Yep, I've had that information for decades. One of the problems encountered by engineers is that the speed/length formula, while helpful, is also simplistic. Other factors affecting top speed are the fineness ratio (length vs beam) and total wetted area. A very fine ship, such as a destroyer, is going to be a lot faster than a broad-beamed merchant. The more hull that is underwater the more drag it creates. As the ship moves through the water it creates its own waves, which increase drag. Also even a displacement hull will tend to "climb" its own waves, meaning that as speed increases the ship is trying to move uphill over the waves it creates.
All those things are factors in how fast a ship can move and how much power it takes to do so.
__________________
“Never do anything you can't take back.”
—Rocky Russo
|