ABSTRACT
Due to their specific hull form, planing craft are vessels that can overcome wave resistance and reach high operational speeds by transforming the hydrodynamic pressure, unfavourable in terms of resistance, into lift. The different resistance components acting on a planing hull have been studied and modelled in the past. By empirical studies, it is known that a noticeable percentage of the total resistance is caused by the whisker spray resistance, hence, devices to decrease its contribution are of great interest. The most common spray deflection devices applied are spray rails. An innovative spray deflection concept, called deflectors, has been introduced and evaluated using numerical simulations. The present paper considers a systematic towing tank experiment for studying the deflectors and validating the numerical study. Results show that the validation of the numerical test case is not easily obtained. Suggestions for improved approaches for experimental investigations of spray deflectors are discussed.
