William R. Watt wrote:
The best
ones have the simplest set of essential information.

Man, ain't that the truth. You got to SIMPLIFY.
But I don't understand, if you can build a model, why
can't you draw it?
I tend to take an existing design, and change it.
This works out a lot of the basic stuff, like ergonomics
and scantlings easily and then it can be tweaked to adapt
to whatever.

Everyone learns from everyone else
who succeeds in putting their work out there.

I approach boat design through the drawings of others.
If one wants to build something that is as close to the
designer's idea, a drawing works well in looking at all of
the details.
Often, after studying drawings of a boat, I am surprised
when I see the boat actually in the water.
Not that the boat is any different then what I know the drawing
says it should be, but there is something else that comes through
that is not in the drawing.
Some people say boats are alive. I'd say some are more alive than others.
Some people approach design instinctively. They visualize a
design, then try to build it.
Others try to choose a set of parameters and then design
a structure to deal with it.
There is a linear path that either approach takes.
They vary depending on where the designer wants to go.
When I taught myself to draw boats full size (loft), I realised
how much easier it was to then build the boat.
The drawing gave me a ready made pattern for every piece in the boat.

Mabey it could be looked at this way.
In order to communicate your idea to somebody else, you have a number of
choices. Let's call them your Media choices.
So far you have used the written word to communicate your idea.
Other Media choices might be photographs of the boat model.
Drawing would be another.
Video might be another.

I notice that people who sell boat designs usually use drawings.
That doesn't mean they have to.
I can imagine selling a design for a kit that has no drawings at all.
For instance, you display photos of your design...the actual boat.
People download a bunch of files..binary code and save it to a floppy.
They bring the disk to their local "guy with a computer driven router"
He cuts the design for the guy and the guy assembles it based on a
sequence of written instructions telling him how and in what order.
The advantages of this method are obvious. No paper..shipping...etc.
The disadvantages are that there might not be a "guy with a computer
driven router" willing to do it.
But another hidden disadvantage is that many people are used to drawings
and won't like paying for a "computer file".

So, why do you even want to "get it down on paper"?
Is it to sell the design?
You mentioned that you don't plan on building it.
Who will build it?


"Brian D" ) writes:

According to AutoCAD,...


I find that figuring out the finer details as you go works best ..."Just do
it!" (but with just a little forethought so you know if there will be a
solution to the various challenges along the way.)


I've been trying to work out all the details for a 15 ft plywood sailboat
with a cabin on paper as an exercise. I don't plan to build the boat. It's
frustrating. I was able to make a cardboard model no problem. I have a
clear image of the boat in my imagination. Getting it on paper is a
challenge. Both the cardboard model and the paper plan are abstractions
from a desired reality but the model seems less abstract. I've done some
thinking on mathematical and other abstractions over the years. The best
ones have the simplest set of essential information.

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