How do I determine the proper pitch in FreeShip?

[kengrome]

I have a design that looks like it is "bow high, stern low" and I want to adjust it so it will be displayed as if the boat is floating naturally in the water. Does FreeShip have a feature that re-orients the boat so that it is shown in the proper balance, just like it would be if it were in the water?

If not, how can I determine this?

[CGN]

If you want to see your boat "floating", you can use Bio Design with freeship
http://www.geocities.com/dumchikov/bio_design/

model your hull on freeship and export to bio, read the instructions on the bio site, is a good "fast" way to see your boat floating

what you need to know is the weight of your boat and the location of your centre of gravity.

Get a copy of "how to design a boat" by john teale, good reading and with the information on how to find your center of gravity.

Also this may help you

http://www.hawaii-marine.com/ftp/WM-e.zip

[marshmat]

FreeShip's "transform" menu has an option, "rotate", which you might try applying to the entire hull. But if you want to know how it'll really float, not just how it looks in sketches, you'll have to follow CGN's advice and calculate the actual weight and CG.

[kengrome]

Before I posted this thread I tried rotating the design in FreeShip but as Marshmat says, this doesn't tell me how the boat will actually float in the water.

I downloaded the BioDesign software as recommended by CGN, and the .wmv instructional video, too. I haven't tried the software yet but the video makes it look quick and easy to use for my purposes, so I think it will do exactly what I need.

Thanks to everyone for the help!