Ship Nomenclature

Load Line Length(m)- taken as 96 per cent of the total length on

a waterline at 85 per cent of the least moulded depth measured from the top
of the keel, or as the length from the fore side of the stern to the axis of the
rudder stock on that waterline, if that is greater. In ships designed with a rake
of keel, the waterline on which this length is measured is to be parallel to the
designed waterline. The length is to be measured in metres.

LR Scantling Length-Rule length, is the distance, in metres, on

the summer load waterline from the forward side of the stern to the after side
of the rudder post or the centre of the rudder stock if there is no rudder post. L
is to be not less than 96 per cent, and need not be greater than 97 per cent, of
the extreme length on the summer load waterline.

The ship’s Draught D is the vertical distance from the waterline to

that point of the hull which is deepest in the water The foremost draught DF
and aft most draught DA are normally the same when the ship is in the loaded
condition.

The Scantling Draught is the ships design draught and is equal to

the Summer Load Line draught.

Breadth on waterline BWL-the largest breadth on the waterline

BWL

Displacement

This is the equivalent mass of sea water (sg = 1.025) displaced by the hull. It
is therefore equal to the Total weight of the vessel

Deadweight

Deadweight is the difference in tonnes (1000Kg) between the displacement of

a ship in water of specific gravity 1.025 at the load waterline corresponding to
the assigned summer freeboard and the lightweight of the ship.
It includes bunkers and other supplies necessary for the vessel to proceed on
passage as well as cargo.
The Deadweight may be quoted at the design draught although this would be
specially denoted

Lightweight

Lightweight is the displacement of a ship in tonnes without cargo, fuel,

lubricating oil, ballast water, fresh water and feedwater in tanks, consumable
stores, and passengers and crew and their effects.

Thus
DISPLACEMENT = DEADWEIGHT + LIGHTWEIGHT

Gross Register Tonnage, Net Register Tons

This is a volume measurement where one Register Ton is equivalent to 2.83 m3

and express the total moulded internal size of the vessel and are used for the
calculation of harbour and canal dues. It can be found on the International
Tonnage Certificate each vessel must hold

Hull Form description

Parallel midbody In many modern ships, the form of the hull’s transverse
section in the midships region extends without change for some distance fore
and aft. This is called parallel midbody and may be described as extensive or
short, or expressed as a fraction of the ship’s length.

Forebody The portion of the hull forward of the midship section.

After body The portion of the hull abaft the midship section.

Entrance The immersed portion of the hull forward of the section of greatest
immersed area (not necessarily amidships) or forward of the parallel midbody.

Run The immersed portion of the hull aft of the section of greatest immersed
area or aft of the parallel midbody.

Deadrise The departure of the bottom from a transverse horizontal line

measured from the baseline at the molded breadth line. Deadrise is also called
rise of floor or rise of bottom. Deadrise is an indicator of the ship’s form;
fullbodied ships, such as cargo ships and tankers, have little or no deadrise,
while fine-lined ships have much greater deadrise along with a large bilge
radius. Where there is rise of floor, the line of the bottom commonly intersects
the baseline some distance from the centerline, producing a small horizontal
portion of the bottom on each side of the keel. The horizontal region of the
bottom is called flat of keel, or flat of bottom. While any section of the ship
can have deadrise, tabulated deadrise is normally taken at the midships
section.

Knuckle An abrupt change in the direction of plating or other structure.

Chine The line or knuckle formed by the intersection of two relatively flat hull
surfaces, continuous over a significant length of the hull. In hard chines, the
intersection forms a sharp angle; in soft chines, the connection is rounded.

Bilge radius The outline of the midships section of very full ships is very
nearly a rectangle with its lower corners rounded. The lower corners are called
the bilges and the shape is often circular. The radius of the circular arc is called
the bilge radius or turn of the bilge. The turn of the bilge may be described
as hard or easy depending on the radius of curvature. If the shape of the bilge
follows some curve other than a circle, the radius of curvature of the bilge will
increase as it approaches the straight plating of the side and bottom. Small,
high-speed or planing hulls often do not have a rounded bilge. In these craft,
the side and bottom are joined in a chine.

Tumblehome The inward fall of side plating from the vertical as it extends
upward towards the deck edge. Tumblehome is measured horizontally from the
molded breadth line at the deck edge. Tumblehome was a usual feature in
sailing ships and many ships built before 1940. Because it is more expensive to
construct a hull with tumblehome, this feature is not usually incorporated in
modern merchant ship design, unless required by operating conditions or
service (tugs and icebreaking vessels, for example). Destroyers and other
high-speed combatants are often built with some tumblehome in their mid and
after sections to save topside weight.

Flare The outward curvature of the hull surface above the waterline, i.e., the
opposite of tumblehome. Flared sections cause a commensurately larger
increase in local buoyancy than unflared sections when immersed. Flaring bows
are often fitted to help keep the forward decks dry and to prevent "nose-
diving" in head seas.

Camber The convex upwards curve of a deck. Also called round up, round
down, or round of beam. In section, the camber shape may be parabolic or
consist of several straight line segments. Camber is usually given as the height
of the deck on the centerline amidships above a horizontal line connecting port
and starboard deck edges. Standard camber is about one-fiftieth of the beam.
Camber diminishes towards the ends of the ship as the beam decreases. The
principal use of camber is to ensure good drainage in calm seas or in port,
although camber does slightly increase righting arms at large angles of
inclination (after the deck edge is immersed). Not all ships have cambered
decks; ships with cambered weather decks and flat internal decks are not
uncommon.
Sheer The rise of a deck above the horizontal measured as the height of the
deck above a line parallel to the baseline tangent to the deck at its lowest
point. In older ships, the deck side line often followed a parabolic profile and
sheer was given as its value at the forward and after perpendiculars. Standard
sheer was given by: where sheer is measured in inches and L is the length
between perpendiculars in feet. Actual sheer often varied considerably from
sheer forward = 0.2L + 20
sheer aft = 0.1L + 10
these standard values; the deck side profile was not always parabolic, the
lowest point of the upper deck was usually at about 0.6L, and the values of
sheer forward and aft were varied to suit the particular design. Many modern
ships are built without sheer; in some, the decks are flat for some distance
fore and aft of midships and then rise in a straight line towards the ends.
Sheer increases the height of the weather decks above water, particularly at
the bow, and helps keep the vessel from shipping water as she moves through
rough seas as well as improving sea keeping by adding bouyancy Ford and Aft.

Rake A departure from the vertical or horizontal of any conspicuous line in

profile, defined by a rake angle or by the distance between the profile line and
a reference line at a convenient point. Rake of stem, for example, can be
expressed as the angle between the stem bar and a vertical line for ships with
straight stems. For curved stems, a number of ordinates measured from the
forward perpendicular are required to define the stem shape. Ships designed
so that the keel is not parallel to the baseline and DWL when floating at their
designed drafts are said to have raked keels, or to have drag by the keel.

Cut-up When a keel departs from a straight line at a sharp bend, or knuckle,
the sloping portion is called a cut-up. This is seen on some high speed craft
and on Ice breakers allowing them to ride up on to the ice

Deadwood Portions of the immersed hull with significant longitudinal and

vertical dimensions, but without appreciable transverse dimensions. Deadwood
is included in a hull design principally to increase lateral resistance or enhance
directional stability without significantly increasing drag when moving ahead.
Sailing craft require deadwood to be able to work to windward efficiently.
Skegs or fins are fitted on barges to give directional stability. Deadwood aft is
detrimental to speed and quick maneuverability and is minimized by use of
cut-up sterns and by arched keels or sluice keels (with athwartships apertures)
in tugs and workboats.

Appendages Portions of the vessel that extend beyond the main hull outline
or molded surface. Positive appendages, such as rudders, shafts, bosses, bilge
keels, sonar domes, etc., increase the underwater volume, while negative
appendages, such as bow thruster tunnels and other recesses, decrease the
underwater volume. Shell plating, lying outside the molded surface, is normally
the largest single appendage, and often accounts for one-half to two-thirds of
the total appendage volume. Appendages generally account for 0.2 to 2
percent of total immersed hull volume, depending on ship size, service, and
configuration.

Hull Surfaces Hull surfaces are either warped, consisting of smoothly faired,
complex three-dimensional curves, developed, consisting of portions of
cylinders or cones, or flat. Hydroconic hulls are built up of connected flat plates
rather than plates rolled to complex curves. Hydroconic construction lowers
production costs and may simplify fitting patches to a casualty.
The part of the hull which effects the speed and fuel consumed is the area
under the water. Thus Length Overall (LOA) is not relevant. Instead the length
between perpendiculars (LPP and Length at waterline (LWL) are used. For LPP the
aftermost perpendicular is usually taken as passing through the rudder stock.
An accepted method of calculation is

LPP = 0.97 x LWL

The draught is taken as the design draught. This draught depends

on the trading of the vessel and may be between the summer loadline draught
and ballast draught