Bent for efficiency, unorthodox sterns promise energy savings

摘要

Since humans first took to the water, hull symmetry has been the rule almost without exception. For a while "steerboards" occupied what we now call the starboard side of a vessel, but that was just about the only variation. Now, researchers in Europe are promoting asymmetrical sterns as a way to improve fuel economy by better accounting for the hydrodynamic forces created by the rotation of the propeller on a single-screw vessel.