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Lesson Four Ship Design The design of a ship involves a selection of the features of form, size, proportions, and other factors which are open to choice, in combination with those features which are imposed by circumstances beyond the control of the design naval architect. Each new ship should do some things better than any other ship. This superiority must be developed in the evolution of the design, in the use of the most suitable materials, to the application of the best workmanship, and in the application of the basic fundamentals of naval architecture and marine engineering. As sips have increased in size and complexity, plans for building them have became mare detailed and more varied. The intensive research since the period just prior to World War 2 has brought about many technical advances in the design of ships. These changes have been brought about principally by the development of new welding techniques, developments in main propulsion plants, advances in electronics, and changes in materials and methods of construction. All ships have many requirements which are common to all types, whether they are naval, merchant, or special-purpose ships. The first of such requirements is that the ship must be capable of floating when carrying the load for which it was designed. A ship floats because as it sinks into the water it displaces an equal weight of water, and the pressure of the water produces an upward force, which is called the buoyancy force is equal to the weight of the water displaced by the ship and is called the displacement. Displacement is equal to the underwater volume of the ship multiplied by the density of the water in which it is gloating. When floating in still water, the weight of the ship, including everything it carries, is equal to the buoyancy or displacement. The weight of the ship itself is called the light weight. This weight includes the weight of the hull structure, fittings, equipment, propulsion machinery, piping and ven