2022-Aug-08
A critical review of my previous analysis with an eye towards statistics and the importance of context in numbers.
2022-Jul-11
Why would you pay more for engineering than for the ship? The value of engineering comes from the lives protected, not the design of the yacht. How much is that protection worth? This risk analysis has an answer to the value of safety.
2021-Apr-05
Class societies are not perfect, but they are absolutely necessary. We need organizations to provide quality assurance on ships, whose primary motivation lies solely in the quality of the ship, and not with national interests. Despite this necessity, a class society works best when we remember that they are not perfect. Everyone has their bias, and when we balance these biases, we create a fine seaworthy ship.
2021-Feb-01
No matter what, building your own yacht will always require more than you anticipated. Before making the commitment to build your own boat, take time to seriously consider all the hidden costs and extra effort required. The best yacht for you is the one you can finish.
2021-Jan-04
Theoretically, composites promise strength several thousand times greater than steel. So why don’t we have composite materials everywhere? The practical design of composites severly limits their capabilities. Once you understand the practical limits, it provides a useful design guide for how to apply composites and maximize their advantages.
2020-May-11
Stability tests do not arrive instantly after you order one. It takes time and planning, and you should expect extensive coordination with several different organizations. But the ultimate benefit justifies the expense: a ship with reliable stability performance. This article unravels some of the mystery behind a stability test and why you want one.
2020-Apr-13
Weight control is not sexy, but the consequences of ignoring it can be very scary. If we ignore weight control, we risk a potentially unusable ship. That is why proper weight control starts with the right attitude: understanding the risks and the necessity of a weight estimate.
2020-Mar-30
Naval architects work daily as systems integrators, but it’s difficult to point to any one system and show where this adds value. So today I want to review some T-AO UNREP equipment, and show how none of this is possible without systems integration.
2020-Mar-16
Ships evolved to require a combination of expertise from highly specialized disciplines. If you want a modern vessel, expect a modern team of experts. So let’s meet all the different roles and learn who it takes to create a modern ship.
2020-Feb-03
The physics of model scaling make it impossible to perfectly convert between model scale and ship scale. Learn how to get around the scaling correlation problem and convert from model scale to ship scale measurements.
2020-Jan-13
Time for an upgrade! Far beyond the single purpose testing facility, the modern towing tank expanded into a Swiss Army knife of experiments. Armed with new gadgets and advanced capabilities. Time to see what new tricks the tank holds for us!
2020-Jan-09
It may look like a swimming pool, but towing tanks exist for a different purpose. Dragging models down the tank propelled the science of ship design forward across the years. These pools deliver critical measurements for ship hydrodynamics. Discover why we pay such a high price for a fundamental tool of ship design.
2019-Oct-16
Ready or not, here it comes! No matter who you talk to, IMO 2020 promises to be a time of uncertain fuel prices. If fuel prices will go up, your fuel consumption needs to go down. Here are eight practical ways to reduce your fuel consumption.
2019-May-27
What happens behind the curtain when the CFD engineer goes to work? What goes into making a CFD simulation? As a project manager, you need to understand the workflow of a CFD project; this helps you plan the project and track budget expenses. When we understand the workflow, we know the right questions and can anticipate project delays.
2019-Feb-18
We all want to feel good about paying for engineering analysis. Sometimes the best answer drives us to maximize value, rather than minimize cost. In those cases, you do better to go beyond basic safety and search for enhancements. Today we discuss four engineering tasks where you can maximize your value. Extract every last drop of knowledge from your engineering project.