May be LWL - "L" something Water Line?
LWL = Load Waterline Lenght
You can meassure the lenght of a ship in at least 7 different ways (LOA, LWL, LPP, LOD, LH, Rated lenght, Total lenght incl bowsprit ) but the lenght at the waterline (relative to the beam) is the one that (normally) determines the speed and performance of a sailing ship
You can meassure the lenght of a ship in at least 7 different ways (LOA, LWL, LPP, LOD, LH, Rated lenght, Total lenght incl bowsprit ) but the lenght at the waterline (relative to the beam) is the one that (normally) determines the speed and performance of a sailing ship
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Thank you for taking the time
Nicolas
Unfortunately I do not have a real ship myself (dreaming about one, once I retire) but I'm told you can have a little fun with all these different lengths when you enter small marinas. Merchant ships pay port dues according to tonnage but for pleasure crafts it is sometimes according to the length. The salesman who sold you the 'barge' most likely included both the retractable bathing platform, the bowsprit and one of his arms when he measured the length so don't go with that. Put on an innocent poker face and inform them the LPP. If you can't get away with that at least you have a good starting point for 'horse trading'.
I don’t have a real ship either and....would not even dream to have one because I wouldn’t know what to do with it, lol.
I just like to build a model ship as a hobby and I’m at the stage of learning, a long way to the finish line!
Very interesting to lean about port dues.
I just like to build a model ship as a hobby and I’m at the stage of learning, a long way to the finish line!
Very interesting to lean about port dues.
Thats really cool there Poul, I had never seen those ways of measuring a real ship. Much abliged partner 
The key thing about LWL or "load waterline" is that it can change depending upon the load carried by the boat. No load, the boat sits high in the water with a shorter LWL. Heavily loaded, lower in the water with a longer LWL. Thus the official LWL is determined to be the waterline length when the boat is loaded to design capacity.
