• • The hybrid configuration of vertical and semi-submerged horizontal pontoons achieves superior static stability and wave-following behavior, eliminating negative air gap occurrences and reducing mooring loads compared to pure vertical or fully submerged designs.
• • Dynamic power fluctuations caused by wave-induced motion have a negligible impact on daily cumulative energy yield, with variations remaining below 5% under tested irregular wave conditions.
• • Increasing the diameter of horizontal pontoons yields a more pronounced improvement in air gap performance than increasing vertical pontoon diameter, offering a direct design lever for avoiding wave slamming on PV modules.
• • The Morison-based hydrodynamic model, validated against pool tests, predicts motion responses with sufficient accuracy for engineering applications, with discrepancies under 10% for heave and pitch RAOs in regular waves.