ABSTRACT
Fixed offshore platforms, semi-submersibles, compliant platforms and tension leg platforms are geometric bodies and their form can be accurately defined by mathematical equations which can be used for generating various design drawings as well as for hydrodynamic and structural analysis. But for a floating and mobile body like a ship, the shape of the body or the hull form is long and thin or slender and highly three dimensional having curvatures in all directions. In this chapter, ship hull form design is discussed. The hull form is the starting point for various calculations such as hydrostatics and stability, hydrodynamic behaviour, structural information and production information generation. Production information pertaining to ship structural elements like shape, area, cutting length and weight can only be obtained if the hull surface is defined accurately and in a form suitable for the purpose. Thus, there are different stages of ship hull form design, which can be broadly defined in three stages – the concept design stage, the final design stage and the manufacturing information generation stage.
