Physics:Wave-piercing hull

Short description: Hull with fine bow with reduced reserve buoyancy

MY Ady Gil in 2009

HMNZS Aotearoa

A wave-piercing boat hull has a very fine bow, with reduced buoyancy in the forward portions. When a wave is encountered, the lack of buoyancy means the hull pierces through the water rather than riding over the top, resulting in a smoother ride than traditional designs, and in diminished mechanical stress on the vessel. It also reduces a boat's wave-making resistance.

Design theory calls for very long thin hulls, so in practice most are multi-hulls such as catamarans and trimarans.

The main current usage areas are passenger ferries and naval ships.

See also

• Engineering:Axe bow – Wave-piercing type of a ship's bow
• Physics:Bulbous bow – Protruding bulb at the front of a ship
• HMAS Jervis Bay (AKR 45)
• HSV-2 Swift – Hybrid catamaran
• Engineering:Inverted bow – Bow whose farthest forward point is not at the top
• Norwegian Cruise Line Engineering:Project Leonardo-Class Cruise Ships
• Engineering:Tumblehome – Design element of ships and automobiles hull form
• Engineering:Type 22 missile boat – Ship class in the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy
• USS Independence (LCS-2): high-speed trimaran warship
• Engineering:Zumwalt-class destroyer – Stealth missile destroyer class of the US Navy