UD marine scientist explains buoyancy aboard Amistad

David Chapman, a marine transportation specialist in UD’s College of Marine Studies

4:59 p.m., April 27, 2004--Since being launched in 2000, the Freedom Schooner Amistad has been the subject of many articles and the destination of thousands of visitors curious to learn about the ship and its history.

In 1839, while being taken from one part of Spain’s colony in Cuba to another, a group of 49 enslaved West Africans rebelled and took control of the original ship. After running aground near Montauk Point, Long Island, N.Y., the vessel was seized by the U.S. government and towed to New London, Conn., where the Africans were charged with murder and piracy.

The trial and the successful defense of the Africans by former President John Quincy Adams garnered worldwide attention and helped to ignite and unify the abolitionist movement in America.

During the Amistad replica’s recent visit to Wilmington’s Kalmar Nyckel Shipyard, David Chapman, a marine transportation specialist in UD’s College of Marine Studies, helped student visitors understand how ships of all shapes and sizes, including the Amistad, manage to stay afloat.

Chapman made his presentation on Friday, April 23, as groups of Delaware school children ranging in age from third-graders to teenagers toured the vessel. Chapman’s talk also was linked to 150 classrooms in Ohio as part of a videoconference arrangement.

“It was a great experience for the children,” Chapman said. “They came aboard the vessel, raised the sails and went below decks. The kids were certainly engaged.”

During his presentation, Chapman addressed a number of nautical engineering topics, including buoyancy (the force that pushes objects upwards and allows them to float), density (the weight of an object compared to the volume or amount of space it takes up) and displacement (the volume of cubic feet of sea water that a ship pushes out or displaces).

Chapman, who grew up in Atlantic City, N.J., has always had an interest in boats and other things that float.

“I design ships, and I’m into naval architecture and marine structures,” Chapman said. “I also help prepare the national exam in naval architecture and marine engineering.”

A graduate of the Webb Institute of Naval Architecture in Glen Cove, N.Y., where he earned a bachelor’s degree in naval architecture and marine engineering, Chapman also has an M.B.A. in business law from Drexel University.

His interests include public outreach and diversified integration of research and education, as well as the promotion and advancement of marine transportation through domestic policy and technology.

Article by Jerry Rhodes
Photo courtesy of UD Marine Studies

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