Wave-piercing hull

MY Ady Gil in 2009

HMNZS Aotearoa

A wave-piercing boat hull has a very fine bow, with reduced buoyancy in the forward portions. When a wave is encountered, the lack of buoyancy means the hull pierces through the water rather than riding over the top, resulting in a smoother ride than traditional designs, and in diminished mechanical stress on the vessel. It also reduces a boat's wave-making resistance.

The physics of wave-making resistance calls for very long thin hulls, so in practice most are multi-hulls such as catamarans and trimarans.

The main current usage areas are passenger ferries and naval ships.

See also

• Axe bow – Wave-piercing type of a ship's bow
• Bulbous bow – Protruding bulb at the front of a ship
• Earthrace – Wave-piercing power trimaran, 2006–2010Pages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets, later renamed MY Ady Gil
• HMAS Jervis Bay (AKR 45)
• HSV-2 Swift – Hybrid catamaran built in 2003
• Incat – Manufacturer of large high-speed craft catamarans, a pioneer of the design
• Inverted bow – Bow whose furthest forward point is not at the top
• Norwegian Cruise Line Project Leonardo – Class of cruise ships built for Norwegian Cruise LinePages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets-Class Cruise Ships
• Tumblehome – Design element of ships and automobiles hull form
• Tuo Chiang-class corvette – Taiwanese class of war vessel
• Type 22 missile boat – Ship class in the Chinese People's Liberation Army NavyPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
• USA 17 – Racing trimaranPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets: an America's Cup – Sailing race competition racing multihull
• USS Independence (LCS-2): high-speed trimaran warship
• Very Slender Vessel – Type of high-speed, wave-piercing craft
• Zumwalt-class destroyer – Stealth missile destroyer class of the US Navy