naval architecture

Shipbuilding terminology owes its etymology to various cultures, practices, industrial influences, applications, and other factors. The gunwale of a boat, pronounced “gunnel” and not “gun whale,” is a seemingly simple yet critical vessel component.

On a boat or a ship, the gunwale denotes the upper edge where the hull and deck converge.

This article delves into the gunwale’s multifaceted significance, considering its historical origins, contributions to structural integrity and safety, and...

https://www.marineinsight.com/naval-architecture/gunwale/

Submarines are pressure vessels that can operate at submerged depths underwater. They are mechanically balanced by uniform hydrostatic pressure distribution acting on their surface.

Submarines are designed to withstand very high loads and pressures resulting from the hydrostatics of the water head at which they are immersed.

Any submarine design should always consider the theory of linearly incremental hydrostatic pressure and depth. Thus, when we choose a particular submarine design, its...

https://www.marineinsight.com/naval-architecture/how-deep-can-military-submarines-go/

The design of vessels is an interesting process and involves several typicality and eccentricities. The hull form and its various aspects comprise a crucial part of naval architecture.

As we know, a vessel’s hull form is well dependent on the requirements of the vessel, its service, and its capacity. 

This article discusses a very interesting aspect of the hull form found in several vessels: the tumblehome. 

Consider looking at the cross-section of a vessel. Its form depends...

https://www.marineinsight.com/naval-architecture/what-is-a-tumblehome/

The weight of a vessel is a very interesting aspect in the first place. Unlike all other physical objects, when we talk about the weight or mass of a vessel or any floating object in general, we usually allude to displacement.

This displacement, as we know, is nothing but the mass of the floating structure itself and is also equal to the mass of the water the vessel displaces to remain afloat, as per Archimedes’ principle. This quantity is also sometimes expressed in terms of volumetric...

https://www.marineinsight.com/naval-architecture/how-much-cargo-can-a-cargo-ship-carry/

Vessels are divided vertically by decks. These decks either extend fully and are flush with the primary structural members of the vessel or are partially disposed of up to some span.

Depending on the extent of their span, if they are significant, they contribute to the longitudinal and transverse structural strength of the vessel. In other words, they absorb a significant portion of loads, especially in the form of bending stresses.

Deck plating thickness can vary widely depending on a host of...

https://www.marineinsight.com/naval-architecture/what-is-deck-plating-on-ships/

Monohull vessels have been and will be synonymous with ships, come what may. This is owing to all kinds of reasons ranging from convenience to simplicity, low costs to large capacity, ease in construction to acceptability. However, over the years, there has been an escalated demand to explore unconventional design types in the quest for advancement.

Monohull vessels, despite all kinds of efficient designs, still lacked in terms of high speed and resistance to rough sea states. Moreover,...

https://www.marineinsight.com/naval-architecture/what-are-triple-hull-vessels/