Regular Motion Contours

Contour plots of the six regular motions (heave, surge, sway, pitch, roll and yaw) may be plotted against wave frequency or wavelength on the x-axis and wave heading on the y-axis, for a single ship speed.

These plots are useful in determining the frequency/heading combination which gives the maximum vessel response.

The diagram below shows an example heave RAO contour plot for a vessel speed of 10.0 knots.