Quadmaran

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BMP

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Purely hypothetical question:
What would happen if you took 2 canoe type hulls and put then inline attached to a "deck" so that they could pivot on their center thwarts but be held inline allowing them to follow the contours of the waves(i.e. in the trough the hulls make a "V" and on the crest they make an "A")?
How would you expect it to behave?
Would it change the hull speed of the vessel as compared to a solid or flexible hull of similar length?
 
All you are doing is adding drag, based on what you have described. There is no stated purpose for the moving hulls.
 
Thanks for the replies.

The nauti-craft boat is interesting. The hulls are side by side instead of tandem but it does show the benefit of flexibly mounted ridgid hulls.

The QE IV is exactly the configuration I was picturing, except that the hulls don't pivot. Interesting read about the development.

The possible benefit from a system like this could be increased speed as the forward hull(s) would say normal to the surface and avoid the need to climb their own bow waves. And in rough water they might have less tendency to dive into waves the way a rigid hull does. Also, if properly designed the vessel could survive having one hull completely destroyed.
The cost would be complexity, weight, and increases drag, and possibly the bad habit of chewing on unwary crew members.
 
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Here is a four hulled version by nauti-craft basically like I was asking about, only with active suspension.

Seems much more promising than I thought. Thanks
 
Appears to be a less bumpy ride, but maybe not as good as a SWATH?

"Hull speed" rules would appear to favor single longer hulls vs. multiple short hulls, for better efficiency and speed? Would the distance between 4 hulls have to be tuned and adjustable to different trailing distances depending on the amount of chop? Would the forward hulls introduce possibly unfavorable turbulent water ahead of the trailing hulls? Side by side measurements for long pontoon hulls vs. QE 4, (with equal submerged surface area) might be informative.
 
We don't know the answer to the question. The number of variables is enormous. How exactly should the boat be built? What other boat will we be comparing it to?
Same weight ? Will the cross-sections of the floats be the same? The total lengths of the floats should be the same as in a rigid catamaran, or just the LOAs should be the same?
The propulsion force is the same.
Perhaps there are wave conditions where the articulated boat will be faster.

edit 1. I forgot the size of the boats . edit2 Applied driving forces range.

I know Arctic Ant is a bit off topic but it reminded me of the work of floats.
 
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The computer controlled suspension boats will only be successful in commercial applications due to purchase cost and ongoing maintenance and repair costs. Gear in the recreational sector often receives poor maintenance after a honeymoon period, and these suspensions will need regular upkeep or it's just another power cat.
 
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