Objectives  The operation principle of a hovercraft is different from those of conventional ship, with special stresses and much higher speeds than conventional ships. At present, the simplified fatigue strength calculation method proposed by major classification societies is not fully applicable to hovercraft, so it is necessary to put forward a suitable simplified method.

  Methods  According to the special structure and sailing mode of hovercraft, and combined with mainstream specifications, experiments and related research, this paper analyzes the working conditions, load calculations, cumulative damage derivation and other aspects, and puts forward a simplified method suitable for the fatigue analysis of hovercraft structures using a specific hovercraft as an example for calculation.

  Results  The simplified calculation results show that the fatigue life of typical longitudinal nodes meets the requirements of fatigue strength, and the analysis results of the example show that this method has certain applicability.

  Conclusions  The simplified method proposed in this paper can be used as a reference for the development, design and verification of hovercraft.