ABSTRACT
Planing craft are characterized by a V-shaped hull form and a transom stern, as illustrated in Figure 1. Their straight buttocks, in conjunction with transom stern and trim angle, make the craft act as a “lifting surface”. This allows the craft to rise most of the submerged hull over the water surface and thus diminishing the wetted area and the associated frictional drag as well as the wave making drag, (Savitsky 1985). Additionally, the V-shape and the stern transom favour an effective flow separation at the stern and sides, causing the separation drag to be kept at its minimum.
