Wave Making Resistance Characteristics of Trimaran Hulls

Recently, there has been an increased demand for high speed vessels both for military and commercial applications. Many navies are exploring the potential of novel hull forms as part of efforts to achieve transformation in both combat and logistics missions in littoral seas. This demand for high speed vessels has resulted in a need for unconventional hull forms in order to balance speed with payload requirements. One such hull form is the trimaran. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the effects of side hull position on the wave making resistance characteristics of powered trimarans. Resistance calculations were performed by a three dimensional, Rankine panel code. A systematic series of runs was conducted in order to classify ship resistance in forms of major trimaran hull geometric configurations. The results of this thesis can be directly utilized in design, in order to minimize ship resistance, and maximize available payload.