Development of low wake wash hull form

Abstract

Wake wash has become a significant issue in the ship design industry due to its impact on the environment in terms of erosion of natural shoreline wetlands. Many ideas for reducing wake wash have been introduced. This research work presents the development of a low wake wash catamaran hull form. In particular, the study is focused on the effectiveness of specially designed fin in order to reduce the wake wash produced by the ship. The fin was attached vertically along the centerline of the catamaran model and the model was tested in the towing tank of Marine Technology Center (MTC) to assess its wake wash. The fin was located at three different positions, which are at bow, center and stern of the ship. The results based on wave height measurements at the various fin locations showed that the fin located at the stern position produces lower wake wash compared to other positions.