I'm new, and I want to build a concept boat

Fine, I'll do all my stuff in blender now. =0)

 

I am trying to buy a sailboat at a marina a few miles away from a boat building school. I'm going to try getting a job that way can buy it and will be able to get to the college every day. I gotta do SOMETHING with my life before I go insane.

Does anyone know anything about This school? I think it is the only one in Washington State. http://www.nwboatschool.org/

EDIT:: I wonder if they actually let you rig a schooner and then go play with it. http://www.nwboatschool.org/alerts/Alerts_Detail.aspx?processID=69

 

If I get good enough at 3d models from boat plans in blender, could I make a living doing just that?

EDIT:: not that it matters any, I'm disabled with auspergers syndrome so I'm trying to learn to do something on the computer to earn money. I like being awake and already finished doing stuff by 6:00 when nobody else is awake.

 

Its not easy to make a real living doing anything with boats, ask any of the proffesionals who post here. Anyone designing boats that will be built by actual paying customers will need formal training and qualification in engineering and naval architecture. Like most of us here you obviously enjoy drawing them so keep it up.

 

Auspergers syndrome is not really a disability. It can give you an edge if you want to work at it.

 

I just got started making a 3d model of the K-39. I made some templates with the drawings on them and I can move the template forward and backwards along the hull to get the shapes right. I wish building in the real world were this stinking easy!



Uploaded with ImageShack.us

 

It is possible to make a living doing the most absurd things. The person that gets the job is the one that shows up willing to work.

 

Although construction of homes is way down right now, doing 3 D modeling of home plans is a much better way to make a living. You could do this for home designers or architects. Spend a few years learning how to be a competent draftsman, and than doing the the 3D images, and you can support yourself in the construction trades. By the time you have marketable skills the housing market should be coming back.

Than you can do the 3d modeling of boats and airplanes and all kinds of fun stuff just for fun or a learning exercise. But do not expect to make a living at it.

Another area really big talent right now is computer animation. Many many hours go into demos, conceptual ideas, commercials, illustrations, cartoons, everything that uses graphics is going animated. There are more and more applications for it all the time. IT is one of the few areas in graphics that is growing right now.

There can be certain aspect of Aspburgers that may be helpful in that area, but one thing you will have to overcome is interacting with the people you work for. I have several Aspy friends, our first meeting was kind of strange, but after I got to know them better we became friends, both are smart and skilled craftsmen, but it is difficult for one to find employment I think because interviews are kind of awkward for him. The other just got lucky I think, but his boss respects his talent (he is a machinist, but can also weld, do carpentry and a number of other crafts).

Good luck.

 

Boats and yachts are "discretionary spending dependent" projects/investments/luxuries and in slow economic times, like that seen currently, the very first thing to slow to a crawl, is discretionary funding expenditures. Given this, basing a career on an industry that relies nearly solely on these types of funding hurtles, would be less then the wisest choice to make a living.

I don't know of a single designer or NA that has gone into this industry to get rich, or even wealthy. In fact, everyone I know does it simply because they love it and it's part of their soul. I was literally born on a boat in the middle of the Atlantic and raised on an island, so my fate was predestined to a degree. As a teenager I realized that there was a huge possibility, that being a designer wouldn't put food on the table, so I learned building, repairs and restoration, which was my primary source of income for many years.

Simply put, it takes many years of study and developing a reputation, plus a fair bit of luck, to make a successful attempt in yacht design. My first real commission was a delight, but I took a bath considering the man hours I had in it and the fee that was paid. I didn't get another commission for a a number of years! This is a damn hard way to make a living.

A good start for you would be the WestLawn course. It's inexpensive as higher education goes and it can get your foot in the door, when the economy turns again. A WestLawn graduate would be a good candidate in a design office, for the drivel tasks associated with design work. All the while you can continue your education, earn some income and most importantly, gain valuable experience from the design office personal.

 

Right, I can pretty much take anything with a manual apart and fix it, and put it back together again and sometimes have it run better than it ever did. =0) The problem is that I'm slow at it, and people want fast not redundant checks and obsessive compulsive "It won't last as long if it's not perfect" problems. So, I like 3d modeling. Yeah, I'm slow, but I am very precise.

 

I really just want enough money for a sailboat and some piloting lessons. I don't care if I'm rich, If I had a sailboat I could get rid of my RV and pay half, or less than the rent I pay now, yeah I'd probably have to turn around and pay what I saved in rent for maintenance, but cheap boats with blisters on the hulls are being sold easily right now on craigslist.

I think I'll just finish the sailboat and see what you all think. I made a nearly perfect A-36A Mustang dive bomber without even any coordinates. I probably worked from every picture or video of one in the internet and a pan-through of a P-51C cockpit. I made animated controls that moved when you moved the joystick, the tires rolled and turned right and left, and it flew like a dream with close to the same performance. I think that once I get used to hydrodynamics I can show you some... Ahem, anyways...

Thank you for the sailboat plans it is exactly what I am looking for. I'm sad right now because I didn't catch a 14 ft sailboat of unknown brand before it got chopped up. I wish they hadn't stopped paying for bus service out here so I could have at least gone and looked at it to see if I could figure out how to get it home.

I wish I could show you my models. They were all 'free sailing' and I could move the rudder and push it a ways out in the pond in my back yard and then reel it back. I'm working on one right now actually, but it is nowhere near finished and I ran out of wood. Yes, I even used a pencil for my bowsprit and I still don't have enough wood. LOL In this picture I'm dry fitting the anchors in notches in the handrail. <script src='http://img210.imageshack.us/shareable/?i=modelsailboatbow.jpg&p=tl' type='text/javascript'></script><noscript></noscript>

 

The secret to getting good at anything is to like what you do then practise, practise, practise.... If you like boats...get to work !! and start messing around.

There is nothing complex about boat design, boat construction, its simply a learned skill. Whether you can make money at anything to do with boats it is a good question.

Every boatbuilder, small time designer I know makes money with a " real " job

 

Now that I have the bow done, I actually really like it. It is different than what I had in my head. LOL!



Uploaded with ImageShack.us

 

Models are a good way to go.

Drawing with paper and pencil is also good. The object is to build up a portfolio of concepts. Each concept will teach a lesson

 

How will the concept teach a lesson? will it teach me a lesson or will I be teaching someone a lesson with it?