Question 1991 Deck Safety

You are correct, the answer is A) center of gravity. A floating vessel will behave as if all of its weight is acting downward through the center of gravity. This is because the center of gravity represents the point at which the entire weight of the vessel can be considered to act, which is the critical factor in determining the vessel's stability and behavior when floating. The other options are incorrect because: B) the center of flotation is the point at which the buoyant force acts, C) the metacenter is a point used to determine the vessel's stability, and D) the center of buoyancy is the point at which the buoyant force acts, which is not the same as the center of gravity.