Effect of waterjet intake plane shape on course-keeping stability of a planing boat

The course-keeping stability of a high speed planing boat should be considered at the design stage for its safe operations. The shape of waterjet intake plane is one of important design parameters of a waterjet propelled planing boat. That has significant influences on the stern flow patterns and pressure distributions. In this study, the effects of the waterjet intake shapes of planing boats on the course-keeping stabilities are investigated. Two kinds of designed planing boats have the same dimensions, but there are differences in waterjet intake plane shapes. Captive and free-running model tests, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analyses are carried out in order to estimate their hydrodynamic performances including course-keeping stabilities. The results show that the flat and wide waterjet intake plane of the initially designed boat makes the course-keeping stability worse. The waterjet intake shape is re-designed to improve the course-keeping stability. The improved performances are confirmed by free-running model tests and full-scale trials.