In the framework of a general roll-damping model, we study the influence of different damping models on the nonlinear roll dynamics of ships through a detailed Melnikov analysis. We introduce the concept of the Melnikov equivalent damping and use phase-plane concepts to obtain simple expressions for what we call the Melnikov damping coefficients. We also study the sensitivity of these coefficients to parameter variations. As an application, we consider the equivalence of the linear-plus-cubic and linear-plus-quadratic damping models, and we derive a condition under which the two models yields the same Melnikov predictions. The free- and forced-oscillation behaviors of the models satisfying this condition are also compared.