My Future - My Present - Augh...

Hello...

So I learned to sail when I was 9 - lucky enough - I came from a violent and chronically poor single parent childhood...

Sailing provided a means of escape, and a look into alternate lifestyles - say those of non chronic drinkers - non chronic feel sorry for them selfers - and also tweaked a more realistic technical interest that I then had in aeroplanes - which I could not afford in any way...

So I went boat and yacht building as a machinist, millwright, and welder - 13 million dollar megayachts - then I quit and now work as a printers mechanic fixing tired old machinery...

I own a house - I own a small sailboat - my car runs - and if I cut back here and there I suppose I could afford and justify the Westlawn Yacht Design course...

Should I just shut up and do it...

You can go look at some of my mental meanderings in the members gallery...

SH

 

You sound like a tormented soul. My best advice is:

Buy the following books

How to design a baot by John Teale
Principles of yacht design by Larsson & Eliasson
Skenes Elements of yacht design by F Kinney
Design of sailing Yachts by Pierre Gutelle (translated from french)
Elements of boat strength by D Gerr

Read the books.
Get hold of the Rhinocerous CAD package. Find a few tutorials on boat design using Rhino. (Dont use a yacht design package).

Design a couple of hulls. Refine them, re-design them.

Now decide if you like the whole boat design thing. If you do then enroll, you'll benefit from the prior knowledge, do better and understand more.

Good luck

 

Mike's advice is gold...I would add: learn enough maths to be confortable with the calculations (generally simple) and work on your books until you dream of LCB, LWL, CG and rated HP. If you are not fed up and you draw yachts while sleeping, you are in the first and more important step for becoming a naval designer. After that Westlawn will be a breeze...

I wish you good luck and go ahead.

 

The General Problem...

Hello...

Well - thanks - you see I am already there - up against the cliff that is a last leap of faith...

When I was younger I did not have a stable platform to jump from - now I do...

I have as said built very large yachts for 9 years or more - mechanicals and a lot of fabricating - in my own time constantly mucking about with Prolines, Rhino, and others...

I have all the books thumb worn - so I guess now is the time...

Thanks again...

SH.