By Christopher Swanhart
The same reason water floats our boats also slows them down. Water is dense. Pushing a hull through the water, and maintaining planing speeds, requires an appreciable amount of power. The resistance profile of a hull is easily predicted. And the magnitude of thrust is eye-opening when compared to, say, a car on pavement going the same speed. At planing speeds, 50 miles per hour for example, the required power to propel a hull in water can be orders of magnitude greater than that of a car going the same speed on a road. It’s a drag, for sure, so how can we deal with it best?