Volume coefficient (CV)

The volume coefficient CV is the displaced volume divided by the cube of the ship’s length, V / L^3, a non-dimensional measure of fatness used in resistance work, notably in Taylor’s standard-series presentation. It captures the volume-to-length slenderness that governs wave-making: a low CV is a long, slender, low-resistance hull, a high CV a short, fat one. Taylor used the displacement-length ratio, the imperial cousin of CV, as a primary parameter in his resistance charts. CV is distinct from the block coefficient, which compares volume to the circumscribing block L * B * T; CV references length alone and so isolates the length effect on resistance.