[PUP] PUP-PPM

[Ron Rogers]

I think that someone suggested that tank testing wasn't that successful an
endeavor. I direct you to the Norwegian designed and built "Abeille Flandre"
salvage tug and her larger successors such as the "Abeille Bourbon." On
YouTube, there *was* a video juxtapositioning a model of Abeille Flandre and
the actual ship heading into heavy seas. Her motion at sea was identical to
that in the model tank! The only unusual hull feature seems to be her
underwater wasp waist followed by a somewhat flat area aft. Her forefoot is
deep with a bulbous bow.

So I wonder what that same naval architect would do if asked to design a
fuel-efficient passagemaker. One thing I noticed in the YouTube videos: she
is not slowed by the head seas, rather she just goes through them. The new
vogue in offshore drilling service vessels is that they are being built with
reverse shear enclosed bows. Therefore, the forward bulge is at the
waterline and the stem angles back from there in a gentle arc. Seems to
slice waves better.

Ron Rogers