Ships

resistance
The resistance a ship can
be divided into 5 main
reasons.
Frictional losses
Pressure resistance
Wavemaking resistance
Resistance due to drift

Resistance due to
friction.
This is the resistance due
to friction of the water
along the hull.
It is depending on the
roughness of the hull, the
area of the submerged
hull, the type of boundary
layer, and of course the
ships speed.
It is the resistance created
by the water the hull
surface is speeding up
close to the surface.
It is the resistance that
creates the boundary layer.
For most people it is easy
to imagine how the wall
roughness is influencing
this.
The rougher the hull
surface the more water is
dragged with it.
Also the influence of the
area size of the hull is
comprehensible for most
people.
The more are the more

water is dragged with it.

The type of boundary is a
little harder to
comprehend.
In general there are two
types of boundary layers:
the laminar and the
turbulent.
The laminar boundary
layer is a nice smooth
boundary layer.
Very close to the hull its
speed is 0 and the farther
away from the hull the
higher the speed becomes,
until it reaches the ship
speed.
This laminar flow has a
low frictional loss, but is
not easy to maintain when
it gets thicker.
Even the smallest surface
irregularities might disturb
is, resulting in it becoming
Turbulent.
A Turbulent boundary
layers has a higher
friction, and is in general
not smooth layered, but is
more turbulent, as its
name already makes clear.
A turbulent layer has
compared to a laminar
boundary layer a smaller
part in which the speed is
very low.

Typical a boundary layers

is the first meter laminar,
and more aft becomes
turbulent.
The rougher the hull and
the higher the speed the
easier is becomes
turbulent.

The thickness of this

boundary layer is
exaggerated for this length
of plate.
For a nice clean hull and
very low speeds the

boundary layer can be

almost fully laminar.
In heavy weather, planing
and with a dirty hull there
is virtually no laminar
part.
Of Course the thickness of
the boundary layer grows
when it comes more to the
stern, more water is
slowed in that time.
The frictional resistance of
a sailing boat can be
minimized by having a
nice clean hull, and
moving around slowly to
not disturb the laminar
boundary layer, especially
not in light weather.
There are some other
options to reduce the
frictional loss, but in my
humble opinion they are
too complicated to use on
a sailboat.

Suction of the
boundary layer, by
drilling small holes
in the hull where
the boundary layer
is being sucked
through, resulting
in virtually no
boundary layer and
no frictional loss.

Energizing the
boundary layers,
through some slots
directed aft water
is being pumped at
high speed
reenergizing the
boundary layer.
It is logical to

combine these,
since the sucked
up water needs to
be dumped
somewhere.
This technique
uses small holes,
that can be blocked
easily.

Moving the wall,

If the hull is
moved around like
a conveyor belt the
shell has no speed
through the water,
and therefore no
frictional loss.

Accelerate the
molecules by
electricity,
like JLN lab

Where the
boundary layer
would be having a
liquid (or air) that
has a lower
viscosity. Catching
air between the
hull and the water
like a Hoovercraft
is an example of
that. Other
examples is to leak
some less viscous
liquids from your
foredeck, or heat
the hull.

Directing the
turbulence with
small scratches. A
sharkskin uses this
principle.
This has been used
for rowing boats, I
believe

manufactured by
3M, but was
forbidden by the
International
Rowing
association.

pressure
resistance.
If the flow around
an object is nicely
streaming and is
after the object
more or lees
undisturbed this
means no energy
has been put in
disturbing.
Is the flow around
the object breaking
loose and creating
a lot of disturbance
after the object the
pressure resistance
is high.
This pressure
resistance is often
also called shape
resistance, since it
is a lot depending
on the shape of the
object.
This resistance is
depending on the
streamlines around
the object, If you
now the
streamlines the
pressure resistance
can be calculated.
Please take a look
at the picture
below, It shows
that the triangle
has a much higher
pressure resistance

than the circle.

For the circle the
streamlines after
the object are
undisturbed, while
for the triangle the
streamlines have
shifted.
An other way to
look at this is that
for the triangle the
force C which is
directed partly
forward is missing.

The path of the

streamline is also
depending on the
boundary layer. If
the circle was
rough and would
have a thick
boundary layer the
flow could look
like this:

It is proven in real
life that a turbulent
boundary layer due
too its thin layer
with virtually no
speed prevents
flow separation.
This means a
turbulent boundary
layer results in a
lower pressure
resistance.
This Explains why
some professional
speedskaters have
some irregular
stitching at strange
places.
The same is done
with a Golf ball.
The dints result in
a turbulent
boundary layer.

This are nice

tricks, but
unfortunately not
applicable to a
ships hull.
The boundary
layer is after a
meter or so
anyway turbulent.
The hull should be
as smooth as
possible.
Interesting to
notice is that for
some ships and
most cars the
pressure resistance
would be lower if
they would go in
reverse.

This can be
explained by the
manual design of
most cars and
ships, and feeling
says a triangle with
its point first gives
less resistance as a
triangle with a flat
end.
The aft design
-where the
"pressure
recovery" takes
place- is in general
of more
importance than
the front end, but
who looks aft?

wave making
resistance.
A ship makes
waves when it
sails. In this wave
energy is stored.
This energy is the
wavemaking
resistance.
A wave is
produced by the
curvature of a ship.
Around a ship
changing the
direction of the
water results not
only in a pressure
difference, but also
in a change of
waterlevel.
The more and the
sharper the water
is changed in
direction, the
bigger the waves.
Positive pressure

results in a higher
level, negative
pressure results in
a lower level.
Typical high
pressure is built at
the bow, where the
water is deflected
from the hull. For
now I name this
"bow hill"
A low pressure is
built where the
water is directed
away from the hull
like where the
greatest width of
the ship is.
For now I name
the resulting lower
level "shoulder
valley"
At the stern the
water is being
deflected inwards,
resulting in a
higher pressure,
for now I call this
"stern
hill"

Water has the

tendency to level
out, else we would
use dragliners
instead of locks
etcetera.
This means that
the hill will fall
down, and even
will fall further

down creating a
valley.
The valley will rise
up again to a hill,
and so it keeps
repeating.
In the time the hill
has become a
valley and a hill
again you have
sailed a distance.
If this distance you
have sailed in the
time a hill
becomes a valley
is half the ships
length the bow hill
has becomes a
valley where the
ship already
creates a valley,
thus giving more
waves.
Also the valley
from midships has
become a hill at
the stern, thus
amplifying the
stern hill.
Producing more
waves means a
higher wave
making resistance.
This specific
situation where the
wave pattern is
amplifying each
other is called hull
speed.
Your wave pattern
will look like this:

It is a clear peak in
the resistance

curve for many

ships.
(The hull speed
can be calculated
in km/hr by the
formula
4.5*Squareroot(len
gth), in which
length is in meters.
A ship of 6m has a
hull speed of 11
km/hr.)
Beside
amplification of
the waves there is
also the possibility
to make them
cancel out
eachother.
If one travels half
the ships length in
the time the bow
hill becomes a hill
again it cancels out
the shoulder
valley.
Then one makes
little waves, and
the wavemaking
resistance is low.
If one exceeds the
hull speed this is in
general called
Planing.
It comes for many
ships with a steep
drop in resistance,
because the wave
pattern is no longer
amplifying.
And low
wavemaking
means low
wavemaking
resistance.
In planing
conditions one is
more or less

sailing on the bow

wave and one is
therefore a little
higher as at hull
speed, where one
is sailing in its
shoulder valley.
This Rise of the
boat must nut be
confused with the
lift a waterski
produces.
A waterski works
because the aft end
of the ski is
directed down,
thus deflecting the
water down, and
the ski up.
This waterski
effect is needed for
proper planing,
else the ship will
suck itself down,
like a tugboat that
has big engines,
but is directing the
water up at its
stern, and thus is
sucking the boat
down.

That is why some

small motorboats
have "Planing
flaps" below the
waterline.
This isto prevent
being sucked down
at planing speeds.

A catamaran, a
race row boat have
low curvature in
the length
direction, This
means all waves
will be low
compared to an
ordinary wide hull.
The wavemaking
resistance becomes
relative low, and
the peak at hull
speed is more hard
to notice.
Hull speed is not
limiting them as
much as on a
normal ship.
Some ships have
less pronounced
curvature when
heeling, what
results in less
wavemaking
resitance.

Resistance by
drift.
Especially when
close hauled the
boat is drifting,
making leeward.
This because the
sailing force is
more directed to
the side as
forward.
This result in the
boat not going

straight through
the water but under
an angle.

If one is making
much leeward way
a high drift
resistance occurs.
This is comparable
with the resistance
when using a lot of
rudder angle.
This because the
force directed to
the side is coming
a little into the
direction one sails.
Note the difference
between the
direction one sail
and the direction
where the bow is
pointed to.
In other words,
one needs a lot of
force to pull the
boat sideways
though the water.

To reduce this
resistance one
needs a big, well
shaped, deep, keel
to minimize the
sideways slip. A
relive deep keel
does the job better
as a shallow keel,
just as with the
sails.
A deep keel has
the disadvantage
that the point
where the
sideforce also
becomes deep,
resulting in more
heeling.
Often this is
compensated
because the weigh
of the keel is also
placed lower.
Ther is not much
one can do to tune
the keel, the only
thing is to keep it
clean, to prevent

flow separation.
The hull
sometimes also
helps preventing
drift.
Principle of
driftresistance
stays the same.

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