Passenger Comfort on board Motor Yachts

In the course of 1996 a systematic investigation was conducted to identify measures which improve the passenger comfort on board large motor yachts. The work, which was based on information from literature and in-house model test results, numerical predictions and dedicated model tests, lead to a number of general observations and conclusions regarding the hydrodynamics and seakeeping of motor yachts, which are described in this paper.
A relevant measure for the performance of a given design is the fraction of time that is available for a specific purpose. From a passenger's point of view the "purpose" of the ship could vary from providing a stable platform for leisure and business purposes to providing safe and comfortable transport on specific routes. The performance in the above sense is governed by the hydrodynamic characteristics of the vessel, "mission" related criteria and the prevailing wave climate. These three performance aspects will be discussed separately, after which specific design issues will be addressed.