Abstract
Ways of travelling fast and comfortably over water have interested inventors and designers for many years. Recently, impressive and significant developments have led to three relatively unconventional types of highspeed marine craft large enough to serve practical commercial or naval purposes, while some conventional large ships now also have high service speeds. The development of hovercraft, hydrofoil ships and high-speed displacement or planing craft is reviewed in the first section of the lecture, and criteria for assessing the performance of these different types in calm water and in typical service conditions are examined and compared. The purposes for which high-speed marine craft are needed are discussed; these can be divided into passenger and cargo services on short sea ferry routes, container and similar cargo services on longer open water and ocean routes, and special tasks for which high speed, sometimes linked to amphibious capability, can significantly increase effectiveness. Finally, the likely role of high-speed craft in future marine transport and other systems is considered.
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