Wikipedia
A bulbous bow is a protruding bulb at the bow (or front) of a ship just below the waterline. The bulb modifies the way the water flows around the hull, reducing drag and thus increasing speed, range, fuel efficiency, and stability. Large ships with bulbous bows generally have a twelve to fifteen percent better fuel efficiency than similar vessels without them. A bulbous bow also increases the buoyancy of the forward part and hence reduces the pitching of the ship to a small degree.
Bulbous bows have been found to be most effective when used on vessels that meet the following conditions:
- the waterline length is longer than about
- the vessel will operate most of the time at or near its maximum speed
Thus, large vessels that cross large bodies of water near their best speed will benefit from a bulbous bow. This would include naval vessels, cargo ships, passenger ships, tankers and supertankers. All of these ships tend to be large and usually operate within a small range of speeds close to their top speed. Bulbous bows are less beneficial in smaller craft and may actually be detrimental to their performance and economy. Thus, they are rarely used on recreational craft like powerboats, sailing vessels, tug boats and yachts.
Usage examples of "bulbous bow".
Another mile and he'd be alongside, reducing Kelly's options to precisely zero, but he did have his plan now, seeing the ship's bulbous bow, partly exposed.
A new ship, the petty officer's brain noted, and her bulbous bow made for a nice set of bow waves that the other boat was using to surf along.
One of the enormous articulated arms of the dry-dock cut off the view, curving around the flagship to grip its bulbous bow.
The ship trembled under his feet as its great bulbous bow rammed the ice and then heaved up and over the white surface.
Beneath the water, the echo sounders relayed a three-dimensional map of the seabed far below, while from the bulbous bow section the forward sonar scan.
Beneath the water, the echo sounders relayed a three-dimensional map of the seabed far below, while from the bulbous bow section the forward sonar scan-ner looked ahead and down into the black waters.
A Klingon battleship scuttled away from the Negh'Var, dwarfed by the protruding bulbous bow of his flagship.