help with boat design.

[adano tony]

i am new to the site.i am a college student who has been given a project to design a wooden boat to convey 15 passengers across a river.i have no idea on where to start from.i need help on general knowledge in boat design.thanks for the help.

[terhohalme]

Find Gerr: The Nature of Boats, from the library and read it. And you will be tuned on the right cannel...

[terhohalme]

Sorry, Ghana? Do google then "river ferry"

[Petros]

first thing you need to do is define the mission. you say 15 passengers., any cargo, how many crew, big engine or none, fuel capacity, etc.? This will determine size and total displacement. How big of a crossing, 50 feet or 5 miles or more? Will it be smooth water or moving current, or open ocean crossings? Will it be powered, or will it be towed across with a cable and winch? Fast moving ferry or slow? Fair weather open boat, or covered passanger area.

Once you have the mission clearly defined, a lot of your design parameters fall into place, and the total cost.

The lowest drag hull design is not very stable, nor able to take a lot of rough water, but it will take the least amount of fuel to drive it at low speeds. So there are a lot of deisign trade-off that are compared, the choices and compromises are up to the designer to prioritize.

Good luck.

[Petros]

first thing you need to do is define the mission. you say 15 passengers., any cargo, how many crew, big engine or none, fuel capacity, etc.? This will determine size and total displacement. How big of a crossing, 50 feet or 5 miles or more? Will it be smooth water or moving current, or open ocean crossings? Will it be powered, or will it be towed across with a cable and winch? Fast moving ferry or slow? Fair weather open boat, or covered passanger area.

Once you have the mission clearly defined, a lot of your design parameters fall into place, and the total cost.

The lowest drag hull design is not very stable, nor able to take a lot of rough water, but it will take the least amount of fuel to drive it at low speeds. So there are a lot of design trade-off that are compared, the choices and compromises are up to the designer to prioritize.

Good luck.