CHAPTER 44

Philippe Goubault and John Allison

Advanced Marine Surface Craft

44.1

DESCRIPTIONS

44.1.1

Mission

Advanced Marine Surface Craft are obviously

not destined to only one type of mission, but their
profile will typically include a need for higher speed
and greater seakeeping than can be achieved by
conventional means.
For military applications, missions of fast
patrol boats are most commonly found to use advanced
hullforms, while commercial applications encompass
high speed ferries.
44.1.1.1 Military Missions
Patrol boats are often required to operate
swiftly and present a significant and unpredictable
threat to larger vessels by carrying missiles or
torpedoes at high speed in coastal zones where
detection is more difficult than in open oceans. To
further these capabilities, patrol craft are increasingly
required to make use of stealth technologies.
In order to remain operational in rough
weather, these small craft are also required to offer
good seakeeping while maintaining speed. These
capabilities require the use of advanced hullform
concepts such as hydrofoil or Surface Effect Ships.
Larger vessels such as corvettes, also capable
of high speeds, have been considered for more
significant military missions such as anti-submarine
warfare, but have not been built yet for these missions.
44.1.1.2 Commercial Vessels
The common purpose of developing advanced
hullforms for commercial use has consistently been to
provide faster and/or more comfortable vessels to carry
passengers and cars. It is notable, however, that with
the growth in use of the generally more stable multihulls, combined with todays more capable collision
avoidance systems, there has been a significant
improvement in the safety of operation of these
vessels.
Most advanced hullforms are designed to have low
resistance at high-speed compared to conventional
(e.g., displacement) monohulls.
This is usually
achieved by reducing wetted surface by lifting the hull
entirely or partially out of the water. To achieve this,
hydrodynamic lift is used by hydrofoils and planing
44-1

hulls, while powered aerostatic lift is used by air

cushion vehicles and surface effect ships.
Aerodynamic lift is used by Wing-In-Ground
effect vehicles.
In some instances, the speed is high only
relatively speaking if, for example, the goal is to
maintain speed in a heavy sea. Small waterplane area
vessels are designed to provide a high comfort and
small added resistance in waves, but may not
necessarily be intended for speeds higher than that of
conventional vessels in calm water. Thus, their speed
can be relatively high when compared to conventional
craft in high sea states.
Passenger comfort on high-speed ferries is a
critical issue and is addressed by most hullforms
through the choice of vessel size and, in some
instances, through active means of controlling the
motions. Hydrofoils are the most extreme in this
regard since the craft is supported entirely by the foils,
which are actively controlled. Platforms such as
Surface Effect Ships have been fitted successfully with
active vent valves to regulate the cushion pressure and,
therefore, the motions. Trim tabs, T-foils and other
active ride control systems are now utilized on many
types of platforms to improve their seakeeping and
ride comfort.
The growth of high-speed ferries has also
been made possible by advances in propulsion plant
technology, as lightweight diesel engines and waterjet
propulsors have become more readily available in
larger sizes. Meanwhile, the use of gas turbine
propulsion for larger vessels has become acceptable to
operators who realize the benefit of a lightweight
propulsion plant in improving the deadweight capacity
and, therefore, revenue on such vessels.
One benefit of advanced hullforms is their
stability characteristics which are usually far superior
to that of conventional monohull ferries. This is
achieved with planing monohulls due their wide beam.
For multi-hulls and air cushion vehicles it is because of
their wide beam and high amount of reserve buoyancy
provided by the box structure.
Another characteristic found in most multihull car-ferries is that their car deck usually sits much
higher above the water than in conventional monohull
ferries, making flooding of this deck much less likely.
The few accidents in which advanced ferries
were involved only reinforced the point that they are

safer than conventional ferries. This, in the end, may

be the most important aspect which convinces ferry
operators to turn towards the advanced concepts
addressed in this Bulletin.
44.1.2 Unique Features
44.1.2.1 Vessel Lift
There are essentially four practical ways of
providing the fundamental lifting force for marine
vessels. These are hydrostatic lift or buoyancy,
hydrodynamic lift, aerodynamic lift and powered
aerostatic lift. These means of lift can be simply
represented through the use of the lift pyramid, Figure
44.1, which is usually shown as a simple triangle when

the aerodynamically supported craft (which are still

very few in the marine world) are excluded. Every
marine vehicle hullform investigated can be located in
the lift pyramid according to the type of lift by which it
is supported.
At the four corners of the pyramid are the
vessels which rely on a single mode of support. They
are as shown in Table 44.I. Any combination of the
four modes of support result in a hybrid vehicle. It is
to be noted that most high performance craft are
hybrids of some sort. Most high-speed vessels are
designed to benefit from some hydrodynamic lift even
if the vessel is not entirely supported by this means
alone.

HYDROSTATIC

MONO AND MULTI-HULL

DISPLACEMENT CRAFT
SWATH
SEMI-SWATH

WIG
AERODYNAMIC
SURFACE EFFECT SHIP

QUADRAMARAN
PLANING CRAFT

AIR CUSHION VEHICLE

HYDROFOIL

POWERED AEROSTATIC

HYDRODYNAMIC

Figure 44.1 - Lift Pyramid

TABLE 44.1 - THE FOUR PURE TYPES OF
HULLFORMS

Monohull: Semi-planing and Planing

Multi-Hulls:

Water
Air

Static

Dynamic

Hydrostatic
Aerostatic

Hydrodynamic
Aerodynamic

Catamarans: Displacement, Planing, Low Wash,

Wave-Piercer
Trimarans

44.1.2.2 Hull Shape

The shape of the hull itself is often what
characterizes a high-performance ferry. In the past
decade, the emergence of multi-hulls, especially
catamarans, has been significant. Such hullforms are
still most often conventional in that they are supported
by conventional displacement means and do not rely
on advanced means of lifting themselves out of the
water. In such case, the resistance may be reduced
instead by the use of fine sidehulls which cut
effortlessly through the water. Such fine hulls are not
suitable for monohulls as they would not provide
adequate stability in roll. This problem is alleviated
when used in a multi-hull configuration.
The following list delineates the hullforms
discussed in this chapter:
44-2

SWATH:
Hydrofoil:

And other small waterplane area

vessels (including Semi-SWATH)
Fully submerged or surface piercing
foils (Monohulls and Catamarans)
and HYSWAS (hybrid of hydrofoil
and small waterplane area singe hull)

Air Cushion Vehicle and SES

Wing-in-Ground-Effect Vehicles (WIGs)

SPECIFIC
ATTRIBUTES
AND
ISSUES
The following sections present a qualitative
discussion of the principal strengths and weaknesses
of each concept. The text provides an examination of
each type of platform and identifies the most suitable
types prior to examining vessels available on the
market. Only those aspects which are particularly
important to a given concept are discussed. Attributes
or issues that are not mentioned can be assumed to be
minor for the platform or comparable to others.
44.2.1

hydrostatic lift. These hullforms are typically of the

>

0.9

F
v

or

1/ 3

Volumetric

Froude

Number

> 3.0. Another characteristic of

planing hulls is the occurrence of complete flow

separation at the transom and the sides. There are
many variations of planing and semi-planing
monohulls which include; round bilge, hard chine,
double chine and stepped hulls. Cross sections of
some of these are illustrated by Figure 44-2.
State-of-the-Art Examples. Small combatant
ships and high-speed patrol craft of light displacement,
and round bilge have been used by the worlds navies
since the early 20th Century. For the most part, these
designs finally gave way to hard chine hullforms and
then to double chine hullforms. Most of todays
planing craft are of the hard chine type.
Recent developments have pushed the fast
ferry monohulls beyond the 100 meter mark due to the
trend towards larger capacity vessels. The principal
characteristics of a number of operating vessels are
shown in Table 44.II.
Figure 44.3 shows the
Aquastrada Guizzo in operation.

Monohulls

There are numerous types of monohulls;

displacement, semi-planing and planing, but this
bulletin looks only at the last two categories. The
technology associated with planing and semi-planing
monohulls is generally mature. Recent efforts in the
development of semi-planing monohulls, however,
have led to larger length-to-beam ratios, pushing highspeed designs toward long slender ships. These
monohulls can be considered advanced in that they are
pushing the limit of the state-of-the-art.
44.2.1.1 Planing Monohulls
A planing hull has the majority of its weight
supported by dynamic lift with the small remaining
part of the weight supported by buoyancy or

ROUND BILGE

gL

hard chine type with a Froude Number Fn

HARD CHINE

DOUBLE CHINE

Figure 44.2 - Types of Planing Monohulls

TABLE 44.II - PLANING MONOHULLS
Characteristics
Length, m
Beam, m
Draft, m
Hull Depth, m
Power, MW
Displacement, t
Speed, kts
Passengers
Cars (or Buses + Cars)

Guizzo
(Aquastrada)
101.8
14.5
2.12
9.5
27.93
1034
41
450
126

Albayzin
(Mestral)
96.2
14.6
2.1
8.9
21.6
946
35
450
84

44-3

NVG Asco
(Corsaire)
102
15.4
2.4
5.2
24
1100
37
500
148 (4 + 108)

MDV 1200
Pegasus
100
17.1
2.75
10.7
27.5
1200 est.
38
800
175 (6 + 106)

Figure 44.3 - Aquastrada

Specific Attributes. Planing and semi-planing
monohull technology is mature.
Many
designers and shipyards have experience
designing and building these vessels.
Construction of these hullforms is
relatively simple.
Large useable volume in the transom area
available for machinery plant and propulsor
integration and access.
Large deadweight capacity combined with
relatively high speeds.
Due to their maturity, there are numerous
operating vessels from which a wealth of
operational statistics are available.
Specific Issues. Roll stability is usually an issue for
displacement monohulls, but not for typical
planing monohulls due to their wide beam.
The trend toward high length-to-beam ratios
brings to light concerns about static and
dynamic roll stability in turns.
Typically, power plants and propulsors of
high output are necessary to achieve high speeds.
Growth in size of such vessels is limited by the need
to operate at high enough speed to be in the planing
or semi-planing regime.
Heave and pitch motions and vertical
accelerations of planing and semi-planing vessels
may be severe at high speed in rough water. Thus,
size may need to be larger than necessary for the
ridership, lowering the deadweight to displacement
ratio. However, active ride control has been shown
to help in this regard.
Hull bottom slamming is also an issue for
planing monohulls, both from a passenger comfort
and from a structural design point of view.
44.2.2

Multi-Hulls

Four different types of multi-hulled vessels are

described in this bulletin.
The two general
categories from which the four types were derived
are catamarans and trimarans. Further dividing the
catamaran category into three subcategories yields
the following; conventional (round bilge or hard
chine), wave-piercing and low wash (usually with

44-4

round-bilge types). Typical hull cross sections are

illustrated by Figure 44.4. The use of multi-hulls in
marine transport has rapidly increased in the last ten
years mainly due to the large gain in arrangeable
deck area and advantages in powering and
seakeeping over a monohull of the same
displacement The multi-hull concept is usually
retained in order to allow the use of slender hulls
while maintaining adequate stability. The concept is
now being extended to an ever increasing number of
hulls (up to the pentamaran concept, for example).
44.2.2.1 Conventional Catamaran
A catamaran is a twin hulled vessel which
uses the separation of slender hulls to gain low drag
with acceptable transverse stability. The twin hulls
are typically symmetric, but can be asymmetric.
The hull shape can be of a round bilge type or with
hard chines depending upon the design speed.
State-of-the-Art Examples. Numerous catamarans
are in commercial operation.
The
characteristics of four representative vessels
are shown in Table 44-3. The top speed and
size of these catamarans have continued to
increase mainly due to the improvements in
propulsion packages. Figure 44-5 shows a
recent example of the state-of-the-art,
DELPHIN, an Auto Express 82 in operation.
Specific Attributes. Due to the twin hulls and the
separation between them, the catamaran has
good inherent intact and damage stability as
demonstrated in recent accidents including the
St. Malo incident, April 17, 1995.
Large arrangeable deck area due to
separation of hulls (allows, in particular, to turn cars
around for car ferries).
Hulls are large enough aft to allow
integration of waterjet propulsion and suitable for
in-hull machinery arrangements.

ROUND BILGE

HARD CHINE

WAVE-PIERCER

Figure 44.4 - Typical Multi-Hulled Vessels

Table 44.III - Conventional Catamarans
Characteristics
Length, m
Beam, m
Draft, m
Hull Depth, m
Power, mW
Displacement, t
Speed, kts
Passengers
Cars (or Buses + Cars)

Hai Chang
(Austal)
40
11.5
1.4
N/A
4
N/A
32
338
None

Juan Patrico
(INCAT K55)
70.4
19.5
2.15
5.65
21.24
383 est.
45
294
53

Westmaran
4200S
42.23
10
1.6
N/A
4
N/A
35
230
None

Figure 44.5 - DELPHIN, Auto Express 82

44-5

Delphin
(Auto Express 82 m
82.3
23
2.5
6.5
24.0
1100 est.
37.5
600
175 (10 + 50)

Due to the slenderness ratio of the hulls, they

are of low drag, therefore, a catamaran has high
performance capabilities. There are numerous vessels
operating from which good operational statistics can
be developed.
Specific Issues The wide beam of
catamarans (or any multi-hull) may cause difficulty in
accessing some port facilities for which they have not
been designed.
Structural weight fraction is high due to
cross-structure and connections to the hulls.
Catamarans may experience high vertical
accelerations and pitch motions in head seas.
Catamarans also are very stable in roll, but because of
this they may produce high lateral accelerations in
beam seas.
Performance is sensitive to hull separation,
therefore, the wave interaction between hulls needs to
be investigated.
Slamming of wet-deck could occur if its
height over the waterline is not sufficient for the seas
encountered on the route.

44.2.2.2 Wave Piercing Catamarans

The increasing need for high-speed marine
transport coupled with the fact that passengers often
experience discomfort on open ocean or exposed
routes on conventional catamarans, created a void
which the wave-piercer was developed to fill. Again,
this hull form has twin hulls, but they are long and
slender with minimal freeboard and little buoyancy in
the bow section. This configuration allows the bows
to cut or pierce the waves reducing the tendency of the
vessel to contour or ride over the waves, thus
providing lower pitch motions and accelerations, while
carrying similar deadweight. It should be noted that
some wave-piercers have a third half hull or bow
forward. The hull does not provide buoyancy to allow
increased deadweight, but does help mitigate wave
slap and slam loads on the cross-structure while
operating in a sea state.
State-of-the-Art Examples Wave-piercing catamarans
were introduced in the early 1980s with the
INCAT 28 m as the first to operate on a
commercial route. Since then, several companies
have developed their own approach to this type
of design, the characteristics of three of which are
shown in Table 44-4. A photo of the INCAT 78m CONDOR 11 wave-piercers is shown in
Figure 44.6.
TABLE 44.IV -WAVE-PIERCING CATAMARANS

Characteristics
Length, m
Beam, m
Draft, m
Hull Depth, m
Power, mW
Displacement, t
Speed, kts
Passengers
Cars (Buses + Cars)

Condor 11
(INCAT 78 m)
77.5
26
3.4
7.2
17.28
785
35
600
150 (6 + 90)

Hayabusa
(AMD 1500)
99.78
20
3.10
12.6
18.96
2200
30
460
94 (24)

Surf Express
(Gold Coast)
31.7
9.8
1.35
N/A
2.6
61.1
35
128
--

Figure 44.6 - CONDOR 11, INCAT 78 m Wave-piercer

Specific Attributes Heave and pitch motions and
44-6

accelerations are reduced while in head seas due

to wave-piercing action of sidehulls. Due to the
twin hulls and the separation between them, the
vessel has good inherent intact and damage
stability. They have large useable deck area due
to separation of hulls.
Hulls remain large enough aft to allow
integration of waterjets and propulsion machinery.
Due to slenderness of the hulls, they are
efficient, therefore, have high performance capability.
Due to their recent success, there are
numerous operating vessels from which good
operational statistics can be developed.
Specific Issues Construction is more difficult than with
conventional catamarans due to the structural
complexity of the forward hulls. The transition
area from wave-piercing bow to the more typical
cross-section in way of the cross-deck starting
point is very structurally complex. Although the
structure is more complex, the structural weight
fraction is similar to that of a conventional
catamaran.
The wide beam of wave-piercer catamarans is
also an issue where ports are not designed to harbor
such vessels.
High roll or lateral accelerations or lateral
jerky motions in beam seas can also be experienced
by wave-piercer catamarans due to their inherently
high lateral stability. Active ride control has proven to
be effective in controlling such effects.

44.2.2.3 Low-Wash Catamaran

Due to increasing global environmental awareness, the
low-wash or low-wake catamaran hullform is
becoming increasingly popular for inland or sheltered
routes, e.g., rivers or estuaries. The hulls are generally
symmetric with rounded sections and a high length-tobeam ratio providing lower wake profiles.
State-of-the-Art Examples Low-wash vessels are
typically in a size range that is smaller than the
conventional and wave-piercing catamarans since
they are typically designed to operate in restricted
waters. Due to the relative newness of these
designs there are only a few operating vessels,
the leading particulars of some of which are
shown in Table 44.V. Two of the NQEA low
wash catamarans are shown in Figure 44.7.
Specific Advantages Although top speed is limited due
to the need to maintain the wave-making
properties of the hull, these vessels can operate at
a higher speed in low wake areas than most
conventional or advanced marine vehicles.
Hull forms are designed for a low-wake
profile, therefore, they are very energy efficient and
have low resistance properties.
Typically, operating on congested inland
waters, these vessels are designed to have good control
and maneuverability.

TABLE 44.V - LOW-WASH CATAMARANS

Characteristics
Length, m
Beam, m
Draft, m
Power, MW
Speed, kts
Passengers
Cars

Thames Class (FBM)

23
5.7
0.75
0.506
25
62
None

Castelo (FBM TransCat)

44
11.8
1.4
1.896
25
496
None

Figure 44.7 - NQEA Low-Wash Catamarans

44-7

Low-Wash (NQEA)
35
10.5
1.35
0.746
24
200
None

Due to the twin hulls and the separation

between them, the vessel has good inherent intact and
damage stability.
Again they have large useable deck area due
to separation of hulls.
Hulls remain large enough aft to allow
integration of waterjets and propulsion machinery.
Specific Issues Since these vessels are designed to
operate in restricted water, they typically have a
low wet-deck clearance and would be subject to
slamming as well as deck wetness and high
accelerations, if operated in open waters.
They are of relatively light density and may
prove difficult, therefore, to apply tgo car carrying
ferries.
Higher speeds than those demonstrated (e.g.,
about 25 to 30 kts) may be difficult to achieve while
maintaining their low wake capabilities.

Trimarans are basically very slender

monohulls fitted with small sidehulls or outriggers to
provide them with sufficient lateral stability. The more
recently proposed pentamaran concept operates on the
same principle.
A proper balance between the
slenderness ratio of the main hull and the size and
separation of the sidehulls is needed to ensure a net
benefit from a speed powering viewpoint. Note that
some vessels like the wave-piercing catamarans and
the tricat may look like trimarans, but really are
catamarans as the third central hull is normally not in
contact with the water. (Their third hull only provides
additional buoyancy when encountering large waves.)
State-of-the-Art Examples While trimarans have been
around for centuries, only recently has there been
interest in pursuing trimarans as viable options
for ferry hullforms. The appearance in 1988, of
the Ilan Voyager aroused interest in the trimaran
concept. There has also been interest shown by
the UK and U.S. navies including several
prominent shipyards, in investigating the use of a
displacement trimaran hullform for frigates and
corvette size warships. This has also lead to
designs for larger (~100 m) trimaran
passenger/car ferries. Some of the few operating
trimarans are shown in Table 44.VI. Figure 44.8
shows the Thames River Ferry in operation.

44.2.2.4 Trimarans
TABLE 44.VI - TRIMARAN PASSENGER VESSELS
Characteristics
Length, m
Beam, m
Draft, m
Power, MW
Displacement, t
Speed, kts
Passengers
Cars (Buses + Cars)

Ilan Voyager
21.3
10
1.1
0.18
4.5
24
12
None

Lay Consultants,
Thames River Ferry
17.5
5.5
0.8
0.35
15
20
60
None

Figure 44.8 - Thames River Ferry

Specific Attributes Highly efficient hullform allowing
44-8

higher speed or lower installed power. Sidehulls

can easily provide adequate intact and damage
stability characteristics.
They also have large useable deck area due to
separation of hulls.
Good seakeeping qualities in all but
quartering seas. Good directional stability.
Specific Issues Interest in this concept for large
vessels, such as ferries, is recent and there is, as
of yet, very little design and operational
experience.
Structurally complex due to cross structures
and outer hulls (lack of design experience entails some
risk).
Maneuvering is poor unless outer hulls are
large enough for propulsion units to be located within
them.
Quartering seas cause problems for both
seakeeping and directional stability. There is a
tendency for the vessels to corkscrew.
Depending on the vessel, the utility of the outer hulls is
generally limited.
44.2.3

Lockheed in the USA has developed a similar concept

using four hulls that they refer to as the SLICE
concept.
44.2.3.1 SWATH (Small Waterplane Area Twin
Hull)
As mentioned above, the basic idea of the
SWATH concept is to reduce the action of the waves
on the vessel by reducing the waterplane area to the
minimum. Waves act on a ship primarily through their
intersection with the waterplane. As depth below the
surface of the water increases, the motions of the water
due to surface waves decreases sharply. The buoyancy
of a SWATH is concentrated in two large underwater
bodies which, because of their depth below the water
surface, are much less subject to the action of waves
while the accommodations are concentrated in a
platform high above the water. Narrow (knife-like)
struts link the underwater body(ies) to the platform.
Because waves impart energy to a ship via the area of
the hull which intersects the water surface (waterplane
area), the reaction of a vessel to waves is directly
proportional to the size of its waterplane area.
Therefore, reducing the waterplane area minimizes
motions due to waves.

Small Waterplane Area Vessels

Three types of small waterplane area vessels

can be defined. The SWATH (twin hulls) was the first
concept using reduced waterplane area, which is aimed
at decoupling the vessels motions from surface waves.
Two recent developments in the small waterplane area
hullform include the recently introduced semi-SWATH
which is derived from a SWATH and conventional
catamaran hulls and the developmental/prototype
HYSWAS which is a combination of a small
waterplane single hull and hydrofoils, see Figure 44.9.
The HYSWAS is discussed in more detail under the
subject of Hydrofoil Craft later in Section 3.5.
French and German companies have also developed
low water-plane concepts using three hulls, while

State-of-the-Art Examples Some fairly large SWATH

vessels (3000 to 5000 ton displacement) are in
operation for military and oceanographic
missions.
The largest SWATH, the 11,000 ton cruise
vessel Radisson Diamond shows that there are
essentially no limits to the size of the concept.
However, all of these larger vessels have relatively low
speed capability (e.g., less than 15 kts).
A number of high-speed passenger vessels are
in operation. The characteristics of these are shown in
Table 44-7. Figure 44-10 shows the CLOUD X ready
for launching.

FWD

SWATH

AFT

SEMI-SWATH

HYSWAS

Figure 44.9 - Typical Small Waterplane Area Vessels

TABLE 44.VII - SWATH PASSENGER VESSELS

44-9

Characteristics
Length, m
Beam, m
Draft, m
Power, MW
Displacement, t
Speed, kts
Passengers
Cars (Buses + Cars)

SSC 40
44
16
3.5
8
N/A
30.6
410
None

FBM Atlantic Class

37
13
2.7
4.1
180
31.7
400
None

Navatek 1
44
16
2.5
2
N/A
18
440
None

Cloud X
37
18
3.4
5.7
340
30
365
None

Figure 44.10 - CLOUD X, SWATH

Specific Attributes Seakeeping is the number one
attribute for SWATH. These vessels can maintain
speed in heavy seas where most vessels would
have reduced speed or could not operate at all.
The useable deck space is usually greater than
monohulls of comparable displacement as the motions
are low essentially anywhere on the ship. Some of the
most successful applications have been for dinnercruise ferries.
Specific Issues The narrow struts sometimes make
access to and integration of the machinery plant
difficult.
The top speed achievable by SWATH vessels
remains limited as the wetted surface, unlike most advanced hullforms, is increased rather than reduced.
Also, the narrow transom makes it unsuitable for
waterjet propulsion in most cases.
Damaged stability may become an issue for
SWATH ships as their reserve buoyancy is located
high in the ship.
The operating draft, heel and trim of SWATH
vessels are more sensitive to overloading than is the
case with conventional catamarans due to the low
waterplane area of the struts. Control of fixed weight
is very important to ensure that the vessel is
44-10

continuously operated close to its design draft and

trim.
SWATH vessels have a large draft when
compared with other vessels of similar displacement.
SWATH vessels, as a result of the sensitivities
mentioned above, usually require active control of trim
and heel.
44 2.3.2 Semi-SWATH
A semi-SWATH is a hybrid of the forward
half of a SWATH and the aft end of a conventional
catamaran. The combination results in vessels with
nearly equal seakeeping to that of regular SWATH
vessels, but with far superior speed/powering
performance.
As a result of the catamaran type stern, the
semi-SWATH concept also allows the integration of
waterjet propulsion, which is usually the preferred
choice for high-speed ferries.
State-of-the-Art Examples The first and largest semiSWATH in operation is the Stena HSS 1500 with a
displacement of about 4000 ton and a deadweight of
1500 tons. This vessel is shown in Figure 44-11.
The leading particulars of a number of
vessels which are in the construction stage, or have
recently been delivered, are shown in Table 44.VIII.

Specific Attributes The principal attribute of a semiSWATH vessel is its seakeeping combined with a
relatively low resistance even to fairly high
speeds (40+ knots).
The catamaran-like aft sections are more
suitable for machinery arrangement and especially for
integrating waterjet propulsion.
Like a SWATH, semi-SWATH vessels offer a
great deal of arrangeable deck space.
Specific Issues Although not quite as sensitive as
SWATH vessels, semi-SWATH vessels are
somewhat sensitive to overloading and trim. The
small waterplane of the forward section makes it
more sensitive, in particular, to forward trim.
However, this concept is fairly new and more
operational experience is needed to assess its
future.
44.2.4

Hydrofoil Craft

44.2.4.1 Conventional Hydrofoil Craft

Hydrofoil craft have been around since the
late 1800s with major advancements only occurring in
the last half century mirroring that of the aerospace
industry.
These advances have allowed the
development of reliable and efficient hydrofoils to be
built and put into profitable service.
Recent
advancements have allowed for a departure from the
typical monohull hydrofoil to catamaran hydrofoils,
both of which are discussed in this chapter.
The hulls of hydrofoil craft are lifted out of
the water by either surface-piercing or fully
submerged foil systems. These systems are illustrated
in Figure 44-12. Both types of foil systems are
prevalent in military and commercial operations
throughout the world. The surface-piercing foil
system is self-stabilizing with regard to hull height and
attitude above the water. Thus, they will cause the
vessel to respond to surface waves in pitch, heave and
roll and require more limited sea-state operational
restrictions. The fully submerged hydrofoil,

Figure 44.11 - Stena HSS 1500, Semi-SWATH

Table 44.8 - Semi-SWATH Passenger Vessels
Characteristics
Length, m
Beam, m
Draft, m
Hull Depth, m
Power, MW
Displacement, t
Speed, kts ROUND BILGE
Passengers
Cars (Cars + Buses)

Stena HSS 1500

Stena HS 900
124
88
40
28
4.5
3.7
13
12.6
70
34
4000 est.
1650 est.
44
40
HARD CHINE
1500
900
375 (50 + 100)
212 (10 + 154)

Seajet 250
76
23
3.4
8.05
30
890 est.
DOUBLE CHINE 44
450
120

44-11
SURFACE PIERCING

FULLY SUBMERGED

HYDROFOIL CATAMARAN

Figure 44.12 - Surface Piercing and Fully Submerged Hydrofoils

Table 44.IX - Hydrofoil Passenger Vessels
Characteristics
Boeing Jetfoil 929-100
RHS-160F
Kometa-MT
Length, m
27.4
31.2
35.1
Beam, m*
9.5
6.7(12.6)
(11)
Draft, m**
5 (-)
3.76 (1.7)
3.6 (1.7)
Hull Depth, m
---Power, MW
5.534
2.8
1.64
Displacement, t
110
91.5
58.9
Speed, kts
42
34.5
31
Passengers
190
238
102
(*) The number in parenthesis is the foil width for surface-piercing hydrofoils.
(**) The draft indicated is the hullborne and (foilborne) draft.

Foilcat
35
12
4.7 (2.55)
4.2
8.95
150 est.
45
403

Figure 44.13 - Jetfoil at Speed in a Seaway

is not self-stabilizing and requires an active control
system. Since, in this situation, the hull is nearly
decoupled from the water surface, craft with fully
submerged foils are not as limited by sea-state and
provide a very comfortable ride. The hullform used is
usually a monohull or a catamaran. Since the hull lifts
out of the water, the hull shape has only a second order
importance. However, the hull needs to be designed to
minimize resistance while accelerating through the
take-off hump and a hard-chine planing hull is usually
preferred.
Also, the hull needs to be able to
structurally withstand wave impact in heavy seas and
44-12

an emergency landing without damage due to

slamming.State-of-the-Art Examples
There are numerous military and commercial craft in
operation throughout the world.
The leading
particulars of some of these are shown in Table 44-9.
One of the most famous hydrofoils, the Boeing Jetfoil,
is shown in Figure 44-13.
Specific Attributes

High speed is possible once foilborne due to low

wetted areas and high lift-to-drag ratio achieved.

vessels as wetted area is reduced, while keeping the

positive attributes of small waterplane area.

Good seakeeping and low motions for the fully

submerged hydrofoils with almost no degradation of
speed with respect to sea state. These craft are also
highly maneuverable at speed.

State-of-the-Art

Surface-piercing hydrofoils can use a more

conventional hull and propulsion system similar to
those on planing monohulls.
Specific Issues
Deadweight is limited because foils support the entire
weight of the vessel. Thus, these vessels may only be
used effectively in passenger ferry service. It should
be noted that there are numerous naval applications for
these hullforms, but, in all cases, the concept is not
efficient in very large size applications.
Since the hull is lifted a significant distance out of the
water with the fully-submerged hydrofoil concept, the
integration of the propulsion system is complex.
Waterjets or propellers may be used, but, in the
foilborne mode of operation, propellers are generally
more efficient. Additionally, a second propulsion
system for hullborne operations is often required.
These are high cost platforms due to these complexities combined with the automatic flight-control system
required for the foils.
Construction is difficult due to structural complexities
of attaching the foils to the hull and designing a hull of
minimum weight, to take the applicable environmental
loads especially slamming loads during emergency
landing.
Surface-piercing hydrofoil craft are much less
expensive, but operation is limited to coastal or
partially protected routes. They sometimes employ
active ride control systems to ameliorate motions due
to the wave-foil interaction.
b)

HYSWAS

Description
The
Hydrofoil Small Waterplane Area Ship
(HYSWAS) concept is a hybrid between the SWATH
and Hydrofoil concepts. A single hull with a small
waterplane area and a large underwater body is fitted
with a fully-submerged foil system to provide partial
lift as well as active control (especially in roll).
This concept is intended to improve speed/powering
characteristics compared to conventional SWATH

44-13

There are no operational HYSWAS yet, but some

prototypes show great promise and are delineated in
Table 44-10. Plans for large vessels capable of
carrying 1000 tons deadweight are being considered as
part of Japans Techno-Superliner program
The
prototype TSL-F for this program is shown in Figure
44-14.
Table 44-10
HYSWAS Vessels
Characteristics
Length, m
Beam, m
Draft, m
Hull Depth, m
Power, mW
Displacement, t
Speed, kts

TSL-F Prototype
17.1
6.2
3.1/1.6
Unknown
2.8
38
41

Sea Quest
8.2
3.7
3.0/?
4.0
0.6
12
35

Specific Attributes
HYSWAS offers a good combination of high-speed
and excellent seakeeping.
The foils act to unwet the underside of the platform
and a significant part of the strut linking the platform
to the underwater body. They also provide the means
of actively controlling the vessels motions, especially
in roll.
Small wake when foilborne.
Specific Issues
HYSWAS machinery installation poses the same
challenges as with SWATH vessels; the narrow struts
make the installation and access to the machinery
difficult.
Craft stability at speed is entirely dependent upon the
control of the foils, as for hydrofoil craft having fullysubmerged foils. Control at low speed is more of a
challenge.
Foilborne speeds are relatively high, thus extrapolation
to large vessels would require targeting very high
speeds (60+ kts) and large propulsion plants.
The vessels have relatively deep draft, while off foils.

Figure 44-14. TSL-F HYSWAS

44.2.5

Hovercraft

a)

Air Cushion Vehicles (ACVs)

the vehicle, is usually provided by dedicated lift fans.

Propulsion is usually provided by air propellers.
The platforms reduced contact with the water results in
low resistance at high speed.

Description
State-of-the-Art Examples
Air Cushion Vehicles are essentially hovercraft with
rectangular platforms supported by a cushion of
pressurized air, the escape of which is impeded by
flexible skirts attached around the whole periphery of
the platform, as illustrated in Figure 44-15. The
pressurized air, which supports 100% of the weight of

44-14

Most air cushion vehicles being built today are for

military use, but the SRN.4 has been a very successful
car ferry for more than 28 years. This vehicle is
shown in Figure 44-16. Smaller passenger ferries are
also available on the market (see Table 44-11).

Figure 44-15. Air Cushion Vehicle (ACV)

Figure 44-16. The Venerable SRN.4

Table 44-11 - Air Cushion Vehicles
Characteristics
SRN.4 Mk3
AP.1-88
LCAC*
Length, m
56.4
24.4
26.8
Beam, m
23.2
11.0
14.3
Draft, m
0
0
0
Cushion Depth, m
1.5
1.37
1.5
Power, MW
11.3
1.4
11.8
Displacement, t
300
40.8
154
Speed, kts
65
50
50
Passengers
418
101
*
Cars (Buses + Cars)
60
0
*
* Note the Landing Craft, Air Cushion (LCAC) is a U.S. Navy Amphibious Assault Landing Craft.
Specific Attributes

Specific Issues

The principal specific attribute of the ACV is

its amphibious capability which enables it to operate
from a variety of unprepared beaches and with
minimal terminal facilities.

To maintain its amphibious capability, air propellers

are used for propulsion. The high cost and low
efficiency of air propellers compared to marine
propulsors in this application is an issue. There is also
a high noise level generated by such propellers which
could cause problems for operating on certain routes.

The amphibious capability also enables them to

operate in shallow waters, even over sand banks, and
over marsh land or various types of terrain inaccessible
by conventional means. This, in some instances, can
significantly reduce the time in transit by reducing the
length of a route.
The air cushion allows these craft to operate efficiently
at high-speed (50+ kts) as it considerably reduces
frictional resistance.
44-15

Since the lift power is dictated by the overall weight of

the vehicle, lightweight (aerospace) technology is
usually required, thus making the price of ACVs high
compared to other types of advanced marine vehicles.
The inflatable skirts used to contain the cushion of
pressurized air are subject to significant wear when
used at high speed and, particularly, when operating

over land. Their maintenance is, therefore, a specific

issue that must be adequately planned and addressed
by an operator.

The ACVAS is a hovercraft that is very similar to a

conventional ACV, but is fitted with skegs at the aft
end of each side skirt in order to give it a foothold in
the water for (more efficient) marine propulsion.

Directional stability can be a problem.

State-of-the-Art Examples
Air-cooled engines are most often required as there is
no connection with the water.
The low length-to-beam ratio required for stability
reasons results in high hump drag, thus ACVs are
suitable mostly for high-speed operations or posthump operations.

This concept is still in the development stage. There

are no production craft on the market, but some
developmental prototypes and designs exist. The
characteristics of one of these is shown in Table 44-12.
A photo of this same craft is shown in Figure 44-17.
Table 44.12 -ACVAS Vessel

Long exposure to the cobblestone like motions of

ACVs can generate fatigue for their riders although
they do not result as much in sea sickness as do the
lower frequency motions of a conventional vessel.
b)

ACV With Aft Skegs (ACVAS)

Description

Specific Attributes
The concept has low frictional resistance due to the
air cushion, as for conventional ACVs although this
is tempered by the presence of the skegs. Compared
to an ACV, the ACVAS benefits from its foot in the
water as it can be fitted with marine propellers or
waterjets for propulsion, with a far greater
propulsive efficiency than air propellers and
reduced noise as a result.

Sumidagawa
Length, m
20.0
Beam, m
7.9
Draft, m
0.5
Hull Depth, m
3.7
Power, mW
0.8
Speed, kts
30
Passenger
80
Another benefit of the access to the water is the use
of water-cooled engines instead of air-cooled
engines for propulsion power.
Specific Concerns
The ACVAS looses the amphibious capability of the
pure ACV although it can still operate in shallow
water, particularly, if waterjets are used.
The concept is still at a developmental stage, but
shows great promise.
Other comments applicable to ACVs also apply
here.

44-16

Figure 44-17. Sumidagawa ACVAS During Operations

c)

Surface Effect Ship

As with ACVs, the SES concept aims at reducing

friction drag by reducing the wetted surface of the hull.

Description
Table 44.13 - SES Vessels
A Surface Effect Ship (SES) is a hovercraft that
combines the twin rigid sidehulls of a catamaran with
the flexible seals of an ACV fore and aft to contain,
beneath the platform, a cushion of pressurized air.
This cushion supports typically 80% or more of the
weight of the craft and results in a significant reduction
in resistance at high speeds. A sketch of the concept is
shown in Figure 44-18.
State-of-the-Art Examples
The first SESs appeared some 35 years ago and a fairly
large number of SES passenger ferries are now in
operation around the world.
The principal
characteristics of three of these are shown in Table 4413.
The largest SES built to-date is a 70-m prototype built
by Mitsubishi and Mitsui for the Techno-Superliner
program, shown in Figure 44-19.
Plans for large cargo/container vessels up to 5000 tons
of deadweight are also being considered.
Specific Attributes

44-17

Characteristics
UT928
HM 527
TSLA-70
Length, m
38
27
70
Beam, m
12
10
19
Draft, m
2.6/1.0
2.6/1.7
3.5/1.1
Power, mW
5.1
2.7
30
Displacement, t
150
87
Unknown
Speed, kts
48
36
54
Passengers
350
200
None*
* Prototype, designed to carry 200 t deadweight.
Like the ACVAS, the contact with the water allows the
use of marine propellers or waterjets as well as water
cooled engines.
The sidehulls also provide the SES with lateral
stability.
This allows higher length-to-beam
configurations than ACVs which result in a greater
flexibility for operating efficiently at medium speeds
(lower hump drag).
SES are, therefore, suitable for a wide range of speeds,
but particular so for high speeds (>40 kts).

Figure 44-18. Surface Effect Ship (SES)

Figure 44-19. TSLA 70 Surface Effect Ship

Specific Issues

the lower frequency motions usually encountered on

conventional vessels.

The added complexity and maintenance of lift fans, lift

engines and end seals is often viewed as a penalty
compared to what can be achieved with simpler
catamarans, but those need to be traded against the
much higher speed/power performance offered by
SES.
Although the flexible skirts used at both ends of the
cushion are much smaller than on fully skirted ACVs,
their maintenance is still an important consideration
for an operator.
Very long exposure to the cobblestone like motions
of an SES may generate fatigue for the rider although
they are not quite as prone to generate seasickness as
44-18

44.2.6

Wing-in-Ground Effect (WIG) Craft

A WIG, wingship or ekranoplan is an aircraft which

takes advantage of the fact that a wing, operating in
close proximity to the ground or water surface, will
experience a reduction in lift-induced drag. However,
during one cycle of operation, a WIG encompasses
three corners of the lift pyramid. At taxi it is a
displacement vessel, at take-off and landing it is a
planing craft and then a power augmented ram wing
and, finally, during cruise it is an aircraft in ground
effect, a purely aerodynamic vehicle. A WIG may also
operate at higher altitudes to circumvent traffic or
small land masses for short periods of time. The ram

wing and channel flow wing craft are hybrid vehicles

which use aerodynamic lift to achieve high speeds. It
is essentially a low-aspect ratio wing with the trailing
edge virtually touching the surface and endplates
sealing the wing tips to the surface. Both the WIG and
ram wing types are described in this bulletin.

applications of WIGs are presently being considered in

Germany, Japan, France and the United States. The
characteristics of some examples of WIGs are shown
in Table 44-14. It should be noted that, except for the
Ekranoplan shown in Figure 44-21, none of these craft
have been operated commercially.

a)

Specific Attributes

WIGs

Description
WIGS are generally a mix between a seaplane hull and
low aspect ratio wings which have been shown to
obtain efficient speeds up to 400 kts within ground
effect. When in the cruise mode, no part of the vessel
is in contact with the water as illustrated in Figure 4420. Although the beneficial effects of ground effect on
the lift-to-drag ratio of aircraft have been observed
since the Wright Brothers, WIG specific research and
development has only really occurred within the last
30 years. Most of this research was done in Russia
and has only recently been released.

The ability of the WIG to fully leave the surface of the

water allows it to operate in the aircraft speed regime
which is, at a minimum, twice that of the typical highspeed marine craft.
Specific Issues
There are no commercially operated WIGs. They are
basically still in the demonstration stage, although the
western world has greatly benefited from the research
and development accomplished in the former Soviet
Union.
Because WIGs are very similar to aircraft, their
structure and mechanical systems are of higher
complexity than the structure of a typical marine craft.

State-of-the-Art Examples
Following the opening of the iron curtain, a flood of
information about Russian ekranoplans hit the western
world. This information has shown that it is physically
possible to build and operate a large WIG such as the
Caspian Sea Monster. One of the more notable
achievements in the use of ground effect was the 1929
flight of the German DoX Flying Boat across the
Atlantic within ground effect. Some commercial

WIGS are operationally limited by sea states and

winds for take-off and landing.
Numerous regulatory issues would need to be
addressed prior to implementation of these craft as
passenger carrying vehicles.

Figure 44-20. Wing-in-Ground Effect Craft

44-19

Figure 44-21. A.90.150 Ekranoplan in Flight

Table 44-14 - WIG Vehicles

Characteristics
TAF VIII-5
A.90.150 Ekranoplan
Length, m
19.8
58
Beam, m*
8.5
31.5
Power, mW**
1.2
11.0
Displacement, t
9.2
125
Speed, kts
95
216
Passengers
15
150
(*) The beam indicated designates the wing span of the WIG.
(**) The power indicated is the cruise power only.

b)

Ram and Channel Flow Wing Craft

Description
Operating Ram wing or Channel Flow wing craft are
not truly aerodynamic craft, but are supported by a
combination of hydrostatic, hydrodynamic and
aerodynamic forces. These craft also tend to by multihulled vessels using the cross deck structure as the
wing and the hulls to cap the wings. A ram wing
operates by creating dynamic overpressure on the
bottom side of the wing to increase the lift-to-drag
ratio when at operational speed. The channel flow
wing operates similar to a WIG in that the trailing end
of the wing is open.

The theory behind ram and channel flow wing craft is

not new. Applications have included very high-speed
catamarans (>100 kts) used in offshore power boat
racing. Only recently has there been any commercial
applications of these designs albeit at much lower
speeds. The particulars for two of these designs are
summarized in Table 44-15. One of these is the
Quadrimaran shown in Figure 44-22.
Specific Attributes
The ability of the ram or channel wing craft to utilize
both aero and hydrodynamic lift allows them to
operate in the upper end of the speed regime.
Specific Issues

State-of-the-Art Examples
44-20

XTW-2
18.5
12.72
0.448
3.6
100
14

There are only a few commercially operated craft and

these have not been operating for a long period of
time.

Ram and channel flow wings may be structurally and

mechanically complex when compared to typical
multi-hull hullforms.

Table 44-15 - Ram Wing Vessels

Characteristics
Length, m
Beam, m
Draft, m
Hull Depth, m
Power, mW
Displacement, t
Speed, kts
Passengers

Wild Thing
30
11
Unknown
1.2
2.25
80
45
149

Figure 44-22. Quadrimaran, Channel Flow Wing Craft

44-21

Quadrimaran
25
10.4
0.4
Unknown
1.25
216
40+
150