Seine and Skiff

There are three gear types used in the commercial fishery where the Copper River empties into Prince William Sound, including set gillnet, drift gillnet, and seine.  The seine boats use a skiff to help harvest the fish in a purse seine.  The crewman in the skiff below wants to get back onto the seine, and jumps from the skiff to the seine before tying it to the seine.  He jumps from the skiff to the seine when the skiff is a few feet away from the seine.  ....What's the problem?


                                                                                           *www.fakr.noaa.gov
 According to the law of the conservation of momentum, the initial momentum is equal to the final momentum, where P = momentum = Mass x velocity.   As the crewman jumps forward, the boat applies a force on the crewman and the crewman moves in the opposite direction of the force he applies on the boat.  The crewman will make it to the seine, but his skiff will be several feet from the boat....oops!




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