> This reads to me if I could get a Nuclear Fusion reactor in my ship that has 10 times the power my Max Speed would still be the same.
Hull speed is a pretty simplistic approximation of the actual physics behind it, but generally the rule holds: A displacement hull cannot exceed its hull speed. What will rather happen is that the bow wave will pile up and eat your energy. It’s actually a problem if a very powerful boat pulls a smaller one, the bow wave on the smaller boat piles up, making the smaller boats bow rise up until the stern slips under the water and it sinks. (Or something else gives in under increasing strain before that happens)
Now, other hull forms can be built: glider hulls for example that glide on the water surface (think fast sports boats etc.), but scaling those up will certainly be problematic if you’re trying to aim for high carrying capacity. Cats/Multi hull designs sort of cheat the physics: the determining factor is roughly the length of the water line and multi hull designs obviously have more waterline for a given total length.
Hull speed is a pretty simplistic approximation of the actual physics behind it, but generally the rule holds: A displacement hull cannot exceed its hull speed. What will rather happen is that the bow wave will pile up and eat your energy. It’s actually a problem if a very powerful boat pulls a smaller one, the bow wave on the smaller boat piles up, making the smaller boats bow rise up until the stern slips under the water and it sinks. (Or something else gives in under increasing strain before that happens)
Now, other hull forms can be built: glider hulls for example that glide on the water surface (think fast sports boats etc.), but scaling those up will certainly be problematic if you’re trying to aim for high carrying capacity. Cats/Multi hull designs sort of cheat the physics: the determining factor is roughly the length of the water line and multi hull designs obviously have more waterline for a given total length.