Need reading material and assistance for an amateur with a serious interest!

Hi! I'm a new member and have an interest in marine vessel design but am lacking knowledge about this subject. What books are recoomended? Also, what is the best sort of design to start with? Thanks in advance.

 

mk, are you interested in motorboats, sailboats, or both?

 

maxsurf

I built my first boat, a fourteen-foot long catamaran, at the age of thirteen. I spent all winter slaving over it but when it finally sat in the water it was all worth it. The boat was my pride and joy for many years and the passion that it sparked led me to my current career. If you are just starting boat design you should purchase maxsurf. Maxsurf is a wonderful boat design program; it is very versatile and will aid you in creating your boat right up to construction. You seem to be very interested in boat design so maxsurfpro might be a worth while investment. I also recommend these books: Boat Building with Aluminum by Stephen f. Pollard, How to Fiberglass a Boat and Fiberglass Boat Building for Amateurs by Ken Hankin, Boat Building with Plywood and Inboard Motor Installation by Glen i. Witt. All of these would probably help you and I would read whatever ones are applicable to your ambition.

Signed boby boy

Ps. If you are interested in the catamaran design simply post a message.

 

some of my favorites:

A very straightforward and simple primer: Ted Brewer, Understanding Boat Design. Not very technical but a fast and easy starter to get a grip on general concepts.

The Classic: Norman L Skene - Elements of Yacht Design. A must.

More recent: Larsson & Eliasson - Principles of yacht design, follows the entire design process of a modern 40' sailing yacht, very complete and detailed

Once you start thinking about actually building it: Dave Gerr - The Elements of Boat Strength, complete scantling rules for most common materials, very pragmatic and easy to apply.

You should find all at Amazon.

Enjoy ;-)

 

Yes, Brewer's book is very nice. Also, Gerr's "The Nature of Boats" is a lot of fun, along with Phil Bolger's "Boats with an Open Mind".

 

Thanks!

Thanks for the assistance.

 

reading

Also: Steve Killing's "Yacht Design Explained" and Frank Bethwaite's "High Performance Sailing";
all the books by CA Marchaj including"The Aerohydrodynamics of Sailing".

 

I agree with Yago that skene's book is excellent, however, it might be a little deep for a neophyte. I would suggest George Buehler's "Backyard Boatbuilding" as a good start. His writing and logic can appeal to anyone new to boats and their construction. Howard Chapelle's "Boatbuilding : A complete handbook of wooden boat construction " although in print for a long time, is also an excellent source of information. These books are especially useful if one is interested in learning the basics of lofting, in particular Chapelle's.

 

John Teal: How to design a boat.
It's simple and well written with many practical examples.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0713662085/ref=pd_sim_b_dp_3/202-9637154-1719007

 

Maybe a better link, same book, different cover?
Anyway, this is a good book for an introduction.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/157409050X/qid=1109931223/sr=1-2/ref=sr_1_2/002-9740671-1324068?v=glance&s=books

 

Thanks for the info. I've already read Ted Brewer's "Understanding Boat Design" and it was very informative. I plan on reading up more in the near future.