Normally it is not patentable if it's obvious to a person skilled in the topic, if there is prior art, or if there is no business application. I would say this fails two out of three.
Assuming the patent is simply "curved superstructure" and not "superstructure designed to minimize a certain function of wind shear forces over a variety of angles vs a vector parallel to the direction of travel". That's not a trivial problem; its not clear anybody else has ever done it this particular way; and it has a clear business application (minimizing fuel costs for maritime transport). Sounds like a home run to me!
JoeAltmaier|9 years ago