Small-waterplane-area Twin Hull

Small-waterplane-area Twin Hull

A Small Waterplane Area Twin Hull, better known by the acronym SWATH, is a twin-hull ship design that minimizes hull cross section area at the sea's surface. Minimizing the ship's volume near the surface area of the sea, where wave energy is located, maximizes a vessel's stability, even in high seas and at high speeds. The bulk of the displacement necessary to keep the ship afloat is located beneath the waves, where it is less affected by wave action. Wave excitation drops exponentially as depth increases (Deeply submerged submarines are normally not affected by wave action at all). Placing the majority of a ship's displacement under the waves is similar in concept to creating a ship that rides atop twin submarines.