This paper presents numerical results of the added mass and damping coefficients of vertical axisymmetric bodies on or under the free surface. Also computed are the excitation forces on these bodies due to an incident regular wave system. The numerical scheme employs a localized finite-element method, which is based on the theory of the calculus of variations. The excitation forces and moments on a submerged half-spheroid lying on the bottom are computed and compared with the results obtained by others. he agreement is good. Several specific types of floating vertical axisymmetric platforms are considered for ten different wave lengths, in connection with the design of an ocean-thermal-energy converter platform. The added mass and damping coefficient, as well as the excitations, are presented. It is shown that simple strip theory gives a good approximation of the sway(and pitch) added mass for a disc platform having a long circular cylinder.