Flow around a thin body moving in shallow water.

Approximations for shallow-water ship waves are sought which are valid near the critical speed U = (gh)1/2. For sufficiently thin bodies (struts or ships) the governing equation is dispersive. Simple analytic solutions are given which are valid for all F2 ≤ O(1). As the thickness increases, nonlinearity also enters. A soliton solution is discussed which applies to a sharp-nosed half-body at slightly supercritical speed.