Help Finding Lines Plans

[EngineerGirl]

Hello! New here. I am taking a naval architecture course for my engineering major, and my teacher asked us to find an 'interesting hull' for a future hydrostatics assignment. I can choose any hull I want (I want a simplistic hull!). In addition to the body plan, I need the following information:
1. reference length or station spacing
2. the design draft (the height of the DWL above baseline)
3. reference beam (BWL or max beam)

Unfortunately, I am just a beginner and unsure about what those things mean, or where to find a simple hull body plan. I have already searched my library. Do you guys know of any online sources I could check out? Like a database of lines plans? Or just one?

Thanks for reading!

[gonzo]

Do you need just the hull lines or a complete construction plan?

[EngineerGirl]

I just need the hull lines, I think!!! And those three other items.

[ldigas]

Why can't you just search Google images for "lines plan", ... click on the left side on "large" to avoid icon size images, and off you go. There is a plethora of them.

Some of them probably have copyrights, but I doubt any holders will hold it against you if you use them for educational purposes.

All the necessary data is in there too ...

[EngineerGirl]

Thanks, Idigas! I am googling them right now. I am just really new at this and unsure what an official hull body looks like/what necessary information goes along with it. They all look a little different to me! I'll keep searching.

[dialdan]

Google , Hullform, it is a free hull design program ,could be useful

[EngineerGirl]

Thanks!

[EngineerGirl]

Does anyone know if this has the appropriate information? I see draft and beam, but not reference length.

http://www.dhylanboats.com/grayling_plans.html

[CatBuilder]

You're in Bangor, they're in Brooklin. Maybe you can make it really easy on yourself and contact one of the instructors or students at this school in Maine:

http://www.thewoodenboatschool.com/

The faculty page:

http://www.thewoodenboatschool.com/faculty.php

They might provide you with one of the local boats, to make the project more interesting.

Also, this one might fit your needs...


http://www.paddlinglight.com/article...y-ocean-canoe/

There are a bunch of different plans on this site, many of which have lines, station spacing, draft and max beam.

http://www.tdem.co.nz/boat/links/free-plans.html#canoe

To define those for you:

Lines plan: That's the shape of the boat - see above image.
Station Spacing: To make a nice, perfect shape, there are curves set up to build a boat on every few feet apart or so. Those places where you set up a curve to help guide your hull construction are called "stations." The station spacing is the space between those defined curves making up the hull. The stations above at are 8", 1'8", 2'8" and so on.
Draft: That's just how far it is from the waterline while the boat is floating to the very bottom of the boat, the part that is underwater. The draft on the boat above is 5.2".
Max Beam: That's just how wide the boat is at its widest point. Looks close to 2'5" on this boat above.

[EngineerGirl]

Thanks for all the help, CatBuilder! Knowing the terminology makes this a lot easier. Pretty cool links, too!

Also, I have always wanted to visit the wooden boat school!

[DavidJ]

It sounds like your teacher skipped a few lessons. Quite a few probably. The first chapter of most naval architecture textbooks describes all those terms. I really can't imagine somebody starting to teach hydrostatics without basic lessons on what a lines plan is. It would be pointless. Not knowing what DWL or BWL means is just beyond basic. I'm pretty sure most school programs actually have an entire prerequisite course on boat terminology and theory before you even start hydrostatics.

Anyhow as to your question getting lines plan samples is relatively easy. Nobody had any trouble finding examples when I was in school. Textbooks usually have examples. WaterCraft magazine from the UK has a lines plan in every issue I believe. Boatdesign quarterly usually has several. My university carried both of those magazines. There are also many many books written about boat designers with samples of their designs and discussions about those designs. Those books almost always have lines plans in them. If you can't find anything talk to the librarian.

[ldigas]

Originally Posted by DavidJ

It sounds like your teacher skipped a few lessons. Quite a few probably. The first chapter of most naval architecture textbooks describes all those terms. I really can't imagine somebody starting to teach hydrostatics without basic lessons on what a lines plan is. It would be pointless. Not knowing what DWL or BWL means is just beyond basic. I'm pretty sure most school programs actually have an entire prerequisite course on boat terminology and theory before you even start hydrostatics.

Anyhow as to your question getting lines plan samples is relatively easy. Nobody had any trouble finding examples when I was in school. Textbooks usually have examples. WaterCraft magazine from the UK has a lines plan in every issue I believe. Boatdesign quarterly usually has several. My university carried both of those magazines. There are also many many books written about boat designers with samples of their designs and discussions about those designs. Those books almost always have lines plans in them. If you can't find anything talk to the librarian.

I would've expected they had a course in "Lines" (what are waterlines, diagonals, sections, intersections, ... basic coefficients) before they started hydrostatics.

Not to mention a course in drawing the actual lines.

[EngineerGirl]

I know! I'm a little irritated because, although I am a design engineer, this is the first class on naval architecture (or really any architecture) that I've taken. The only class I have had that remotely covers these subjects is statics. Furthermore, this is only the 4th class, and during the previous classes, we just went through slide shows of old navy ships (snore, snore).
I think I found the perfect hull, however:
http://www.dhylanboats.com/grayling_plans.html

What a beautiful craft!

[DCockey]

A hard chine (sharp corners) flat-bottom or V-bottom design would probably be the easiest to use. Look at Boatbuilding or American Small Sailing Craft, both by Howard I Chapelle. They have lines drawings with offsets for a number of different hulls.

WoodenBoat School mostly operates in the summer, and the faculty have other jobs.

[Petros]

Welcome to the list EngineerGirl,

Actually if your course of study is in mechanical engineering, and this is just one of the elective courses within your major of study, it is not unusual to expect the student to get familiar with the industry terminology. It would be different if your study major was Naval Architecture, but as one elective there is just not enough class time to teach basics. Most engineering schools expect students to take a certain amount of initiative in their own education, and learning basic industry terminology should be something well within your capability without the instructor holding your hand. After you graduate it is not unusual to get to work on new designs or projects for your employer with ill defined parameters, and it will be up to the design team to research all the possible options and than define your own parameters. So this is just one of those "practice" projects.

I graduated in 1982 with a degree in mechanical engineering, first year I had to take mechanical drawing classes where they introduced us to different types of dimensioning, layout, etc. for different industries. Land surveying/roadway construction, building design, aerospace, machine design, automotive, and marine engineering all have very different ways to layout, scale, and dimension their drawings. Even in two semesters they could not cover all the various ways each industry creates drawings. I took an aircraft design course within my ME major and had to learn the terminology. I found it all interesting anyway, so I enjoyed taking the initiative on my own projects. You learn the most from those kind of classes.

And you are lucky, you have the internet and on-line groups like this. I had to go to the library and find hard copies of everything to study-often taking mega hours to find what I was looking for. Figuring out where to find information is part of your education too.

I would always choose the more unusual designs to study. In the aircraft design class everyone designed a Cessna 172 (boring), I designed a mid-wing, rear engine pusher, sport plane with an inverted anahedral tail, and learn a lot in the process. After working in a number of industries I have found that most engineers are boring with almost no imagination. That is why I have been self employed for the last 18 years in my own consulting firm. I never got along with most of the boring number crunchers who were my co-workers and sometimes my boss.

Good luck with your project.