Beginner design software/ easy to use

[futuredesigner]

I am very interested in designing boats and i would like to be able to get software that will allow me to do this. I was thinking something similar to autoCAD. Please post if you have any suggestions on a good design software.

[Chris Ostlind]

You'll get a ton of answers to this query if you post this to the Software heading on the general forum list.

I use Rhino3D as my principal design package, but it is not like AutoCAD. I would think that TouchCAD would get you there, though.

The new version of Rhino (v4) will have very strong CAD and mechanical drawing capabilities.

From my experience, not too many designers use only one software package for their work, so you may be looking at a collection of tools in order to get the full-tilt boogie solution as a designer.

For an entry level designer with no commercial enterprise going on, you could start with Hulls and Freeship, which are both free downloads from the Internet.

I sometimes use Hulls ported to Freeship as a computer based sketch pad for working through preliminary ideas for multichine designs. I redraw the design in Rhino for final working drawings and refined corrections to the hydrostatics.

Hulls... www.carlsondesign.com
Freeship... www.freeship.org

[Raggi_Thor]

I agree with Chris, mostly :-)
BUT Rhino is in some ways simmilar to AutoCAD, it started out as an AutoCAD add on, and you can type your commands if you like. Then you have everything you miss i AutoCAD when it comes to creating and editing surfaces, and the user interface is friendlier than AutoCAD too, you can type or you can click on options in the command line.

Freeship is free and at least as good as all the low cost hull designe packages.

[futuredesigner]

I am really interested in designing boats and I was wondering if there are any suggestions on easy to use programs for designing a boat. I downloaded freeship and it seems pretty complicated. Any suggestions?

[futuredesigner]

I was looking at the free downloads at rhino3d.com and i was wondering which one would be best for a beginner to download.

Rhino Evaluation
This fully functional version will save 25 times. After that it is still functional except it will not save. The evaluation version also supports plug-ins.

Flamingo Evaluation
Flamingo brings advanced raytrace and radiosity rendering to Rhino. This is a fully functional version except it has limited materials, light fixture, and plant libraries, and it also draws thin black lines across the final rendered image.

Penguin Evaluation
Penguin brings freehand sketching, watercolor painting and cartoon-like rendering to Rhino. Penguin is a conceptual, sketch and cartoon, non-photometric scan line renderer. With Penguin you can create stylized images of your models with an artistic look for enhanced graphic and visual appeal.

Bongo Evaluation
Bongo™ brings professional animation into Rhino 3.0, using familiar keyframe tools found in most high-end animation packages.

Rhino Tutorial
When you have finished the tutorials included with the Rhino evaluation, try these advanced tutorials.

Best Regards,
Futuredesigner

[Danimal]

freeship is one of the easiest software programs to use for designing boats -

[westlawn5554X]

Yeh, it is free and wait till you think you want more then think of Rhino3D. Marine version avaliable. Have you ordered a copy?

[Chris Ostlind]

Hey FutureMan,

Freeship will seem fairly complex for you the first few times you sit down to haggle-out a hull, but stay with it and think-through the functions in all three dimensions. After awhile, it will start to make perfect sense to you and you'll be banging-out hulls all over the place.

As I shared with you on the other thread, Carlson's Hulls package is also pretty illuminating for the beginner. Much simpler in its form as well as capabilities than is Freeship.

The download includes dozens of sample hulls for you to play with and create your own forms using the samples as jumping off locations. There is a brief tutorial available from Gavin Atkin that will help you to understand some of the quirkiness of the program. Also, the Hulls files can be directly imported into Freeship where you can do more advanced datil work on the design with a very accurate hydrostatic analysis feature that puts out data very close to that obtained from Rhinomarine.

If you need to ask any questions to get you rolling in Hulls, Freeship or Rhino, you can write me off-list at: Chris at Wedgesail dot com and I'll see what I can do to help you out. I'm always interested in helping out any new person who has the drive to get involved and ask questions.

Chris

[Raggi_Thor]

Just have to mention it, paper and pencil is the best tool of all :-)
At least for initial design and playing with ideas...

[Admin]

(thread moved/merged to software forum)

[Dan S]

Originally Posted by futuredesigner

I am very interested in designing boats and i would like to be able to get software that will allow me to do this. I was thinking something similar to autoCAD. Please post if you have any suggestions on a good design software.

Can you clarify what you mean by design boats? For example do you mean designing the hull and deck, or are you talking everything right down to the layout of the head?

[ludesign]

Originally Posted by Raggi_Thor

Just have to mention it, paper and pencil is the best tool of all :-)
At least for initial design and playing with ideas...

I started doing everything on paper. Nowadays I never sketch on paper. The trick is to use a program that makes it possible.

[Danimal]

the best thing about freeship is that you can add to the source code - you then have the oppo to customise the code to your design practice - IMHO, this is more valuable than the other codes - this way you actually understand the where the numbers come from ...

[Raggi_Thor]

Claes, what if are stuck on the train for hours without a power supply?

:-)

[futuredesigner]

Look at the image on my second post. That is what i want to be able to do. I was wondering if freeship has the capability to be able to design the hull and the whole outside of the ship. If freeship does not let you do this, what software would allow me to make those kinds of drawings?