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### The Relation of the Speed of a Boat to the Water Line

```
Date: 2/27/96 at 16:22:11
From: Anonymous
Subject: math

I have a math question.

I understand that there is a mathematical formula or equation for
calculating the speed of a boat as it relates to the water line
of the boat.  Can you help?
```

```
Date: 3/2/96 at 14:53:31
From: Doctor Ken
Subject: Re: math

Hello!

This is a pretty neat question.  It's true that there is a
relation between the speed of a boat and how low the boat is
sitting in the water (relative to its zero-speed water line), but
I think it would be pretty hard to calculate in general.  For one
thing, if you've ever been in a speedboat, you know that you can
adjust the "trim" - that's the angle of the boat relative to the
horizontal, which affects the water line of the boat - without
affecting the speed of the boat.  So we can't hope to get a
direct correlation between the two.

But if we simplify things greatly, we can kind of see what's
going on.  Most (in fact, pretty much all) boats have a curved
hull, so that most of the boat's bottom is flat, and the front of
the boat curves up.  But if we assume that we have a boat whose
bottom is perfectly flat, and slanted, like this:

\  \
\ b\
\ o\
\ a\
------------->        \ t\
water coming          \  \
at the boat            \  \

Then we can figure out the force the water has on the boat
(depending on the amount of water coming at the boat and the
speed at which it comes), which will be separated into a
horizontal and a vertical component (depending on the slant of
the boat).  The boat will rise in the water until the weight
of the boat, the amount of mass displaced by an equal volume of
water, and the vertical force on the boat (from the moving water)
reach equilibrium.

So you could kind of figure out how high this "math boat" would
sit in the water.  Then what you'd have to do is a sort of
integration, realizing that each tiny little section of the
boat's hull is actually equivalent to a flat section like the one
we just worked out. Of course, I don't think you'd actually want
to work this out all the way, but if you do, that's how I'd do
it.

-Doctor Ken,  The Math Forum
```

```
Date: 07/05/99 at 23:08:04
From: Colin
Subject: Hull speeds of displacement hull boats

This is not a question but an answer to a question. The hull speed
of a displacement hull boat, (i.e. keel boat, freighter, ocean
liner) is a mathematical formula that is expressed as

hull speed = sqrt(length of the water line) * 1.35

Hull speed is the maximum speed that a boat with a displacement
hull may be pushed through the water. Applying further force once
this speed has been reached has little or no effect on the speed of
the boat as the boat actually starts to sit lower in the water. It
is my understanding that the end result of continually increasing
the force after hull speed has been reached will result in the
sinking of the boat.

This does not apply to a speedboat or any boat that gets up on top
of the water and planes and therefore is referred to as a planing
hull.

This can also be seen at the URL below.

http://members.iquest.net/~jhubbard/sanjuan/archive/1174.htm

I hope that you will post the math part of this answer
with the question that is already on your site.

Colin
```

```
Date: 07/07/99 at 12:09:48
From: Doctor Rick
Subject: Re: hull speeds of displacement hull boats

Hi, Colin, thanks for writing!

The question and answer you refer to has been there a while and I
guess the original writer must not have written back saying that
this was not what he meant. I have heard of the relation you
state, between length of the waterline and "maximum" speed of the
boat, and I'm pretty sure this is what the writer meant, not a
relation between speed and _height_ of the waterline.

It is my recollection that this hull-speed limitation is
determined by the wavelength of the bow wave - that the distance
between crests of the wave increases with boat speed until there is
a crest at the bow and another at the stern, and the center of the
boat is essentially unsupported. It would thus sink lower in the
water relative to the wave height at bow and stern.

I hunted around the Web a little and I found this note, which gives
details that agree with my recollection.

http://www.laser.org/archives/newlaser/laser/0289.html

I'll quote it:

"To the best of my knowledge there is a formula for
estimating hull speed although I don't have it handy. My
understanding is that hull speed, assuming monohulls, is a
factor of the relative situation of bow and stern waves along
the hull length at various boat speeds. As the hull moves
forward both a bow and stern wave is created. As the hull
moves progressively faster the stern wave can be seen
cresting farther and farther aft -- all the while the bow
wave remains where you would expect it, at the bow/stem. At
hull speed, the aft wave is cresting at or near the furthest
aft inwater section of the hull, typically near the transom.

"The kicker here is that at hull speed the bow and stern wave
create something like a trough, along the length of the hull,
moving along with the hull in which the hull is, in effect,
trapped. The amount of power, or thrust as you put it
required to blow the hull out of the envelope is enormous
relative to the power required to get the boat to hull speed
(assuming a non-planing hull) so that locked-in condition is
known as hull speed. The longer the hull's waterline, the
higher the theoretical hull speed - this is why you often see
strange looking hull extensions on IOR type boats - typically
transom extensions at the water line."

The formula you gave, stating that hull speed is proportional to
the square root of the waterline length, will follow from the
criterion above if the wavelength is proportional to the square of
the boat speed. Since the bow wave moves along with the bow of the
boat, the wave speed is the same as the boat speed. Is the
wavelength of a water wave proportional to the square of the wave's
velocity? I'm not an expert in water waves, but I located a Web
page that says,

"The speed of a deep water wave is dependent on the
wavelength and/or period. C = gT/2pi or C^2 = gL/2pi.
The greater the period or wavelength, the faster the
wave speed."

Thus the wavelength L is proportional to the square of the speed.
The speed at which the wavelength matches the waterline length LWL
is proportional to the square root of the waterline length. In
fact, using the acceleration of gravity g = 32 feet/sec^2, I can
work out the constant:

1 naut. mile   3600 sec
C = sqrt(32/6.28 ft/sec^2) * sqrt(L ft) * ------------ * --------
6076 feet     1 hour

= 1.337 * sqrt(L ft)

in knots (nautical miles/hour). How about that, it worked! Now all
I have to understand is why the period of a wave is proportional to
its velocity. (Since distance = speed * time, we have L = CT, so
the formula for wavelength follows.)

- Doctor Rick, The Math Forum
http://mathforum.org/dr.math/
```

```
Date: 08/09/2010 at 03:08:21
From: Mark
Subject: Re: hull speeds of displacement hull boats

I don't have a question; rather, I'm trying to offer additional facts that
will help you answer questions like this by making them more "real world."

Maximum theoretical speed formula is:

LWL = Total Length of the Waterline in Feet
Max Knots = SQRT(LWL) * 1.34
Max MPH (statute miles, not nautical miles) = SQRT(LWL) * 1.542

This formula is based upon the length of the wake that is generated by
typical boats moving at various speeds. Any boat that is able to plane
above the water can exceed these speeds in knots by a factor of 1.5 to 2
(rather than 1.34) -- or more if the boat is designed to be an ultimate
racer.

For typical monohull sailboats, which depend upon the wind, the average
speed is typically two-thirds of the max speed. Multiplying the max speed
by 0.667 gives the average speed over an extended period of time, and then
multiplying again by 24 will provide the average speed in miles (statute
or nautical) per day, or the approximate distance run in a day.

Sailboats with crews devoted toward maximizing their speed can sometimes
average up to 70% to 75% of the max speed; and racing teams sometimes
arrive at 80% max speed.

The averages that I'm refering to here are for long voyages (10,000+
miles), where "average" carries more meaning. Over a few lucky days,
anyone can catch enough great wind to allow them to exceed their max
speed. But day in and day out, 67% of max is what most crusing sailors are
going to get.

```

```
Date: 08/09/2010 at 21:08:34
From: Doctor Rick
Subject: Re: hull speeds of displacement hull boats

Hi, Mark.

Thanks for the confirmation of the formula and its meaning, and for
the additional information about its practical significance.

- Doctor Rick, The Math Forum
http://mathforum.org/dr.math/
```
Associated Topics:
High School Calculus

Search the Dr. Math Library:

 Find items containing (put spaces between keywords):   Click only once for faster results: [ Choose "whole words" when searching for a word like age.] all keywords, in any order at least one, that exact phrase parts of words whole words

Submit your own question to Dr. Math
Math Forum Home || Math Library || Quick Reference || Math Forum Search
The content structure of the passage includes a series of questions and answers related to the relationship between a boat's speed and its water line. The initial question asks about a formula for calculating the speed of a boat based on its water line. Subsequent responses provide explanations and a specific formula for the hull speed of displacement hull boats.
single_question_with_answer
Given a text passage, determine:
    1. If it contains a mathematical question (including word problems or calculations)
    2. If an answer to that mathematical question is provided in the text

First, describe the content structure you found in 1-2 sentences.

Then provide your analysis in the following format:
TYPE: <one of the following values>
- NO_QUESTION
- SINGLE_QUESTION
- SINGLE_QUESTION_WITH_ANSWER
- MULTIPLE_QUESTIONS
- MULTIPLE_QUESTIONS_WITH_ANSWERS
system
Associated Topics || Dr. Math Home || Search Dr. Math

### The Relation of the Speed of a Boat to the Water Line

```
Date: 2/27/96 at 16:22:11
From: Anonymous
Subject: math

I have a math question.

I understand that there is a mathematical formula or equation for
calculating the speed of a boat as it relates to the water line
of the boat.  Can you help?
```

```
Date: 3/2/96 at 14:53:31
From: Doctor Ken
Subject: Re: math

Hello!

This is a pretty neat question.  It's true that there is a
relation between the speed of a boat and how low the boat is
sitting in the water (relative to its zero-speed water line), but
I think it would be pretty hard to calculate in general.  For one
thing, if you've ever been in a speedboat, you know that you can
adjust the "trim" - that's the angle of the boat relative to the
horizontal, which affects the water line of the boat - without
affecting the speed of the boat.  So we can't hope to get a
direct correlation between the two.

But if we simplify things greatly, we can kind of see what's
going on.  Most (in fact, pretty much all) boats have a curved
hull, so that most of the boat's bottom is flat, and the front of
the boat curves up.  But if we assume that we have a boat whose
bottom is perfectly flat, and slanted, like this:

\  \
\ b\
\ o\
\ a\
------------->        \ t\
water coming          \  \
at the boat            \  \

Then we can figure out the force the water has on the boat
(depending on the amount of water coming at the boat and the
speed at which it comes), which will be separated into a
horizontal and a vertical component (depending on the slant of
the boat).  The boat will rise in the water until the weight
of the boat, the amount of mass displaced by an equal volume of
water, and the vertical force on the boat (from the moving water)
reach equilibrium.

So you could kind of figure out how high this "math boat" would
sit in the water.  Then what you'd have to do is a sort of
integration, realizing that each tiny little section of the
boat's hull is actually equivalent to a flat section like the one
we just worked out. Of course, I don't think you'd actually want
to work this out all the way, but if you do, that's how I'd do
it.

-Doctor Ken,  The Math Forum
```

```
Date: 07/05/99 at 23:08:04
From: Colin
Subject: Hull speeds of displacement hull boats

This is not a question but an answer to a question. The hull speed
of a displacement hull boat, (i.e. keel boat, freighter, ocean
liner) is a mathematical formula that is expressed as

hull speed = sqrt(length of the water line) * 1.35

Hull speed is the maximum speed that a boat with a displacement
hull may be pushed through the water. Applying further force once
this speed has been reached has little or no effect on the speed of
the boat as the boat actually starts to sit lower in the water. It
is my understanding that the end result of continually increasing
the force after hull speed has been reached will result in the
sinking of the boat.

This does not apply to a speedboat or any boat that gets up on top
of the water and planes and therefore is referred to as a planing
hull.

This can also be seen at the URL below.

http://members.iquest.net/~jhubbard/sanjuan/archive/1174.htm

I hope that you will post the math part of this answer
with the question that is already on your site.

Colin
```

```
Date: 07/07/99 at 12:09:48
From: Doctor Rick
Subject: Re: hull speeds of displacement hull boats

Hi, Colin, thanks for writing!

The question and answer you refer to has been there a while and I
guess the original writer must not have written back saying that
this was not what he meant. I have heard of the relation you
state, between length of the waterline and "maximum" speed of the
boat, and I'm pretty sure this is what the writer meant, not a
relation between speed and _height_ of the waterline.

It is my recollection that this hull-speed limitation is
determined by the wavelength of the bow wave - that the distance
between crests of the wave increases with boat speed until there is
a crest at the bow and another at the stern, and the center of the
boat is essentially unsupported. It would thus sink lower in the
water relative to the wave height at bow and stern.

I hunted around the Web a little and I found this note, which gives
details that agree with my recollection.

http://www.laser.org/archives/newlaser/laser/0289.html

I'll quote it:

"To the best of my knowledge there is a formula for
estimating hull speed although I don't have it handy. My
understanding is that hull speed, assuming monohulls, is a
factor of the relative situation of bow and stern waves along
the hull length at various boat speeds. As the hull moves
forward both a bow and stern wave is created. As the hull
moves progressively faster the stern wave can be seen
cresting farther and farther aft -- all the while the bow
wave remains where you would expect it, at the bow/stem. At
hull speed, the aft wave is cresting at or near the furthest
aft inwater section of the hull, typically near the transom.

"The kicker here is that at hull speed the bow and stern wave
create something like a trough, along the length of the hull,
moving along with the hull in which the hull is, in effect,
trapped. The amount of power, or thrust as you put it
required to blow the hull out of the envelope is enormous
relative to the power required to get the boat to hull speed
(assuming a non-planing hull) so that locked-in condition is
known as hull speed. The longer the hull's waterline, the
higher the theoretical hull speed - this is why you often see
strange looking hull extensions on IOR type boats - typically
transom extensions at the water line."

The formula you gave, stating that hull speed is proportional to
the square root of the waterline length, will follow from the
criterion above if the wavelength is proportional to the square of
the boat speed. Since the bow wave moves along with the bow of the
boat, the wave speed is the same as the boat speed. Is the
wavelength of a water wave proportional to the square of the wave's
velocity? I'm not an expert in water waves, but I located a Web
page that says,

"The speed of a deep water wave is dependent on the
wavelength and/or period. C = gT/2pi or C^2 = gL/2pi.
The greater the period or wavelength, the faster the
wave speed."

Thus the wavelength L is proportional to the square of the speed.
The speed at which the wavelength matches the waterline length LWL
is proportional to the square root of the waterline length. In
fact, using the acceleration of gravity g = 32 feet/sec^2, I can
work out the constant:

1 naut. mile   3600 sec
C = sqrt(32/6.28 ft/sec^2) * sqrt(L ft) * ------------ * --------
6076 feet     1 hour

= 1.337 * sqrt(L ft)

in knots (nautical miles/hour). How about that, it worked! Now all
I have to understand is why the period of a wave is proportional to
its velocity. (Since distance = speed * time, we have L = CT, so
the formula for wavelength follows.)

- Doctor Rick, The Math Forum
http://mathforum.org/dr.math/
```

```
Date: 08/09/2010 at 03:08:21
From: Mark
Subject: Re: hull speeds of displacement hull boats

I don't have a question; rather, I'm trying to offer additional facts that
will help you answer questions like this by making them more "real world."

Maximum theoretical speed formula is:

LWL = Total Length of the Waterline in Feet
Max Knots = SQRT(LWL) * 1.34
Max MPH (statute miles, not nautical miles) = SQRT(LWL) * 1.542

This formula is based upon the length of the wake that is generated by
typical boats moving at various speeds. Any boat that is able to plane
above the water can exceed these speeds in knots by a factor of 1.5 to 2
(rather than 1.34) -- or more if the boat is designed to be an ultimate
racer.

For typical monohull sailboats, which depend upon the wind, the average
speed is typically two-thirds of the max speed. Multiplying the max speed
by 0.667 gives the average speed over an extended period of time, and then
multiplying again by 24 will provide the average speed in miles (statute
or nautical) per day, or the approximate distance run in a day.

Sailboats with crews devoted toward maximizing their speed can sometimes
average up to 70% to 75% of the max speed; and racing teams sometimes
arrive at 80% max speed.

The averages that I'm refering to here are for long voyages (10,000+
miles), where "average" carries more meaning. Over a few lucky days,
anyone can catch enough great wind to allow them to exceed their max
speed. But day in and day out, 67% of max is what most crusing sailors are
going to get.

```

```
Date: 08/09/2010 at 21:08:34
From: Doctor Rick
Subject: Re: hull speeds of displacement hull boats

Hi, Mark.

Thanks for the confirmation of the formula and its meaning, and for
the additional information about its practical significance.

- Doctor Rick, The Math Forum
http://mathforum.org/dr.math/
```
Associated Topics:
High School Calculus

Search the Dr. Math Library:

 Find items containing (put spaces between keywords):   Click only once for faster results: [ Choose "whole words" when searching for a word like age.] all keywords, in any order at least one, that exact phrase parts of words whole words

Submit your own question to Dr. Math
Math Forum Home || Math Library || Quick Reference || Math Forum Search
user
The content structure of the passage includes a series of questions and answers related to the relationship between a boat's speed and its water line. The initial question asks about a formula for calculating the speed of a boat based on its water line. Subsequent responses provide explanations and a specific formula for the hull speed of displacement hull boats.

TYPE: SINGLE_QUESTION_WITH_ANSWER