Thanks to David W. Taylor

Know him?  No, he’s not sent me photos.  But I just learned his name, and I’ll introduce you to him after a few photos that I’ve taken.

What surprised me about the photo above and below is that two sets of markings exist.

Here’s the more standard quantification system.

 

The difference between the waves produced by the ship and the tug appear to be explained by structure below the waterline.

 

The next two photos were taken in freshwater where water clarity is substantially better than in the photos above.

 

So back to Mr Taylor.  He was a naval architect and engineer working for the US Navy and credited as the creator of an experimental model tank used in navy ship design. According to this paper, the David Taylor Model Basin is where the bulbous bow was invented.

All photos by Will Van Dorp, who hopes some of you with naval architecture training respond to this.