Any boat building software that is easy to use out there?

Discussion in 'Software' started by madnewf, Nov 7, 2019.

  1. madnewf
    Joined: Nov 2019
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    Location: Avalon Peninsula

    madnewf New Member

    I have yet to find something that is simple to use for everyday person to use. Let me know will ya. A lot of software listed here will take a long time to grasp especially for a new user. Thanks
     
  2. DCockey
    Joined: Oct 2009
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    Location: Midcoast Maine

    DCockey Senior Member

    What do you want to do with the software related to boat building?

    Do you want to design a boat? If so what type of boat?

    Do you want to loft and fair an existing design and create full size templates?

    Do you want to create 3D CAD models of existing designs?

    Do you want to create input code for CNC machines?

    Do you want to track mass and cost?

    ??????
     
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  3. madnewf
    Joined: Nov 2019
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    Location: Avalon Peninsula

    madnewf New Member

    Hi im looking for something to loft and fair an existing design for a 3d model in a game engine but i have to be somewhat close to accrual boat. I looked at lofting from photos but its way above my skills .
     
  4. TANSL
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    TANSL Senior Member

    What information do you have at the moment and what do you want to finally get?
     
  5. gonzo
    Joined: Aug 2002
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    gonzo Senior Member

    Regardless of what software you use, the first step is to get the shape of the boat to input it. There are many ways to do it, from measuring manually to point clouds. Photos are not likely to give you the information to input, unless you have a huge amount of them taken at the right angle and scaled properly.
     
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  6. madnewf
    Joined: Nov 2019
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    Location: Avalon Peninsula

    madnewf New Member

    Yes I understand I tried delphship but getting the bow section was easy but when it came to stern and deck it got too much..
     
  7. gonzo
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    gonzo Senior Member

    So, then you already have a table of offsets?
     
  8. madnewf
    Joined: Nov 2019
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    Location: Avalon Peninsula

    madnewf New Member

    yes I do have table of offsets but figuring this out and where info goes is something out of my league ,just generating a random hull is easy and tweek it a bit bit ,but to replicate one from scratch is a lot more difficult. Tried sketching it with grease pencil in blender, and results were not great,sketch up is ok for building architecture ,i cant get rounded surfaces to work well with it.
     
  9. DCockey
    Joined: Oct 2009
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    DCockey Senior Member

    I've gone from offsets to a 3D hull model for several hulls using Rhino. I enter the offsets into an Excel spreadsheet I created, and obtain a file with 3D point coordinates from Excel which I import into Rhino. In Rhino I create waterline, buttock, station, sheer, rabbet, etc curves using the imported points. Obvious errors are corrected and the curves are roughly reconciled. A surface is created using the curves and the surface is faired.
     
  10. bmw3457
    Joined: Jan 2010
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    bmw3457 Junior Member

    Hi, I have a traditional set of paper boat plans that I'd like converted to CAD so I can get frames cut using CNC. Can anyone recommend someone who might be able to do this for me?
     
  11. DCockey
    Joined: Oct 2009
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    Location: Midcoast Maine

    DCockey Senior Member

    Will the lines need to be "lofted" and faired, or do you have sufficient confidence with the lines and offsets to proceed directly to cutting frames?
     
  12. TANSL
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    TANSL Senior Member

    Of course lines should be lofted or, at least, checked.
     
    Last edited: Jan 5, 2020
  13. DCockey
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    DCockey Senior Member

    TANSL, do you do create frame shapes for CNC cutting from plans? I almost suggested you but don't know if it something you do.
     
  14. TANSL
    Joined: Sep 2011
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    TANSL Senior Member

    Yes, I have done that many times. I have specific software for that job.
     

  15. bmw3457
    Joined: Jan 2010
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    bmw3457 Junior Member

    Hi TANSL. Can I contact you to discuss this further please?
     
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