
stability than full bilged ones but have less initial stability so they
heel a lot more in a moderate breeze.

Bonus definition: "Dead rise" is the angle sloping outwards and up from
the keel to the topsides below the waterline. "Tumble home" is the
slope leading inward and up from the waterline to the deck.

judith wrote:
I have consulted many references and I know that the bilge is the
rounded part of the ship's hold. I know that stagnant water collects
there.... Only thing though is I'm unsure what the expressions "Turn
of Bilge" and "Slack Bilge" mean.
Can anyone help me with a concise answer Thanks Judith