Any advice for an architect?

Hey guys. I am an architect from Lima, Peru. I finished my career some years ago and I’ve been working in building design for over two years. Some months ago I decided that what I was doing wasn’t for me.

I want to mix my two passions, design and boats, and start a business that both builds and design the ships. Ive been at sea all my life, but dont got any clue on how to build them. I was wondering if you have any advice as from where to get the necessary skills or information to get my self started in this new path. Do you think a master degree is necessary? Or I can learn on my own? What are the main things I need to have en mind? And also, one of the main reasons I hate my actual job is because I am 9 hours a day lock up in an office, and I am more of an outdoors person, that is why I think the “building the boat” part will be awesome for me, do you agree?

 

Alonsorea

If you wish to learn how to build them..forget a Masters degree. Go find some boat yards or shipyards near where you live. Apply for a job as an apprentice builder (whatever they have available) and learn the trade. It is the only way. You can't learn how to build a boat from a masters degree nor sat in the office - well not much (as you can always learn something but not the real practicalities). You need to get your hands 'dirty'...so to speak.

 

It seems hard to make a living by hand-building boats, at least in the USA. The rewards may be non-monetary though. A half-way point can be found by being the naval architect in a small boatyard, where while 50% of your time will indeed be spent in the office in front of the computer, the tasks being performed will be to solve issues that have arisen in production. So you are popping down stairs to talk to the laborers, measuring the problem, test-driving the boat to understand what the owner has complained of, and so forth. Then, armed with that information, you retreat to the computer to apply the math and physics of naval architecture to developing a solution.

If that is of interest to you, then yes a Master's degree (or second bachelor's degree) would be helpful. There is a lot of math and physics involved in properly understanding the forces on a ship. There are many excellent self-taught naval architects, but I'm not sure I would want to entrust my project to one during his formative stages.

I hope this is of help to you. I do know that there are good naval architecture programs in Ecuador and Brazil, although I have very few colleagues there.

 

Are you talking of become a shipwright or starting a business and hiring employees? Do a market research in your area. I don't think it will be very encouraging.