What is the BULBOUS BOW for?

What is the protrusion commonly found of the bow of a ship actually for?

The Bulbous Bow is built into the hull of most modern ships, and besides from looking slightly odd it actually serves a functions. This video will answer the question: What is the bulbous bow for?

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[davidjames]

The bow wave you want to mitigate will vary depending upon the ships speed, sea state and wind. A fixed bulb can only be optimised for a single condition and in other conditions will actually be harmful. In any case, the mitigation will only be partial at best, so the benefits might be limited. For a vessel almost always travelling at a constant speed this might be acceptable. But for a vessel constantly changing speed and course, example a sailing ship or warship the benefits might simply be too small to justify the costs. For a small yacht the benefit might be very small ( the speed is low, the bow wave very small and the fuel is free and who really cares if sometimes you might go 0.1 knots faster ).
An ideal bulb would be able to change it's shape to automatically adapt to the conditions, just like aircraft have swing wings. However making a 10?? ton shape shifting bulb might be way beyond practice, although perhaps this would be a good project for a naval design student somewhere.

[thomasmoser]

i really like these kind of videos, no bullshitting around, informative and in only 4 minutes i know what i wanted to know when i clicked on the video

[jakedragsknee]

I believe it’s for mating reasons with the female ships

[Allthingstech]

I am teacher and I can tell you you did a great job, no flashy words but the physics was very clear.Thanks

[Ernzt]

My father, who was a navy man, always told me that this behaviour was found by accident. The first was build for sonar and it created a possitive increase of speed

[jeanclermont]

“Is that a bulbous bow on your hull or are you happy to see me?”

[DJLsbVapes]

Canceling the wave out, also reduces turbulence and cavitation on the rear propulsion

[andremacedo]

I love how the internet have all the answers to those random questions we ask ourselves about lol

[WheelEstate]

I consider anyone with a British accent to be an expert.

[bobconklin]

I was part of the commissioning crew of the USS Ronald Reagan CVN 76. We had tee shirts made that read, “ I’m Not Fat. It’s My Bulbous Bow.”

[vulture]

I'm going to use the information in this video at parties. As an icebreaker.

[danmcclaren]

That’s actually pretty genius. “Hey let’s make a second set of waves ahead of the first that will cancel each other out”

[killerta]

You know I've always wondered about the bump on the bow of a ship but never seemed to research it honestly.

Stumbled across this video and honestly learned about it ha! Simplistic explanation and well laid out video makes it super easy to watch. Well done sir

[mcfly]

A lot of this I already knew because I was a US Navy sailor but I’m still learning a lot from these videos, I’m glad I bumped into this channel. Well done.

[sammynicholas]

There is actually one more very important reason for the bulbous bow along with the wave canceling effect!
A ship which moves considerably slow without the bulbous bow will create 70% more air bubbles than one with a bulbous bow, as well as the lack of wave counteracting effect, moreover the bubbles created by traditional bow gets push to the bottom of the hull which causes a loss of water pressure underneath the hull inturns less force pushing against hull, and decrease buoyancy, therefore the ship will sit lower in the water and create more drag and less hullage capability.
on the other hand ships with bulbous bow, when the bow pushes against the water, it creates fewer air bubbles and the bubbles are mostly displaced to the side of hull, therefore, the hull will maintain its water displacement, less drag and what's even better is the air bubbles get push to the side of the hull making it less drag from the side of the hull resulting better fuel economy!

[Srgfowler]

Never searched for anything revolving ships. But I still clicked

[adamdickinson]

1:37 "If we think back to mathematics."

Me: * Vietnam-style flashbacks begin *

[StratMatt]

Now I understand what the hull is going on!
Thank you!

[JackMayhoffer]

I woke up with a bulbous bow this morning.

[boatman]

Great explanation! I used to provide water taxi service to ship's agents servicing the cruise ship industry here in Maine. Twenty-five years ago these cruise ships generated huge waves in their wake. Today a 1, 000' cruise ship produces a wake smaller than that produced by a 36' lobster boat largely due to these bulbs. And speaking of lobster boats, a local fisherman took a clue from the cruise ship industry and added a fiberglass bulb to the bow of his 45' boat. I've photographed it several times while the boat was tied up to the dock but have never had the chance to ask the owner if it has worked to reduce fuel consumption.