It’s common for a megayacht owner to tap the same design team for subsequent projects. It’s also common for proven hull shapes and other styles to be used for those same projects. But, that doesn’t mean a design team skips testing and retesting the proven design. Vripack’s current work with a repeat client is a good case in point. And, this video of the testing process gives you an even better understanding of what goes on.
Vripack is providing naval architecture for a 180-footer (55-meter). She was commissioned by an owner who had tapped its team two previous times. “We instantly realized we’d been given the chance to surpass his already high expectations once again,” comments Albert Abma, chief naval architect at Vripack.
The megayacht is meant to be a globe-trotter. Therefore, stability, safety, and comfort in a variety of seas are key. As you’ll see, Vripack created a scale model of the entire megayacht, not just the hull. Specifically, the scale used was 1:10. The testing tank was equally substantial. It measured 558 by 131 feet (170 by 40 meters). You also get a glimpse of how the tank equipment replicated head seas and following seas, both of which Vripack wanted.
What’s equally interesting, however, is what you don’t see. You don’t get to see how Vripack decided this particular hull shape was evaluated on paper and in the computer to be the best. Vripack has extensive ongoing experience in pleasure yachts and workboats alike. Information it recently gleaned from studying ship-motion comfort aboard workboats was applied to this megayacht. The designers translated it to a hull form that mated well with the megayacht’s styling, by Dobroserdov Design. The megayacht will be quite voluminous, 870 gross tons, and is to be built by Admiral Tecnomar.
How did Vripack apply the data? First, the designers created the design in the computer. It then used CFD (computational fluid dynamics) software to test it, a typical next step. Those tests allowed Vripack to refine the shape to achieve a 20-percent lower wave resistance. Lower wave resistance naturally means lower fuel burn.
“The results coming out of this unique ships-motion basin are showing that we’ve created one of our most modern hull shapes ever,” Abma says. “And with 7,000-plus lines plans in our library, that counts for something we believe in.”
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