What's become of Plyboats?

[ALowell]

Does anyone know if Plyboats (www.plyboats.com) is still in business? I have tried to download the free trial software without success. All my emails are undeliverable and calling hasn't produced any results either. I really want to buy the program but so far, it looks like no one is at the other end to receive my money.

Any info would be greatly appreciated.

~ ALowell

[PAR]

My understanding is the software isn't available any more and that the developer has shut down operations. Plyboats was doomed from the limitations of it's concept and lack of shape freedom. The idea was to create "developed" surfaces automatically, but in application, the results left the user with just a handful of curves to work with, severely restricting the user from generating the shapes they wanted.

With the advent of other low cost and free yacht design software, Plyboats wasn't able to compete in this ever advancing market. Even the most simple of competitors offerings, out shine Plyboats abilities. Plyboats was a break through product at conception, but was quickly over taken by improvements in rendering software, which Plyboats didn't keep pace with.

[Sean Herron]

Hello...

See http://carlsondesign.com/#Fun_Shareware ...

Also http://sourceforge.net/projects/freeship/ ...

SH.

[ALowell]

Thank you both for your helpful answers. I will give the Carlson Design one a try.

Do either of you know of any other comparable programs, i.e. ones that will create flat templates for developable surfaces? I have freeship/delftship but the learning curve looks awfully steep and I was hoping something like plyboats would be easier for a 3D novice like myself.

Thanks,

~ ALowell

[FAST FRED]

I was hoping something like plyboats would be easier for a 3D novice like myself.

I am waiting for the program where you just tell the computer what you like.

Nice form , could you add a Lake Powell bow? , OK try it with a sport fish flair instead.

OK could you spring the sheer a bit more?

Still waiting,

FF

[ALowell]

Do I detect a mocking tone?

[bobg3723]

The aforementioned Carlson Chine Hull is a good program. You can read in offset tables, do some basic calcs, spline a chine hull (I forget how may chines, but more than six for sure) and loft the patterns. Its limited to the number of stations (I think its 16), so the hull on display will look blocky. It will output a plan view as a DXF.

HullsFiddle is an Excell worksheet designed to work with Calson Chine Hulls Designer. It's included in the Hulls download.

HullWiz is the closest thing to a boat style "wizard" available. Its also designed to work with Carlson Chine Hulls Designer. Its free.
http://www.geocities.com/lew_clayman/hulwiz_define.htm

Have fun.

Bob

[messabout]

Plyboats is a fun program to play with. Par is quite right that it is outmoded by a long way.
Limitations of the program include:
The program asks for location of maximum beam . When you choose the location for beam, the program will force you to have maximum depth at that point also. Bummer!
The program allows a maximum of two chines, so you can not get much in the way of a soft turn at the chine.

The program does some fairly elemetary stuff like finding center of bouyancy, righting moment at any heel angle, and area of skin as well as area of wetted surface and shape of underwater waterlines at whatever heel angle. It does a remarkably good job of providing dimensions for laying out precut panels, just in case you want to do a stitch and glue boat. The tutorial is very easy to deal with. In about 20 minutes you'll have the thing going satisfactorily. The tutorial has some good stuff in it like weights of various materials, stress tables for plywood, anthropomorphic charts, and statistical information about boat weights, length to beam ratios and more. This is a useful program if you are satisfied with unsophisticated (not to say worthless) boats. Given the limitations of Plyboats I would try a more versatile program.

[ALowell]

Anthropomorphic charts sound useful -- how many other programs have that?

Anyway, it sounds like Carlson Design is my best bet. As soon as I have some free time I will give it a try and let everyone know how it works out.

Thanks for the input,

~ ALowell

[philSweet]

A couple of more notes about Plyboats.
1) As far as I know, it was never compatible with windows. I bought one of the last copies and was told I needed a windows 99 or older system with an honest DOS shell to operate it. I kept an old machine around for years just for plyboats.
2) Its shortcomings not withstanding, it was a hoot to design a boat in ten minutes and then tweek it and check how parameters changed. There is real value in studying the boats that you can design with plyboats.
3) My copy still had a few bugs in the stability calculation routine. The info was handy, but I wouldn't trust it to three decimal places.
4) The book that accompanied the software is very handy, as someone else pointed out.
5) The book decribes developable surfaces and how to draft them, but the software doesn't help you in this. You can definitly draft nondevelopable shapes with Plyboats.

[Sean Herron]

Hello...

It was a C- proggie ...

SH.

[popperspop]

I purchased a Windows XP compatable copy of plyboats 2.01 last August.
It included a 116 page manual on a CD.....$ 48.75
Ray Clark Enterprises
5861 Woodboro Drive
Huntington Beach, CA 92649
(714) 840-7284 [ Voice & Fax ]
rclark183@socal.rr.com

Good Luck.....Dwight

[FAST FRED]

"Do I detect a mocking tone?"

NO the despair of a computer ignoramus.

FF

[cshire]

Have a look at the Carene software.

Limited compared to more advanced software, but still a lot of fun to play with.

[popperspop]

I downloaded the Carene software and it looks like just what I was looking for for a future project. A perfect hit. Thanks.

Dwight