Small Waterplane Area Twin Hull

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For the definition of the word "swath", see the Wikitionary article

A SWATH ship resembles a catamaran. The twin hulls (blue) remain completely submerged.

The Small Waterplane Area Twin Hull (SWATH) is a twin-hull ship design that minimizes hull volume in the surface area of the sea. By minimizing hull volume in the sea's surface, where wave energy is located, the vessel becomes very stable, even in high seas and at high speeds. The bulk of the displacement necessary to keep the ship afloat is located beneath the waves, where it is not affected by wave action. Placing the majority of the ship's displacement under the waves is similar in concept to submarines, which are also not affected by wave action.

The twin-hull design provides large, broad decks, but those decks becomes useless if one hull becomes compromised.

SWATH hull design may make for an excellent aircraft carrier--one that is fast and stable--but no experimental SWATH aircraft carrier has yet been built.

The SWATH form was invented by Canadian Frederick G. Creed, who presented his idea in 1938 and was later awarded a British patent for it in 1946. It was first used in the 1960s and 1970s as an evolution of catamaran design for use as oceanographic research vessels or submarine rescue ships.

[edit] Examples of SWATH ships

CCGS Frederick G. Creed, a Canadian Coast Guard survey ship.
Sea Shadow, a US Navy experimental stealth ship.
Sea Fighter, a US Navy experimental littoral combat ship.
Asia Star, formerly theRadisson Diamond, a 350 person all balcony luxury cruise ship with 20295 tonnes gross tonnage.
R/V Kilo Moana, a University of Hawaii reasearch vessel.
Cloud X, a passenger ferry running between Florida and the Bahamas.
Nekton Rorqual/Swacat 80, an 80 foot cruise ship operated by Nekton Diving Cruises.
Cetus and Perseus, pilot vessels for the Netherlands Loodswezen.
Döse, Dunen, pilot vessels for the German Brotherhood of Elbe - Pilots.
Elbe, pilot station vessel for the German Brotherhood of Elbe - Pilots.
Planet Type 751, weapons + sonar research ship of the German Navy.