I would like suggestions for design books

Discussion in 'Boat Design' started by Veloceruss, Oct 5, 2019.

  1. Tad
    Joined: Mar 2002
    Posts: 2,321
    Likes: 214, Points: 73, Legacy Rep: 2281
    Location: Flattop Islands

    Tad Boat Designer

    If you want the information handed to you on a platter, it's not there. But all the principals are the same for a 41' as for a dinghy. The loads calculations, modern materials use, appendages, rigging, weights, hull form, etc. But you certainly have to adapt what's presented to your situation. This is the way it's always been in the tiny specialized sectors of yacht design, with very few exceptions there are no widely available books on the subject. That's why we constantly search for papers and articles written by experts in the various fields, and why actual experience counts for so much and thus is carefully guarded by some. A great deal of what I know as a designer I learned by studying the drawings of other designers. I believe in sharing what we figure out, but there are limits as I still need something for the stewpot. A well known small boat designer recently told he would not publish any drawings for design review because someone would copy them.....It's hard for the beginner to learn much in that world...
     
    bajansailor likes this.
  2. wet feet
    Joined: Nov 2004
    Posts: 1,391
    Likes: 434, Points: 83, Legacy Rep: 124
    Location: East Anglia,England

    wet feet Senior Member

    For a bit more information about performance dinghies take a look at National 12 designs https://www.national12.org/class/index.shtml and Banshee [UK-Cherub Class] http://www.uk-cherub.org/doku.php/designs/banshee . While I largely agree with the points in the previous post the world of small fast sailboats is a little different to the field of classical naval architecture as the immersed shape of the boat can be changed fairly significantly by sitting a few inches further forward or aft or altering the centreboard position.There is also a bit less need for exhaustive calculations to arrive at the strength of all components as you would find it quite hard to find a piece of 1X19 wire that wouldn't hold up a mast in a twelve footer,an approach that wouldn't be wise with a heavy displacement fifty footer for instance.It is extremely valuable to have a thorough understanding of how all boats work and you can extend your interest and knowledge at any time you choose.
     
    bajansailor likes this.
  3. Tad
    Joined: Mar 2002
    Posts: 2,321
    Likes: 214, Points: 73, Legacy Rep: 2281
    Location: Flattop Islands

    Tad Boat Designer

    A great many modern racing yachts (up to 100' or so) have some form of movable appendage. And these same boats are constantly "stacking" sails on the windward side and shifting crew to change the centre of gravity, altering immersed shape a lot. It's often easy to pick out the differences in various boats, but if you look a bit deeper you find a lot of similarities (IMO).....:)
     
  4. wet feet
    Joined: Nov 2004
    Posts: 1,391
    Likes: 434, Points: 83, Legacy Rep: 124
    Location: East Anglia,England

    wet feet Senior Member

    One book that I hesitated to mention and which isn't strictly about design is this one https://www.amazon.co.uk/Aero-hydro...sailing science&qid=1570782853&s=books&sr=1-2 .The content is very thorough but the translator did a really poor job and the English version should have been checked by somebody with an understanding of the topic.Alarm bells went off when I read what the translator described the prismatic coefficient as defining.The original Italian text may be a lot less misleading.In spite of that,the diagrams of CFD plots for the hull and rig are interesting and there is a useful amount about the IACC boats the author worked on.
     
  5. Squidly-Diddly
    Joined: Sep 2007
    Posts: 1,958
    Likes: 176, Points: 63, Legacy Rep: 304
    Location: SF bay

    Squidly-Diddly Senior Member

    best engineering/design book I ever read was for RC model airplanes. Made me feel like I was qualified to design my own full size aircraft. Just explained all the "voodoo" in nice simple terms with great explanation of the scary looking equations involved in aircraft design.

    Maybe a book for RC boat (power or sail) would be best place to start.

    Book about designing RC boat or aircraft doesn't need to hide and smother the good stuff under layers of hand-wringing about safety, durability, regulations, etc.
     
    bajansailor likes this.

  6. SailDesign
    Joined: Jan 2003
    Posts: 1,964
    Likes: 148, Points: 73, Legacy Rep: 650
    Location: Jamestown, RI, USA

    SailDesign Old Phart! Stay upwind..

    Tad is (as ever) right, in that a modern performance dinghy design needs to be looked at with modern numbers and coefficients. Trying to design something like that using Skene's will lead to old-fashioned performance at best.
     
Loading...
Forum posts represent the experience, opinion, and view of individual users. Boat Design Net does not necessarily endorse nor share the view of each individual post.
When making potentially dangerous or financial decisions, always employ and consult appropriate professionals. Your circumstances or experience may be different.