A design program for boats similar to 3d home architect?

Good Evening,

 

Freeship?

Richard Woods

 

Thanks Richard,

I ran into some of your videos on YouTube. I think I must have watched them all by now. Now, when I open YouTube there´s always at least one of your videos on my "Recommendations" screen. I´d like to say I´ve been really impressed with your work. I have to admit, even though I had read many of your posts on this forum while I´ve been lurking around here, I never visited your web site, until I bumped into your youtube videos. I really like how the Duo Dinghy is coming along. I just saw the video of the Strike 15 being assembled in a garage. It´s very cool. I really considered it for a project I´d like to build with the youth in the fishing village where I´m living. But ultimately, the advice I got from Ilan Voyager has kept me from pursuing anything in epoxy/plywood here in Mexico.

I don´t know why my original post got cut short, but here it is:

Good Evening,
Is there a free boat design program that works like 3d home architect does for houses? By that, I mean one that allows you to draw in 2 dimensions (probably a top and side view) and then it renders the 3d version. And then if it could project the shape of the panels to be cut from plywood, that would be great.
Thanks,

Andy

 

Free!Ship

I downloaded and installed Free!Ship. It appears to work with a 3d half model. I´ve input the dimensions (length, beam, draft) and it produced a very attractive curved hull. Unfortunately, I´m trying to create a catamaran hull with a “V” profile, like a Wharram. Just 2 sides, no bottom. Will someone tell me how to do that? Or if it’s too much trouble, does anyone know of a free ship tutorial? I found tutorials for deftship or delftship, something like that, but nothing for free!ship. Or even better, does anyone know of a program that works like what I described in the previous post. One that lets you draw in 2d and then renders the 3d.

 

You can specify a line as a chine. You can also place additional lines close (I subdivide a plate surface to get these) to your chine and leave it "round" which will still give you a chine, just not so hard visually.

Since you are new to this program let me mention one thing I've done that seems to serve me well: which is to come up with a set of curves based on a percentage of the last control point to the widest or lowest point.

With these I divide the curve into four equal parts length-wise and then further subdivide the narrowest part again, giving me 6 stations to define the curve.

The very first set I came up with, by using the HullForm program (though older this program is not unworthy), was 25 / 29.5 / 59.56 / 77.12. So suppose my curve is at its widest point 4' and at its narrowest 1": subtract 1" from 4' and multiply by 25% ... then add the inch back in; next subtract that offset from 4' and multiply by 29.5% ... than add it back in to get the next offset; repeat through the series.

My curves aren't holy, nothing special about'em, and they just work for me. Still these are what I use ...

20 / 24.8 / 53.87 / 68.65

25 / 29.5 / 59.56 / 77.12

30 / 34.2 / 65.73 / 82.24

35 / 38.9 / 72.39 / 90.34

... are my main curves, more can be made by averaging them. I fudge numbers as needed as I manipulate them to try to come up with some effect, like a flared bow.

Additionally I use: 37.5 / 44.4 / 78 / 95 when I really need a sense of fullness at the narrow end. I basically pulled this one outta thin air even compared to the others.

 

Do you want the bad news or the worst news first ?

Hull design isn't conducive to 'instant' solutions.

There is no program to do this as easy as 'Home Architect'

Sorry

 

TS Thank you for the compliments

Agreed!

You may find part of this article useful - go down to the third photo

http://sailingcatamarans.com/index....l-cruising-articles/278-the-ideal-pnw-cruiser

Richard Woods of Woods Designs

www.sailingcatamarans.com

 

Quote
'One that lets you draw in 2d and then renders the 3d.'

Well many years ago I did have a 2D addon package which would let you draw the 2D elevations of a chine or multichine boat and unfold the panels. So if you wish to go back to the days of DOS, with Dosbox on newer OS's, you can find a program called Boatdesign which is an addon on to FastCad. Single point precision and DOS is 8 Bit so nowhere near as accurate as newer 32 bit onwards stuff but OK. No 3D rendering though, but the panel output was good.

 

Thanks Richard and SukiSolo.

Thanks Guys, I apreciate the help. But I´ve given up trying to design it myself. Free ship beat me. I could hand draw it, but I don´t know how to translate that to the wood without much trail and error. BTW, Richard, I started a new thread looking for catamarán plans that can be built with frames and planks or better said without ply and epoxy. Check it out. Maybe you have something that will work?

http://www.boatdesign.net/forums/boat-design/looking-cat-plans-suggestions-50595.html

Andy

 

Tropical Sailor, if it's any help, I could keep and use a freehand drawings made ​​by you, scanned, to obtain a 3D model to make naval architecture calculations of your ship. Also an expert, not me, could use them to make some nice renders with Rhino, for example.

 

Thank you Tansl,
I appreciate your offer. It would be interesting to see a 3d model of my drawing. Can you also send me a file with the dimensions of the frames and spacing so I could set up a strongback.

If you look at the color drawing (which is a Tiki 21 from a builders blog) you´ll see that the skeg is smaller than what I´ve drawn. This is because; if I have to build with timber and planks instead of ply and epoxy, I thought I´d integrate a fuller keel into the design. I think making it another 4” lower and a few feet longer than I have it drawn might help also with beaching and grounding while only giving up 4” of draft. It would still be shoal draft at 1’6”.

 

I do not know if what you want is a totally flat or if, instead, you want the botgtom to have a certain deadrise. It would clarify things having a cross-section of the ship.

 

Below you´ll find a drawing of the cross section and some fotos of Tiki 21's that have the same hull form only they are made from plywood.

Here´s the cross section showing the V shaped deadrise.


Here are a couple of bulkheads from a Tiki 21 that has the same hull shape.


Aquí están los mamparos (menos uno) del casco estribor de un Tiki 21.


Mas fotos de Tiki veinte unos.












Fotos interiores de un Tiki 21.




Un Tiki 46 que tiene una forma muy parecido al 21, pero con una quilla. Como voy a hacer la mía de tablas en lugar de "tri ply", creo que seria apropiada agregar quilla como esto.

 

I just wanted to thank everyone who responded and especially Tansl, but please dont waste your time with this Tansl, if you haven´t already, becuase I found the program I needed and am learing to use it. I had google sketch up a couple of years ago, but couldn´t or didn´t learn how to use it. Now I took the time to learn the updated version and I´ve had some good results.

It took me about a day to go from this …



To this …





To this ...









By the next day I had something I think I could build from ...















After downloading a couple of lofting scritps, I learned how to put the skin on...



I also learned how to apply wind presure behind the sails with a physics engine ...



Here I´ve smoothed the skins which looked like lattice work and used different wood applications for hatches and deck. Also, an outboard installed on a swinging bracket. (It needs to be a long shaft, but the motor was already made) I included a long tail air cooled diesel or gas engine because a homemade long tail can be bought far cheaper than a used outboard here.





Articulated tiller extension. Port holes on the port side.











There are still a few things I´d like to tweek. Especially a large center cockpit on one hull for a safe fishing position. And design a swinging bracket/housing for the long tail motor.

Thanks,

Andy

 

I have used Google sketchup, and found it invaluable for some jobs.

I dont think it will calculate bouyancy, centre of balance when floating, and a whole lot of other important things.

It certainly wont guarantee that the construction methods will be strong enough to hold together in a blow.

One other thing to consider, if you are the proud owner of a boat that you have invested a lot of time and money in, you may want to consider insurance. Unless you can get some kind of certification on the design, you wont get insurance.

This is particularly important if you want to moor at a marina or other public place, as you need cover for damage to other peoples boats.

The hull you have designed is a far cry from an efficient sailing craft

Check out the subtle hull improvements at say
http://www.sailingcatamarans.com/index.php/designs/2-catamarans-under-25ft/167-acorn

Then, think about keeping the mast up and the hulls together when you are caught out in an unexpected storm. Can you, and perhaps someone very dear to you, reasonably expect not to join the hundreds of boating casualties around the world when you mast tears away from the sides of your boat, or you get a 15 foot wave smash in over your stern.

The $500 for well engineered and planned boat eg
http://wharram.com/site/catalog/building-plans/classic-designs/hinemoa

will seem a very small sacrifice in moments like that.