Advanced learning material on hull shape design?

Discussion in 'Boat Design' started by laukejas, Mar 29, 2025.

  1. Dolfiman
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    Dolfiman Senior Member

    1. Hull shape optimization for reduced resistance in displacement mode;
    For a sailboat, the main issue is the heeled hull drag versus the righting moment it provides : here the hull shape is of first importance, all other parameters being equal. And there is less published information on this issue, it lacks a compilation of the cumulative tests data and best advices on this. For example like the one of Jacques Fauroux, I quote : »When the boat heels, the centers of the area sections must form a spine that does not invert."

    For a sailing dinghy, the main issue is different : it is to deal with both the displacement and the planing modes, because the wind force and/or the wind angle and/or the weight and the hiking posture of the crew. Here again, the hull shape is of first importance. The main guideline in my opinion is : the more the planing mode is developing, the less the curvature (in the longitudinal view) of the hull shape remaining in contact with the water.

    2. Application of the fluid compression and particle deflection theory for hull design.
    CFD simulations are great, top naval architects use them but I think more to confirm and fine tune their design options than to discover new ones

    3. CAD techniques for creating parametric hull designs and linking them with CFD simulations.
    Parametric approach for hull designs, when it is discoupling of the geometrical input data and the adimensional parameters typical of a hull shape, can be powerful to go fast and safe in a new project.
     
  2. starcmr
    Joined: Jul 2021
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    starcmr Junior Member

    thank you so much for your suggestion
     
  3. CarlosK2
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    CarlosK2 Senior Member

    1. Hull shape optimization for reduced resistance in displacement mode
    ---

    Screenshot_2025-04-22-13-56-38-09_f90b96e7af3c5a594eb0c92de7fc5fe1.jpg

    Residual resistance in Displacement mode (Fn < 0.40) is a corner of a small corner.

    In this case, Total Drag (A16) is 845 Newtons

    Residual resistance (A23) is 81 Newtons ca. 10% Total Drag

    By completely destroying the design, we could perhaps, with a lot of luck, reduce it 10%, which would be 1% of the total. A narrow, dead-end street. And the Drive force (A15) would fall
     
  4. CarlosK2
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    CarlosK2 Senior Member

    Certainly to illustrate this i have chosen an exaggerated case: Upwind against 30 knots (at 10 meters high, TWS_10)
     
  5. CarlosK2
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    CarlosK2 Senior Member

    Ratios determine speed

    Downwind

    square meters of sail hoisted / Displacement

    Upwind

    square meters of sail hoisted / wetted area

    and

    Sailing carrying power: GZ / h

    h: vertical distance between the lateral force of the wind and the lateral force of the water

     
  6. CarlosK2
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    CarlosK2 Senior Member

    IMG_20250428_110039.jpg

    (Frank Bethwaite, High Performance Sailing)

    Back to the Question

    In Displacement Mode, the variable that can be adjusted is the bow angle.
     
  7. CarlosK2
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    CarlosK2 Senior Member

    ...

    Racing dinghies, Motorboats, Royal Navy destroyers from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the bikini and summer holidays in the Mediterranean ...

    are the cosmic forces that have destroyed the design of offshore sailing boats.
     
  8. CarlosK2
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    CarlosK2 Senior Member

    Back to the Question, 2

    Half of Frank Bethwaite's book is dedicated to the Wind

    Reading the Wind is The fundamental skill in a regatta/racing
     
  9. CarlosK2
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    CarlosK2 Senior Member

    The order of priorities

    1) Being able to read and understand the wind, a difficult skill that is key to racing

    2) A rig that produces force lower, at lower high (C1 and C2)

    3) A rig that can adapt and adjust/trim better to wind variations

    4) Reducing (A24) drag induced by the centerboard and rudder

    These are the four main topics
     
  10. CarlosK2
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    CarlosK2 Senior Member



    A extreme case of the big, very big Power and Versatility of a low "h"

    ---

    It seems absurd to make a sailboat from the hull of a rowboat ...

    and yet the combination of low wetted surface area and ability to lower "h" is a powerful and versatile combination
     
    Last edited: Apr 28, 2025
  11. BoothBoatworks
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    BoothBoatworks Junior Member

    This is spot on. We only use CFD when we are confident in fairness and shape of the hull form we are designing.
    CFD can be useful for analyzing appendages, steps, chines, etc. but it's only as good as the info you put into it and it definitely comes with a high computative cost.
     
    gonzo likes this.
  12. tdem
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    tdem Senior Member

    I'm no expert but I find the most insight comes from what designers write about their own designs. I think books, articles and interviews by and with people that have produced great designs are super valuable. The Bethwaite books are a good example, Bolger and the Atkins have great writing as well.
     
  13. tdem
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    tdem Senior Member

    If you want to take some "professional" courses navalapp looks very promising. https://navalapp.com/ . You can sign up for just the courses that interest you, but the modelling is focussed on Rhino (which is very popular for boat design). But it's not parametric software like SW. I don't think any software is going to answer the questions you have though.
     
  14. Doug Halsey
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    Doug Halsey Senior Member

    What's the meaning of subject #2?

    If you mean CFD calculations, both fluid compression and particle deflections are irrelevant.
     
  15. CarlosK2
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    CarlosK2 Senior Member

    Windex (1964-)

    https://windexdevelopment.com/product-category/products/

    The best invention since cold beer

    Zig - Zag Upwind

    We know there are three Upwinds: 25°, 30°, and 35° AWA

    A Windex vane and a magnetic compass to see if the wind is blowing us outward make a great team

    - ready to tack
    - tack (!)
     

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