Carlson Design Hull Designer

[Matthew]

This one seems to be coming out on top of your poll for best low cost boat design software.
Can someone tell me more about it?
I am a big fan of Rhino, so probly wont get it but am inerested in its capabilities.
Mat

[Jeff]

Carlson Hull Designer is fantastic software for the beginner and especially considering the price, and it’s plenty adequate to design a dinghy or a fairly simple hull form, but it's no substitute for Rhino. It doesn’t have the many modeling tools which Rhino offers; it’s similar to comparing a very nice bicycle to a very nice car – both have their place but they’re not really comparable. But for a simple hull form, it is very easy to manipulate the stations and it has a nice 3d view built in (though only wireframe). Carlson Hull Designer doesn’t try to do everything (like Rhino) but what it does do it does very well and it provides a very fast way for someone just starting with hull design and 3D cad to get started. It is free and a very small download, so download a demo if you're curious. If you've used and like working in Rhino, you're working beyond it's capacity / complexity already though.