Hmmm. I use TW, and according to the docs, it's all about buoyancy; deck gear don't mean squat. But, the other day I had a small merchant that was listing bad, but was sinking very slowly (like it might take half a day). I was close, so I couldn't get under the water line. Rather, I hammered the smoke stack. Sure enough, the sinking sound started straight away and she went under. I felt like I had caused her to flood more quickly by taking out the smokestack (i kinda picture all sorts of stuff falling back into the engine and stopping the pumps).
Kb
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