The height of water at the stem of a ship hull—with a nonbulbous wedge-shaped bow—that advances at constant speed in calm water is considered using two distinct methods:
a theoretical-experimental approach in which elementary fundamental theoretical considerations (dimensional analysis and rudimentary asymptotic considerations in thin-ship, shallow-draft, and deep-draft limits) are used in conjunction with experimental measurements for simple hull forms and a rectangular flat plate towed at several yaw and heel angles; and
thin-ship theory, that is, a fully analytical approach. Both of these two methods yield simple expressions that define the rise of water at a ship stem explicitly—ab initio and without calculations—in terms of the ship speed, draft, and waterline entrance angle. The theoretical-experimental expression and the thin-ship expression are in good agreement except at low Froude numbers and are also in reasonable agreement with experimental measurements.
