Aircraft Carriers

[rickshaw]

"...and I call it, the DEATH STAR!"  Brahahahahahahahahaha!   

So, this is your next plan Dr. Evil?   

[Captain Canada]

With nuclear power and desalinization I think a boat could be as big as you want ! Heck, somat that big could have an FPSO type unit built into one of the three hulls !

[Joe C-P]

Habbakuk the Next Generation! 

You can build it, but will it fit on your hobby shelves?

[seadude]

I would really like to take my what-ifry to a different level and seeking some advice on the aircraft carrier. What I am contemplating is a very large vessel, trimaran in principle, the two outriggers being the size of a modern super-carrier; the main hull/flightdeck being immense (for reasons to be disclosed at a later date ). I need to know:

a) could this be feasible?
b) forgetting other considerations (this is a fantasy whiff) are modern naval vessels designed around the limitations of the Suez and Panama canals in terms of draught and width.

Get on board as this could be fun.... .

How about something like this?

Habbakuk the Next Generation! 

You can build it, but will it fit on your hobby shelves?

I'm already planning this.

[PR19_Kit]

Blimey, that's slightly smaller than Luxemborug, but only just! 

[Librarian]

Oh yes . Now, could a craft with a 140ft wingspan catapult off that baby?

[seadude]

Oh yes . Now, could a craft with a 140ft wingspan catapult off that baby?

Not likely. That AC would have to be 2x the size of what it is now. 

[Librarian]

We're going to need a bigger boat. Dum dum dum dum.....

[Gondor]

I don't know much about ships but to me it looks as if its lacking a little depth or is that draft?

Gondor

[pyro-manic]

Trimaran hull means that it has lots of hull surface area, without being too deep. If it was one big hull it'd sit a lot lower in the water.

[scooter]

Dear gods, that looks like something out of Macross.  Does it transform in to a giant robot as well?

[seadude]

Dear gods, that looks like something out of Macross.  Does it transform in to a giant robot as well?

Nope. I'd love to see somebody try a 1/350 scale model of that beast. It would be huge! 

[rickshaw]

Trimaran hull means that it has lots of hull surface area, without being too deep. If it was one big hull it'd sit a lot lower in the water.

Trimarans and catamarans however suffer from torsional stress from the separated hulls moving in different directions according to the sea state.   This means that there needs to be a strength deck or structure between them, as one hull goes up and the other(s) go down or stay stationary.  In a carrier, this would mean that the flight deck was always flexing.  The wider the deck, the greater the flexing. It'd make landing on very interesting, I think.

[pyro-manic]

True. I think it'd probaly be better with a full deck across the whole lot, rather than have the spiky outrigger hulls jutting out on their own like that. A big enough sea and you might lose one!

[JayBee]

I don't know much about ships but to me it looks as if its lacking a little depth or is that draft?

Gondor

Was that a spelling mistake Alistair? Did you mean draft or DAFT!