Ship Resistance/Wave Making Resistance

It is the resistance caused by the formation of waves as the ship passes through the water. In slow or medium speed ships wavemaking resistance is small compared with frictional resistance. At high speeds, however, the wavemaking resistance increases and may be 50 or 60% of total resistance (Rt). Froude numbers below 0.25 will not include wave making resistance as it is roughly zero. One attempt to reduce wavemaking resistance is the use of bulbous bow. The wave produced by the bulb interfered with the wave produced by the stem, resulting in a reduced height of bow wave.