As the speed of luxury

Stability
yachts gets ever
faster. the question of
their dynamic stability
gets increasingly
important. Most naval
architects understand

at high speed static stability, but

there is little published
information on how
this stability changes
when the vessel is
travelling at speed.
Donald Blount has
extensive experience

C
onsider this situation! Running at a
good speed in quartering seas;
helmsman or autoprlot struggling to
minimlse course devtatlon. roll fins
are active; an unexpected large yaw
and roll occurs with the vessel possibly hanging
for a long period of time; the captatn throttles
back to regain control of the vessel.
Did the vessel broach or was there a loss of
dynamic stability? What IS dynamic stability? What
is the difference between these phenomena?
Broaching is most likely to be a wave-Induced
occurrence as a vessel operates in followlng or
quartering seas, near the speed of the waves. In
a broaching situation, large yaw and/or roll
angles are likely to occur which require a speed
change (either decrease or increase] to regain
control of the vessel.
Broaching is a dynamic event since it occurs
when the vessel has forward velocity. However,
its explanation is based on hydrostatic principles
since the relative velocity between the vessel and
wave speed is near zero. Thus, regulatory agen-
cies and classifications societies establish static
stability requirements for marine vessels to insure
safe loading conditions and to minimise proba-
bility of broaching at wave speed.
If the situation described at the beginning of
the article took place at wave speed in follow-
ing/quartering seas, then the vessel broached. If
the scenario occurred in calm or at any heading
in rough seas at speeds greater than 25 knots,
the vessel may be dynamically unstable. Thus,
accepted static stability standards may not prove
to be adequate design criteria to produce a
dynamically stable vessel
Dynamic stability is taking an increased impor-
tance as design yacht speeds continue to rise It
IS my purpose here to discuss the neglected
topic, dynamic stabMy. and negative aspects of
dynamic InstabIlity
A formal deflnitlon of dynamrc Instability has
not been adopted by internatronal agencies con-
cerned wtth maritime safety but the following of this field, both for
contains the essence of what is likely to be
military and private
adopted Dynamic instability IS defined as a
reductron of stability due to high speed which craft, and he is
rntght be m,lnlfested as violent and extreme craft concerned that too
motions about roil, prtch and yaw axes charac-
tensed by the loss of running trim, increasing little attention is paid
heel, progrc3ssing heading, bow steering or com- to this critical area.
bination of these motions. At high speed in calm
water or w,Ives, dynamic instability represents a
Here he gives advice
safety risk as the problems are not always readily on how problems can
apparent to the crew and may not be discovered
be predicted and
until after a craft has extended time in service.
ClassIcal hydrostatic stability IS well understood avoided in the first
and based on the assumption that there IS no
place, and how to
dependence on forward speed. Unfortunately,
the assumption is not correct. As aerodynamic correct problems in
pressures generate lifting forces on the wings of
existing craft, if this is
airplanes, hydrodynamic forces are generated as
water flows adjacent to the hull of a vessel. possible.
Hydrodynamic forces begin to dominate buoy-
ant forces as a vessel approaches and exceeds
speeds of 25 knots. The centre of effort of the
dynamic forces move about the hull as it trims
and rises with speed changes. With different
aspects of the hull being wetted, the direction of
the resultant forces may change from up to
down, port to starboard, etc. Thus, radical
changes in handling charactenstics may occur.
he technology and design criteria to
T assure that a craft will be dynamically sta-
ble .ire evolving, but data has yet to
become widely available and design standards
are not universally accepted. As speeds increase,
dynamic hull pressures and their distribution
begin to dominate, resulting In potential instabili-
ties charactensed by hull motions being oscillato-
fy or non o5crllatory. Outward manifestations of
dynamic ct,lbrlity are vaned and depend at least
upon speetl, displacement. wetght distrtbution,
hull form. ,Ind appendage design and location.
Not all ho&s dtsplay instabilities; some display

36 THE WOODREPORT
one type, others suffer from multiple instabilities.
Whrle the exact relattonship IS not known with Figure 1
any certainty, Table I is useful in depicting the
different modes of instabilities as a vessel acceler- oceall wiives
20

ates from a resting position to high speed. Dtxzp Water

6

N
on-oscrllatory instabilities usually occur on
relatively large craft travelling at moder- 5
ately high speeds. Unstable behaviour
can occur about the yaw, patch and roll axes
typified by a loss in running trim [bow drop
ping), increase in the quantity of spray, progres-
sive heeling, bow steering, or a combination of
rotations. These motions may result in a new sta-
ble orientation; the craft often can be operated
r:
with some degree of control for an extended 0 -& 10 15 m 250
penod in this new attitude. Even though the
AverageWaveSpeed
rnstabilitres occur at moderate speeds, the onset oCmt$
may be raped and without warning, particularly
when initiated in a seaway. There may also be predicting and avoiding porpoising. No accept-
secondary results, such as calm water broaching ed guidelines are avarIable for predicting condi-
or unpredictable steering response. trons which result in chrne walkrng. but apparent
One final point, loss of stability may occur on correlation exists with chrnes’ dry flow patterns.
craft which would not otherwtse be thought to Typically, oscillatory rnstabrlrtres occur on boats
require a high degree of operator skill. that require a high degree of operator skill and
Oscillatory rnstabrlrties Include roll oscrllatrons attention. Except In r,rre cases, they gradually
(chine walking), and pitch and heave oscrllations increase In seventy; as a result the operator has
(porpoisrng). There are common factors in these an opportunrty to adopt correctrve measures.
aberrations: both are associated with hrgh- Nonoscrllatory rr?st,tbrlrtres are of the most
speed, hard-chrne planing craft the amplitude of concern for the owner and crew of large, hrgh-
oscillation IS related to boat speed; the oscrlla- speed round bilge ,rnd hard-chrne monohulls.
trons may occur wrthout excitation from envrron- Thus, rt IS of interest to identify symptoms in cur-
ment or operator. In some cases, the oscrllatrons rent craft and understand measures to avoid
Increase while the craft IS at constant speed. problems when makrng conversions or with
Design gurdelrnes have proven to be effective in new construction projects. >

TYPES OF INSTABILITIES

HYDROSTATIC ’ * HYDRODYNAMIC

DISPLACEMENT SEMI DISPLACEMENT PLANING

INCREASING SPEED .
_
TRANSVERSE LOSS OF GMT ‘“CHINE WALKING”
HYDROSTATICS DUE TO WAVE DYNAMIC ROLL
EFFECT OSCILLATION

TRANSVERSE /\

LONGITUDINAL LOSS OF GML vJORPOISING’

HYDROSTATiCS DUE TO WAVE WNAMIC PITCH~HEAVE
EFFECT OSClLLATlON

LONGITUDINAL

COMBINED

COMBINED GM, I 0

GML I 0

THE WOOD REI'ORT

 Design Factors
Htil Shape: The underwater hull shape has a
profound effect on the tendency toward dynam-
ic instability, especially the shape of the buttocks.
Consider the simple case of most high-speed,
round-bilge and hard-chine motor yachts with
buttocks shaped like the bottom half of an arrfoil.
With the vessel running at high speed with its
usual angle of trim only the aft, relatively
straight, portion of the buttock is immersed. As
weight is shifted forward, when a wave strikes
the bow or slowing to semr-displacement
speeds, the more highly curved forward sectlons
become Immersed. These forward sections are
not necessarily at a posittve angle of attack, and
hence may not develop higher than static pres-
sures. They may, in fact, develop pressures lower
than static. Instead of supportlng the bow, the
forward areas contnbute to further bow down
tnm. As pressures forward drop, the pressures aft
must Increase to compensate for the support of
the total boat weight further shlftlng the dynam-
IC centre of pressure aft. Thus a dynamic rnstablll-
ty can be Initiated.
Speed: As mentioned previously, dynamic Insta-
bilrties are speed dependent. Regardless of man-
ifestation, the common and sometimes only
cure is to reduce the speed of the craft.
Dramatic changes are sometimes made with rel-
atively small speed decreases. In at least one
case an operational restriction to reduce speed
from 28 to 25 knots was enough to change a
dynamically unstable craft prone to suddenly
trim down by the bow, into a completely sutt-
able vessel.
Appendages: Any source of rapldly changing
pressure distribution under a hull, tncluding
ventilation of a portion of the hull bottom
and/or appendages, may lead to a dynamic
instability. Ventilated propellers will lift the stern
of a boat and a ventilated off-centrellne rudder
or strut will induce a roll moment. One or more
ventilated rudders and/or struts will also induce
stern lift. Thus, asymmetrical port or starboard
heel angle, or undesirable running attitude,
may be caused by ventilation.

hese conditions can occur predlctably if

T craft design details result in easy air paths.

In other cases, ventilation caused instabili-
ties are unpredictable if, for example, the air
path depends on a particular loading condition,
sea state, or rudder manoeuvre.
Interactions: The sensitivity of round bilge hulls
to loss of dynamic transverse stability may be IIIUS-
trated by model tests for a 35 meter, 120 metric
ton vessel The GM IS reduced to 80% of rts static
value at 17.5 knots and further reduced to 63%
at 35 knots. Since there IS a strong relationship
between roll angle and yaw moment for this hull
form, this effective loss In GM as speed Increases
is realised with both Increasing roll and yaw
angles. Thus, course-keeping may becori7e difficult
indirectly as the result of hull lines which tend to
cause a loss of dynamic transverse stability.

THE WOODREPORT
 An interesting corollary is that for round bilge t is very important that speed, trim, LCG and
hulls reductng roll angle should improve course
keeping. Thus,
have a positive
dynamic
effect
roll
on vessel
fin systems
motions.
can I displacement be measured
order to conduct these tests,
begin with low speeds
accurately.
it is critical to
and to increase
In

the
However, simultaneously operating a roll fin sys- speed in small increments to define the slope of
tem receivrng input from a roll rate gyro and an the trim curve. It is an incorrect test procedure to
autopilot independently receiving course devia- begin at high speed and then decrease speed in
tron signals can at random create radical vessel small increments since bow wetting occurs dif-
motions. Recounting that a strong roll angle - ferently for accelerating than for decelerating.
yaw moment relationship exists (on some The trim measure of interest is the change of
yachts, a 1 degree yaw can generate a 5 trim with speed. Thus, the trim gauge may be
degree roll], the roll fin system could order a set at zero when the boat IS at zero speed.
restoring moment, to port for example, at the Figure 2 depicts a generic trim curve to indi-
same time as the autopilot orders a course cate the criteria for dynamic instability potential
fyawj correction whrch also produces a port roll using change of trim versus speed from full-scale
moment. If this occurred In calm water at 30 and/or model test results. In the region of semi-
knots, the crew would most likely describe the displacement speeds, the curves marked II and
event as a high-speed broach. Ill. zero slope and negative slope respectively,
In the environment of increasing speeds and indicate that there is potentral for a dynamic
electronically controlled systems, i.e. autopilots instability problem at higher speeds.
and roll fin systems, vessel “hydrodynamics” can- Dynamic Inclining Test: The purpose of the
not be considered independently. dynamic inclining test is to determine if the heel
angle caused by an off-centre weight will
Operational Test Program change as speed increases from zero to maxi-
It is possible to evaluate a hull design with mum speed. The dynamic pressures are mea-
either a full-scale or model program which tests sured indirectly by measuring the change in
for potential dynamic instability for a variety of dynamic roll angle with change in speed rather
operating condrtrons. The lrkelihood of instabilr- than measuring the dynamic pressure distribu-
ty increases as the hull becomes heavier, the tion over the hull surface. It is very important to
LCG moves forward and the speed increases. measure all data accurately; a digital angle
For this reason full-scale testing is Important, gauge is recommended for measurements. The
particularly when installing addrtional horse- boat should be statically inclined to determine
power in an existing boat since increased speed the VCG in trial conditions.
may take the vessel beyond a condition of The test procedure begins with a symmetrical
dynamic stability. loading condition and measurement of the
Two test procedures, a speed-trim test and a change in roll at increasing speeds. A weight or
dynamic inclining test are useful for diagnosing fuel is offset to produce a heeling moment
potential problems. Either one may be conducted which results in an angle of 3 to 5 degrees to >
with models, in a towing tank during the design
stage. However it is recommended that they be
part of an operational testing plan for a oneoff
design, prototype and/or first hull production Figure 2
boats. The test conditions should focus on heavy
displacements and LCGs representing expected
SEMI-DISPLACEMENT +-+---+ PLANING
conditions as outfitted and operated. In addition,
conditions of weight and LCG, for the fully
outfitted boat, without fuel when the tanks are
aft of the LCG also should be evaluated.
Whether for a new boat or a conversion, oper-
ational testing by several experienced captains IS
important to evaluate the “feel” of the resulting
craft at drfferent loading conditions and heading
to the sea.
Trim-Speed Test: The purpose of the speed-trim
test is to determine if low dynamic pressures
whrch may develop at the bow of the hull will
generate a bow down moment resulting in a
potential problem. A reduction in trim angle rise
while increasing through semi-displacement
speeds is a precursor to possible loss of bow lift
at high speeds. The results of the dynamic pres-
sure are evaluated indirectly by measuring the
change in dynamic trim of the boat as the speed INCREASING -----+

increases rather than measuring the dynamic

CALM WATER SPEED
pressure distribution over the hull surface.

THEWOODREI'ORT 39
 Design and Operational Considerations
Bow steering, diving or chine riding may result
when the forward curved porttons of the but-
tocks become wetted at high speeds. This can
occur as the result of several different design or
operational scenarios.
Caution should be used when incorporating
design features such as spray strakes. If added wtth
the intent to improve performance, they should
not align with propellers, rudders or sea water
intakes since they could supply a ready path for
ventilating air resulting in unanticipated prob-
lems. Vortices caused by appendage shape or
constricted flow also provide a path for ventilating
air, so the suspect source should be eliminated.
Course-keeping instabilities may succumb to
increasing the running trim with rocker aft or a
centre of gravity shift. Skegs and larger or more
efficient rudders will improve the situation only if
starboard. The roll angle is measured at increas- Fi~urc 3 ~:11~wc) indicates Ii!-+ low dynamic hull pressures are eliminated at the
. 101‘
,renc,s.. 1W111
,.* pO*,UVc
... ill,<,. ae~:NWc
..
ing speeds throughout the speed range of the bow. Adding hull wedges forward may improve
clynmnir \IalGlilg silwotitms.
craft, The test is then repeated wtth the heelrnq course-keeping when low dynamic hull pres-
moment to port. A small rudder angle may be sures at the bow are the source of the problem.
required to maintain straight course. These tests Ventilation related problems are easily diag-
must be conducted in calm, open water free of nosed with underwater photography. Once the
hazards and risks to other boats. source of ventilation and the effected
The critical indicator is the pattern of change appendages are identified, it IS usually a compar-
heel angle with speed. A dynamrc rnstabrlity is atively easy matter to correct the problem.
indicated when this heel angle difference Changes must be made so that the arr path IS
increases with speed. It is vital to Investigate thrs closed off to the problem area.
throughout the craft’s expected loadtng condr- For high-performance yachts, the crew need
bon and full speed range. Figure 3 depicts to be aware of the capabilities and limitations of
generic roll versus speed curves for boats wtth the craft so they may recognise and compensate
opposite rotating propulsors. Single screw or for instabilities such as relocating load items,
boats without counter rotating propulsors are making dynamic tram adJuStment5 and/or reduc-
expected to exhibit some asymmetrical hull roll ing speed to one below that at which dynamic
as a reactron to propulsor torque. instability occurs.
Figure 3 indicates likely trends for both posi- Speeds are increasing! Prepare for the unex-
tive and negative dynamic stability situations. pected when operating large 25+ knot vessels. n

40 THEWOODREPORT