Comparative analysis on the methods of preliminarily estimating resistance of yachts

Abstract

The analysis of yacht resistance performance using empirical methods has become an accepted approach over the last decade. Which are based on existing statistical material of yachts to obtain the empirical equations or map methods. There are not many simple methods to obtain the resistance of yachts, and the accuracy of the results is not always uncertain for different types of yachts. The study is focused on determining the appropriate empirical equation to estimate resistance for different kinds of yachts. And based on computational fluid dynamics (CFD), XFlow software to calculate resistance of yachts under turbulent state is selected. This paper provides a review of these methods and two real yachts are chose as examples according to the classification of yachts. It discusses the resultant implications for practical applications. Simulations on an identical yacht using empirical methods and softwares are compared. Good agreements are achieved for both Daisumi Mihiro’s empirical methods and numerical simulation methods, which shows that Daisumi Mihiro’s empirical equation to estimate resistance of the planning yacht is relatively feasible and Daisumi Mihiro’s map method is reliable for the transition and drainage boats.