The course aims to introduce the main concepts of Naval Architecture, from naval and nautical terminology to physics applied to motor and sailing boats and to the main guidelines for their design.

The aim of the course is to provide the fundamental concepts of the naval and nautical sector, contextualizing the knowledge of physics to the world of boats, providing the tools for calculating their performance and possibly to design a boat.

Once the terminology and types of boats are introduced, we move on to hydrostatics, analyzing the buoyancy and stability of hulls in relation to their distribution of weights and volumes. Elements of fluid mechanics are mentioned to analyze the hydrodynamic resistance of the hulls, passing from displacement hulls to semi-displacement hulls to planing ones and to carry out a preliminary dimensioning of the propulsion system. We then move on to the control surfaces of the boats, keels and rudders, also indicating the design criteria. Wave modeling, boat's response to waves and seakeeping will be presented. The operation of sailing boats will then be discussed from the point of view of the balance of aero-hydrodynamic forces. The use of foils in the nautical sector will be illustrated and discussed.

At the end of the course, the individual or group student will present the preliminary design of a boat using the tools learned in class.

dal March 2023 a May 2023