Abstract This work discusses developments related to the generation and measurement of directional wave spectra in multi-directional wave tank using deterministic waves. The details of the generation method, based on the single summation method described by Jefferys (1987) , are given and the capacity of the Edinburgh curved wave tank to generate such waves is assessed. The Maximum Likelihood Method (MLM) and one of its derivative, The Modified Maximum Likelihood Method (MMLM) ( Isobe and Kondo, 1985 ), are adapted to the characteristics of deterministic waves. The methods are assessed both with simulated waves and real wave elevations from the Edinburgh curved tank. Both methods show very satisfactory results with very stable angular spreading estimates and good tracking of mean directions of propagation across frequencies. The adapted MLM compares favourably with the industry standard, the Bayesian Directional Method, while only taking a fraction of the time needed to the BDM to produce its spectral estimates.