Current Naval Architect looking for independent study advice

Hello all,

Have been reading the forum for some years now but haven't posted until now. A little background info on myself.
Have a Bachelor's Degree in Petroleum engineering and recently got my Master's in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering. Have been working in a large shipyard for a few years now. All of my educational and work experience dealing with naval architecture has been with large steel vessels, however my passion really lies in small composite boats.

I am looking for some advice on good books or resources to read into regarding small boat design. My goal for now is to design my own hull and then build it. The skiff will be 17-18' long with a ~6' beam. Shallow draft <6" is the goal.

I have tons of experience with computer software and the basic principals of naval architecture but I am very inexperienced when it comes to small crafts and fiberglass. I am very proficient in many different CAD software, GHS, and other basic nav arch softwares. I am also very experienced in FEA and am actively trying to learn more CFD.

So, any info on books to read on small craft design and lamination schedules is greatly appreciated.

Personal boating experience is first. Books about small craft - after.

Alik said:

Personal boating experience is first. Books about small craft - after.

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I have tons of personal boating experience.. Have been on boats since I was born and have averaged 5-10 days on the water a month for the last 10 years.

Performance by Design by Donald L. Blount is a recent book on planing power boat design with lots of good information. While Blount's experience is with larger planing boats much of the knowledge and information is generally applicable to smaller planing boats. https://www.amazon.com/Performance-Design-Hydrodynamics-High-Speed-Vessels/dp/0989083713

Dave Gerr's The Elements of Boat Strength is a popular reference on scantlings based on a simple "scantling number" concept. My understanding is it can result in boats which are heavier than what can be designed using more complex methods.
ELEMENTS OF BOAT STRENGTH https://www.gerrmarine.com/ELEMENTS_OF_BOAT_STRENGTH.html

The SNAME collections of small craft papers have lots of good information but takes some time to sort through. Books, Proceedings & CDs - SNAME Main Site https://www.sname.org/pubs/books

DCockey said:

Performance by Design by Donald L. Blount is a recent book on planing power boat design with lots of good information. While Blount's experience is with larger planing boats much of the knowledge and information is generally applicable to smaller planing boats. https://www.amazon.com/Performance-Design-Hydrodynamics-High-Speed-Vessels/dp/0989083713

Dave Gerr's The Elements of Boat Strength is a popular reference on scantlings based on a simple "scantling number" concept. My understanding is it can result in boats which are heavier than what can be designed using more complex methods.
ELEMENTS OF BOAT STRENGTH https://www.gerrmarine.com/ELEMENTS_OF_BOAT_STRENGTH.html

The SNAME collections of small craft papers have lots of good information but takes some time to sort through. Books, Proceedings & CDs - SNAME Main Site https://www.sname.org/pubs/books

Small Craft Papers: 1985-2002, Small Craft Papers 2002-2014 and Small Craft Papers: Historic Papers
By Various Authors (2014)

View attachment 147640

This CD contains over 300 papers on small craft, selected by the SNAME Small Craft Committee from the Society’s Transactions, journals, conferences, symposia, and Section meetings as most likely to be helpful to their colleagues in the small craft community in the pursuit of their professional endeavors - “one stop shopping, readily accessible and close at hand.”

Purchase CD List: $250.00♦Members: $80.00♦ Student Members: $50.00​

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David,

Thanks so much for the references. I actually purchased Dave Gerr's The Elements of Boat Strength yesterday and Performance by Design is on my book wish list.

The SNAME collections of small craft papers is definitely very intriguing. I spend a lot of the time in the car each day (2.5 hours) and definitely feel I can benefit from this CD.

I think reading The Elements of Boat Strength will give me a nice background on small craft needs and once I have finished this book I can begin diving further into more complex methods for construction as one of the main goals of my hull design is to be as light and strong as possible. I am looking for a completed hull weight of ~400lbs while able to hold a ~250lb motor.

topwatertiger said:

I have tons of personal boating experience.. Have been on boats since I was born and have averaged 5-10 days on the water a month for the last 10 years.

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That's excellent. Then, with background in NA, maybe You don't need many books

Lars Larsson 'Principles of Yacht Design' should be one of them.

topwatertiger said:

I spend a lot of the time in the car each day (2.5 hours) and definitely feel I can benefit from this CD.

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Only if you have a chauffeur or trust some OCR followed by text to voice software. The three CD's contain PDFs of the papers (not audio), with many of the PDFs being page images. If you decide to purchase the CD's consider buying the package deal with all three - it's essentially buy two and get the third one free.

topwatertiger said:

I am looking for some advice on good books or resources to read into regarding small boat design. My goal for now is to design my own hull and then build it.....

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It sounds like you have sufficient educational background.
What you lack is the practical application of such. Thus, what you need, is a mentor and/or someone to guide you through the process.

Alik said:

Lars Larsson 'Principles of Yacht Design' should be one of them.

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This book is also on my wish list. Have heard many good things about it.

DCockey said:

Only if you have a chauffeur or trust some OCR followed by text to voice software. The three CD's contain PDFs of the papers (not audio), with many of the PDFs being page images. If you decide to purchase the CD's consider buying the package deal with all three - it's essentially buy two and get the third one free.

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Great idea, will be purchasing all three for my reference. Thanks for the recommendations.

Ad Hoc said:

It sounds like you have sufficient educational background.
What you lack is the practical application of such. Thus, what you need, is a mentor and/or someone to guide you through the process.

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I agree. I have followed tons of build threads on various websites and have been able to pick up a lot of knowledge from reading through those. I think I just need to dive in and start designing my hull. I know I have the educational background I need and I feel I might learn the most if I jump in and start applying this knowledge in a practical way.

topwatertiger said:

I agree. I have followed tons of build threads on various websites and have been able to pick up a lot of knowledge from reading through those. I think I just need to dive in and start designing my hull. I know I have the educational background I need and I feel I might learn the most if I jump in and start applying this knowledge in a practical way.

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Similar to you, but I think by doing so our design won't get a proper feedback. Hence, now I am looking for an internship/entry level position in yacht and small craft design office.

I assume you subscribe to Professional BoatBuilder. It's free.

Their back issues are online at www.proboat.com.