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Hull Speed?

7K views 22 replies 15 participants last post by  Faster 
#1 ·
I am curious as to how accurate this is at determining your max sailing speed. My hull speed from the manufacturers states 6.5 knots...I can get to that pretty easily, I would have thought that it wouldn't be that easy to get to the max speed. This was actually close hauled into the wind...I know you can get way above that downwind and surfing the waves. This speed was from my GPS and that was averaged over 3 minutes so it wasn't just a spike at that 6.5 speed...it was an averaged speed. With some tweaks to sail trim and a very clean bottom I'd think I can get to 7.5. Where some manufacturers more conservative with rating the hull seed? Or is it maybe modern sails and rigging make it actually possible to sail above hull speed? Or am I thinking too much and just enjoy that I can get the boat moving like that!
 
#3 ·
Theoretical hull speed of a displacement hull= 1.34 X sqrt LWL


Other factors -

1) planing will take you above theoretical hull speed, usually downwind with a chute of some sort.

2) fouled bottom will slow you down.

You need a knotmeter, not a GPS when dealing with hull speed as it is through the water not over the ground. In addition you want a momentary speed not an average.
 
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#4 ·
As Jack said, the GPS is speed over ground (SOG) including effects of any current that might be there (aiding or hurting) A knotmeter is the better tool for 'boat speed', esp as a result of changes in sailtrim. Having both allows you to quantify the current and approx direction.

You'll get up to 'hull speed' sooner, typically, while beating because your apparent wind is the highest it can be for the wind speed... a clean boat will get there quite easily, as you've observed. Without a lot of breeze or swells truly exceeding hull speed is quite difficult.

Also some boats are said to 'extend' their waterline while sailing (as flat overhanging stern counters become submerged by the rising stern wave) therefore theoretically creating a longer LWL at that moment, perhaps 'skewing' the calculation.

Anyhow, I wouldn't get 'hung up' on the number.. find out what is comfortable for your boat (heel angle and apparent wind angle,)and use that number , whatever it is, as a target and steer for that when trying to optimize your VMG to windward. Polar diagrams may be available for your boat that would tell you what that optimum speed/angle would be. But even with that data you'd need to be certain your instruments are accurate.. not always easy to do.
 
#5 ·
Hull speed as determined by the 1.34 x square rt of the LWL is not a hard number, just an approximation or rough guideline.

Below is a portion of an in interview with Gary Mull:



He was casually asked whether the maximum speed of his intriguing new boat design was 1.34 times the square root of the waterline length.
"I wish people would quit saying that," he retorted with intensity. "There's no such thing as a maximum speed under sail. There's a point at which the speed-versus-resistance curve begins to get very, very steep. At low speeds, a certain increase in horsepower gets you a fairly good increase in speed - but at high speeds, doubling the horsepower only gets you a very slight increase in speed. Usually somewhere around 1.34 times the square root of the waterline length - the sailing waterline, not the static waterline - that speed/ resistance curve starts to get very steep. But there's no absolute limit."

"But," he was asked, "doesn't the quarter wave start to build up higher than the cabintop?""No! That's not so!" he exclaimed. "I've never seen such a thing. That's all magazine talk. That's not naval architecture. I'm continually seeing this 'maximum speed under sail' or 'maximum speed-length ratio' or whatever-the-hell, and it's totally meaningless to naval architecture, as an absolute maximum. It does have meaning, because the speed-resistance curve does get very, very steep, as I say; but it seldom gets absolutely vertically asymptotic."
 
#6 ·
Not sure if it has been mentioned, but "SOME" sailboat hulls do not follow the rule of the 1.34 time sqrt of WL. many of the newer planing hull designs are like power boats, you CAN go faster than the formula. On the otherhand, take a boat like the Pinta, Santa Maria, old ironsides etc, those will be lucky to hit the formula, and if they do go over, some designs DO sink into the water and eventually sink! I would SWAG that most boats built in the last 30 or so years, some as far back at 50-60 have the ability to go over the theoretical hull speed.

marty
 
#8 ·
Everybody knows, as well, that multihulls blow the hull speed numbers out of the water. And, naval architect Dave Gerr, director of the Westlawn school of naval architecture, says that relatively long skinny hulls are not bound by the theoretical hull speed number. OTOH, people who sail older designs like my Lyle Hess-designed Nor'Sea 27 do much better to expect no more than the theoretical hull speed and just be happy with it. :)
Jeff
 
#9 ·
Everybody knows, as well, that multihulls blow the hull speed numbers out of the water.
Jeff
I believe the multi's plane. Theoretical hull speed applies only to displacement hulls.
 
#11 ·
Guys, I use my GPS as well, and yes it is SOG (speed over ground)... but I have an observation...

GPS is great for pinpoint location, of hand down to with 30 feet in any direction (including elevation). GPS CAN be more accurate, using various other services, and some of the newer/more expensive GPSses use them.

Here is what I am getting at. I don't think GPS is nearly accurate enough (with a basic handheld) to give you accurate enough numbers for speed. Yes I use it too. I think speed is less reliant upon location accuracy but, at these slow of speeds, I dunno how accurate it is.

Has anyone checked SOG of say a standard cheapo GPS handheld with a knotmeter to see how close they are?

As others have said, boat waterline (esp while heeling) changes thus changing max theoretical hull speed.

PS: My max hull speed is theoretically 5.99knots... my GPS has locked me at 6.5 on a reach. Again average over 2 minutes.
 
#12 ·
Has anyone checked SOG of say a standard cheapo GPS handheld with a knotmeter to see how close they are?

PS: My max hull speed is theoretically 5.99knots... my GPS has locked me at 6.5 on a reach. Again average over 2 minutes.
How much current is present?
 
#14 · (Edited)
The quotes from Gary Mull pretty much sum up why "hull speed" shouldn't be called "maximum hull speed". Let me just add a bit to why hull speed works as a concept. As a displacement hull moves through the water it creates a wave, which boaters/sailors usually call the "bow wave" or "bow wake". This bow wave initially has a celerity equal to the velocity of the vessel. The celerity of a wave actually slowly increases with time, but we only need to worry about what happens when the wave is first created. The wavelength of a surface wave is proportional the celerity of the wave; the faster the wave, the longer the wavelength. There is actually a fairly complicated formula for this relationship, involving the celerity, the force of gravity, and the density, viscosity, and surface tension of the water. But, since everything is pretty much constant except celerity and wavelength, the whole thing boils down to C = 1.34*sqrt(wavelength).

Now, what exactly does that mean? As the boat moves through the water the wavelength of the bow wave gets longer as the boat moves faster. The first crest is always at the bow, with the next crest being one wavelength aft of the bow. When the speed of the boat (and hence the celerity of the bow wave) increases to the point that the next crest is near the stern of the boat this crest is often called the "quarter wave", but it is really just the second crest of the bow wave; the stern quarter isn't causing the wave, it's being cause by the bow. The velocity at which this crest is right at the stern is called the "hull speed" or HS, and is described simply by substituting HS for C and length at the waterline (LWL) for wavelength in the above equation, to get, HS = 1.34*sqrt(LWL). The important thing here is what happens when the boat is going fast enough (and hence the bow wave has a high enough celerity) that the wave has a wavelength longer than the dynamic waterline of the boat? Now the stern of the boat will no longer be riding on the second crest of the bow wave (or on the quarter wave, if you prefer), and the boat will have to pitch up slightly. This takes a power input to maintain speed and so the power/speed ratio of the boat increases due to this added factor. The power/speed ratio has been increasing with speed all along due to other factors, but now this increased pitch of the hull and the forces generated by the bow having to push "through" more of the initial crest of the bow wave causes a sharp increase in the relationship.

So, it always takes more power (energy/time) to make a boat go faster, but above hull speed the relationship between power and boat speed gets steeper and steeper. This is essentially because above hull speed the boat is forced to climb is own wake. Next time you're in a planing boat you can actually demonstrated this. Give the boat a bit of gas and initially the bow will pitch up, the stern will squat down, and it will feel like the boat is trying to climb out of a hole. Give it enough gas and the boat will "jump" onto a plane and the rules will suddenly change; once the hull is actually planing you can ease the throttle back a bit (lower the power) and stay on the plane fairly easily. But, kill the engine (or go to idle) and the boat will plane for a bit then suddenly slow as it can't maintain a plane anymore and has to crawl up its bow wake, until it gets below hull speed again and more easily glides along as a "true" displacement hull again.
 
#16 ·
SlowButSteady...Thank You!!!

Until your post I didn't understand how a boat's waterline could be the only "boat dimension" variable that could affect speed...

My Sea-Doo boat is a great example of what you're saying...putts along at idle nicely...give it a little throttle and it hits the wall...now I can bore my crew with the reason why. =)
 
#17 ·
Ok...great discussion, so let me get this...I understand that there is a difference between boat speed which may be aided or impeded by currents, but just raw speed GPS should be far more accurate. How long does it take to get from point A to point b and figure out is speed in knots based on that. That should never change...right? So a knot meter on a boat will tell you how fast the boat is moving (or more exactly how fast the water is moving past the boat) and will give you instant results in regard to sail trim. A GPS device should give you the actual speed, not boat speed.
 
#19 ·
Newport... you hit it right on the head. Most people want GPS for navigation, and ETA, not for speed perse' But knowing SOG is essential for ETA, and travel times. It is just as significant for boating, however, Speed over Water, is essential for all of us as well because it tells us our best trim settings for a given wind (assumes steady wind).

You are now starting to get JUST how complicated sailing can be (about as complicated as you let it)... for those of us (most of us, even the so-called cruisers only) who are after the "perfect trim," it is a life-long unachievable goal. You are catching it now... Don't let it rule you, but don't give up on it either. It'll make you a better sailor. It will make ALL of us better sailors.

Don't get "instrument i-tus" either. Gadgets are cool, but remember they are a modern phenomena. The old-salts sail without them, and can smoke some of the young punks using all the gadgets. A knot-meter, and a depth sounder are pretty essential gadgets though, and a great start.

I am with you though, I JUST have a GPS (actually my phone running navionics)... my goal this winter though is to get a knot and a depth gauge to get me better information on my sailing. Will I still use my GPS (absolutely), but those hard instruments I feel are pretty essential for me going forward.
 
#20 ·
On my powerboat, I checked my GPS vs. the speedometer (hey, it's measure in mph so I couldn't say knotmeter) and there was a 5mph difference betwixt the two. Question was, which one was correct?

I'm sure there's a lot of technical reasoning in this debate, but ultimately I'd surmise two things: 1)don't 'just' trust your GPS for actual speed 2)don't care about speed, just go as fast as you can.
 
#21 ·
On my powerboat, I checked my GPS vs. the speedometer (hey, it's measure in mph so I couldn't say knotmeter) and there was a 5mph difference betwixt the two. Question was, which one was correct?
Assuming no current, your speedometer might need to be calibrated. If there is current, it is hard to tell. Also they are measuring different things boat speed (through the water) versus SOG.

BTW - you should be able to change to the units of measure from miles, knots, kilometers, etc. on both the GPS and the speedometer.
 
#23 ·
The thing with 'knotmeters' is that they are 'calibratable', however that doesn't mean they've been accurately calibrated. Out of the box they should be OK but the only way to be certain is to run a measured distance in the absolute guarantee of no influencing current.. time the runs and do the math.

Not many boaters go to that effort..
 
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