"Enzo Hung" wrote in message
...
Anyone heard of West Lawn Yacht Design Diploma? Is this school any good?

It's pretty widely respected among boat builders/manufacturers. However if
you want to get a job designing yachts, a better way is an engineering
degree, either in Mechanical, Aero/Hydrodynamics, or Naval Architecture.

Read the "advice for students" here www.farrdesign.com to get a different
perspective.
(I used to work there) We had people with no formal training
(Bruce/Graham), people with limited technical backgrounds (Pat & Mick),
people like me with a Mech Eng degree and others with Masters or PHD's in
Aerodynamics or Naval Architecture. Recent hirings have all had a technical
background.

I think the schools with the best reputation for Naval Architecture programs
are (in no particular order) MIT, UC Berkley, Memorial University
Newfoundland, and Southampton. 20 or 10 years ago I would have said that
Westlawn was well regarded but I think that most yacht designers look for an
engineering background these days.


--
Evan Gatehouse
ceilydh **at** 3web **dot** net
---- rewrite my signature to send email

Right, but actually I am a Mechanical Engineer myself. I'm thinking of
taking that Westlawn Yacht design is because I want to get a better
understanding on design and building process for my current job. Do you
think it's worth the money to do that??? Since I won't have time to go to
school and West Lawn offer correspondence course which I don't have to
attend any classes. What do you think???

"Evan Gatehouse / Diane Selkirk" wrote in message
...

"Enzo Hung" wrote in message
...
Anyone heard of West Lawn Yacht Design Diploma? Is this school any
good?

It's pretty widely respected among boat builders/manufacturers. However
if
you want to get a job designing yachts, a better way is an engineering
degree, either in Mechanical, Aero/Hydrodynamics, or Naval Architecture.

Read the "advice for students" here www.farrdesign.com to get a different
perspective.
(I used to work there) We had people with no formal training
(Bruce/Graham), people with limited technical backgrounds (Pat & Mick),
people like me with a Mech Eng degree and others with Masters or PHD's in
Aerodynamics or Naval Architecture. Recent hirings have all had a
technical
background.

I think the schools with the best reputation for Naval Architecture
programs
are (in no particular order) MIT, UC Berkley, Memorial University
Newfoundland, and Southampton. 20 or 10 years ago I would have said that
Westlawn was well regarded but I think that most yacht designers look for
an
engineering background these days.


--
Evan Gatehouse
ceilydh **at** 3web **dot** net
---- rewrite my signature to send email

"Enzo Hung" wrote in message
...
Right, but actually I am a Mechanical Engineer myself. I'm thinking of
taking that Westlawn Yacht design is because I want to get a better
understanding on design and building process for my current job. Do you
think it's worth the money to do that??? Since I won't have time to go to
school and West Lawn offer correspondence course which I don't have to
attend any classes. What do you think???

It's hard to say - I took 6 N.A. courses as part of my M.E. degree. A fair
bit was applicable to large ships only. For the money and time I would say
Westlawn is overkill for an ME. A bunch of good books would go a long way
to gaining you all the understanding you need. Suggestions:

- Skene's Elements of Yacht Design (a classic that still contains a lot of
useful information
- Dave Gerr's propeller book (not the exact title - excellent for prop
design)
- Principles of Yacht Design - Lars Larsson, Rolf Eliasson ( a sort of
modern day update of Skenes)
- Understanding Boat Design - Ted Brewer ( a good first text)

these would be a good start but there's a lot you can get from a library.


--
Evan Gatehouse
ceilydh **at** 3web **dot** net
---- rewrite my signature to send email

Good list of books Evan but I would add Edmunds. "Designing for Power
and Sail".
http://www.boatplans-online.com/prod...hp?prod=BFP001
It's the only book that addresses the technical side with formulas.
Jacques from bateau.com