On sailing a Folksong – freeboard

Talking of freeboard, the following is from Jon Wainwright’s ‘Only So Many Tides’:

“We compared the two craft. Deva was less than a foot of freeboard astern, fine lined and low in superstructure. The cabin cruiser with twice the power, three times the freeboard and four times the superstructure appeared to her owners to be far safer; they couldn’t believe that freeboard at sea is like a chin held up to a punch.”

You better believe it.