Amateur design insulting to pros?

[Angélique]

Are you familiar with Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.'s poem,

Poem: The Deacon's Masterpiece, or, the Wonderful One-hoss Shay: A Logical Story http://holyjoe.org/poetry/holmes1.htm

Thanks for the poem Troy, below beautifully read, and as one of the comments said, ‘‘strongly recommended for future engineers’’, which is what I'll bet . .

 

[PAR]

I don't find the budding or novice designers particularly insulting, though can be annoyed by certain traits, that have been pointed out previously. An open mind is the key to being a capable engineer and, likely more importantly being able to absorb new, possibly difficult to initially comprehend concepts, of new approaches or methods. The ability to grow is the hallmark of all engineers, regardless of how the uninformed might think or react. The classic example of this is metal boat building, which was condemned by all those "that knew", but sure enough, they didn't sink on launch day, proving that old humans can learn new tricks.

 

[M&M Ovenden]

I'm not so sure about the metal boat thing... every night when I do dishes the cutlery always sinks. Mark

 

[Angélique]

What really irks me is when someone comes to this forum looking for approval and doesn't find it, then begins to disparage those who have gone through all the classes.

Alas that's very common, many people only appreciate the opinion of the boffin they're consulting when the outcome matches what they want to hear in the first place.

This is of all times, and of all professions, and especially true when the pundit gives the asked for opinion for free.

Below an by Abe Lincoln given example, of a asked for, but but because of the unwanted outcome, by the layman enquirer, unappreciated and of course refuted opinion of him as a pundit on the topic, and of course disparaging him for this, at the time Abe was a famous practicing lawyer, who was asked to give his opinion...

It's the mid of page 218 from Lincoln the Lawyer by Frederick Trevor Hill, which was published in 1906.

Here's a free download of the book, see page 218, it's also available as PDF, (Book page 218 = PDF page 248).

 

[Angélique]

BTW, in the interest of his client Abe gave the example to the court to explain and illustrate that a custom doesn't make law, and even can be in conflict with it, so I'll guess the defendant in that case was accused of acting against certain customs that were assumed to be as powerful as the law.

So uncle Abe didn't give the example to complain about (the fact of life I'm afraid) that askers often are unhappy with the truth, and then in response disparage a knowledgeable and honest answer, as well as the pundit who they asked to give it.

Nonetheless the example given by uncle Abe illustrates this behavior very well.

 

[troy2000]

BTW, in the interest of his client Abe gave the example to the court to explain and illustrate that a custom doesn't make law, and even can be in conflict with it, so I'll guess the defendant in that case was accused of acting against certain customs that were assumed to be as powerful as the law.

So uncle Abe didn't give the example to complain about (the fact of life I'm afraid) that askers often are unhappy with the truth, and then in response disparage a knowledgeable and honest answer, as well as the pundit who they asked to give it.

Nonetheless the example given by uncle Abe illustrates this behavior very well.

There are a lot of good stories about Abe Lincoln's sense of humor, although I'm not sure they're all verified.

One of my favorites is about Lincoln watching a miller grind corn. Eventually he commented, "you know, I could eat that meal as fast as you're grinding it." The miller grunted, "And how long do you think you could keep it up?" Lincoln replied, "until I starved to death..."

 

[dddesigns]

Surely this comes down to the size of the project? Most boat design, I would suggest, is largely developmental rather than totally original. So there is plenty of scope for developing from what already exists. I am not here suggesting plagiarising a specific design, but rather taking a generic boat shape/method of construction as a starting point.
At a very basic level, my first craft was a canvas on frame kayak; the only easily available plan for me at that time, c 1947/8, was a British Scout Kayak. This could be built as a 16'0" long two-seat version, an 11'0" single. I thought thought the 11'0" was too short, and extended the length to 14'0" by moving the centre frames a bit further apart. It worked fine, and enabled me, a very poor schoolboy, to paddle the Thames, and several other rivers very happily. If you really must design your own boat, there are a number of excellent books available which will at least guide you in the right direction. Enjoy yourself! dddesigns.