Hull Design

Basics

• An aspect of naval engineering related to designing the hull
• Mainly how to optimize it's geometry for the desired characteristics (stability, speed, and manuverabiliy)
• Stil in progress (Also non-expert written)

Planar Hull vs Displacement Hull vs Semi Displacement Hulls

• Planar is essentially flat, and planes over most of the water at target speed due to lift, thus reducing drag significantly (the extension of this is the hydrofoil)
  • These are limited by the square–cube law and thus there are no large planar hull ships
• Displacement Hulls Push Through the Water, and tend to be thin near the bow so as to "slice" more effectively

In relation to small craft

• Plotting + math here related to the OS Kayak and other small stuff
• Seems to be the more flat the hull is the easier it is to turn and to "get going" as well as max speed
  • This comes with the downside of less stability (ie ease of "tipping over" due to little resistance to roll), and it is harder to passively hold a direction (called "tracking" ? ) (after paddling it will not stay in that straight line)

Internal Links

• Open Source Kayak
• Open Source Pontoon Calculations

External Links

• The Wikipedia Page on Watercraft Hulls
• The Wikipedia Page on Ship Stability
• A General Page on the Concept
• "Kayak Design Terminology Defined"
• "A Look At Kayak Hull Designs"
• "Kayak design Properties"
• An article with a great chart on bow design (standard vs inverted vs axe)