Designing my own boat
 

Hi all,

After building a simple plywood dinghy to test my capabilities, I now feel
confident to go on and realise an old dream: To build my own sail boat. It's
going to be trailer-able and around 15-16 feet. With centerboard and a
little cabin with sleeping capabilities for two and a half.

I have searched the net, read a lot, and found many nice designs in this
category. But then I realised... Why not take it one step further and make
the design my self?

I have Googled some more, and found Carlson Designs "Hulls" program and
started playing with it. Fantastic that you can get such a program for free!

But I know, that designing a Hull is one thing. Designing a seaworthy and
yet beautiful hull is another. And then designing centerboard, rudder, rigg,
cabin, deck and so on is another thing. How do I know that the sails will
not tear it all apart in the first breeze? How do I ensure that the sailing
capabilities will be Ok?

For this I am now asking here for any good advice, books, web pages etc.
which can help me. I have no particular time-frame, and I will rather do
this good, than ending up with a useless boat after spending thousinds of
hours in the shed building it.

Best regards,
Thomas

You're welcome to look at the design process for Solo15 on my website
under "Boats" (address below). It describes how I used two free hull
design programs (Carlson and Blue Peter) and compared the numbers to lists
of boats in books. The Solo15 was an exercise to demonstrate on the
Internet how amateurs like myself might go about designing a small boat.
The design is incomplete and will not likely be built. I'd advise reading
a lot of books on boat design from the public library. Chosing the shape
is just part of it, there's chosing the right strength and weight of
materials, getting the weight distribution and sail balance right, etc.

For a combination of inspiration and practical information for small boats I
like the two books by designer/builder TF Jones.

You might be interested in looking at amateurn boat desing competitions.
There's one a year at www.duckworksmagazine.com. I think only the most
recent one is avaiable for viewing without paying a membership fee to login.

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Thomas Veber wrote:
Hi all,

After building a simple plywood dinghy to test my capabilities, I now
feel
confident to go on and realise an old dream: To build my own sail
boat. It's
going to be trailer-able and around 15-16 feet. With centerboard and
a
little cabin with sleeping capabilities for two and a half.

I have searched the net, read a lot, and found many nice designs in
this
category. But then I realised... Why not take it one step further and
make
the design my self?

I have Googled some more, and found Carlson Designs "Hulls" program
and
started playing with it. Fantastic that you can get such a program
for free!

But I know, that designing a Hull is one thing. Designing a seaworthy
and
yet beautiful hull is another. And then designing centerboard,
rudder, rigg,
cabin, deck and so on is another thing. How do I know that the sails
will
not tear it all apart in the first breeze? How do I ensure that the
sailing
capabilities will be Ok?

For this I am now asking here for any good advice, books, web pages
etc.
which can help me. I have no particular time-frame, and I will rather
do
this good, than ending up with a useless boat after spending
thousinds of
hours in the shed building it.

Best regards,
Thomas

Sure, do it, but not alone. I designed my own 20 footer a year or so
back, and even though I have built a few dozen SmallBoats in the last
few years, I brought in a professional designer for the 20 footer. He
went over the numbers and made a couple of reccomendations to adjust
the shape of the bow, cockpit placement and design... etc...
Just a suggestion, Scotty

I have a friend who is a professional classical musician. I know how i'd
react if he said to me "Mozart, Schmozart! Though I have no training in it
and have never done it before, I'm going to compose my own violin concerto,
rent a hall and perform it. I expect that i'll get my usual crowd at the
usual prices.". I'd tell him to have a nice time and that i'll come if he
gives me a ticket.

Same with boats. If you're willing to stand the risk that the boat won't be
any good and will have zero value (or worse, drown someone), have a nice
trip.



"Thomas Veber" wrote in message
...
Hi all,

After building a simple plywood dinghy to test my capabilities, I now feel
confident to go on and realise an old dream: To build my own sail boat.
It's
going to be trailer-able and around 15-16 feet. With centerboard and a
little cabin with sleeping capabilities for two and a half.

I have searched the net, read a lot, and found many nice designs in this
category. But then I realised... Why not take it one step further and make
the design my self?

I have Googled some more, and found Carlson Designs "Hulls" program and
started playing with it. Fantastic that you can get such a program for
free!

But I know, that designing a Hull is one thing. Designing a seaworthy and
yet beautiful hull is another. And then designing centerboard, rudder,
rigg,
cabin, deck and so on is another thing. How do I know that the sails will
not tear it all apart in the first breeze? How do I ensure that the
sailing
capabilities will be Ok?

For this I am now asking here for any good advice, books, web pages etc.
which can help me. I have no particular time-frame, and I will rather do
this good, than ending up with a useless boat after spending thousinds of
hours in the shed building it.

Best regards,
Thomas

You will see a lot of argument here over the relative merits of careful
experienced designers (Bolger comes to mind ;-) And some boats, in some
applications, can be home designed - it would be hard to build a worse
jonboat than those commercially available! But in general, a tried-and
true design, or designer is a good idea.

But there are plenty of good, serviceable, easy-to-build designs out there
that will probably meet your needs. If, after a rigorous search, you can't
find the perfect boat for you, consider making minor modifications to an
existing design.

As to Jim's warnings: Even the best home-built boat has a resale value
approaching zero. Just please, when you launch a home-designed boat, take
it out a lot, alone. Preferably before you reproduce.

Sal's Dad



"Jim Conlin" wrote in message
...
I have a friend who is a professional classical musician. I know how i'd
react if he said to me "Mozart, Schmozart! Though I have no training in it
and have never done it before, I'm going to compose my own violin
concerto,
rent a hall and perform it. I expect that i'll get my usual crowd at the
usual prices.". I'd tell him to have a nice time and that i'll come if he
gives me a ticket.

Same with boats. If you're willing to stand the risk that the boat won't
be
any good and will have zero value (or worse, drown someone), have a nice
trip.



"Thomas Veber" wrote in message
...
Hi all,

After building a simple plywood dinghy to test my capabilities, I now
feel
confident to go on and realise an old dream: To build my own sail boat.
It's
going to be trailer-able and around 15-16 feet. With centerboard and a
little cabin with sleeping capabilities for two and a half.

I have searched the net, read a lot, and found many nice designs in this
category. But then I realised... Why not take it one step further and
make
the design my self?

I have Googled some more, and found Carlson Designs "Hulls" program and
started playing with it. Fantastic that you can get such a program for
free!

But I know, that designing a Hull is one thing. Designing a seaworthy and
yet beautiful hull is another. And then designing centerboard, rudder,
rigg,
cabin, deck and so on is another thing. How do I know that the sails will
not tear it all apart in the first breeze? How do I ensure that the
sailing
capabilities will be Ok?

For this I am now asking here for any good advice, books, web pages etc.
which can help me. I have no particular time-frame, and I will rather do
this good, than ending up with a useless boat after spending thousinds of
hours in the shed building it.

Best regards,
Thomas

Hi William,

Thank you for your nice and long reply. I have been looking at your web
page, and found a lot of usefuld information. I will see if I can find the
"Blue Peter" program also. I think it is a good idea to build models in
plywood. I was thinking of building them in paper, but ofcourse thin plywood
will give a better "feel" of the real thing.

I will study your web page more, and probably return with more questions...
It is specially the weight- and strength distribution that concerns me.

Fortunately we do not have the same regulations in Sweden to toilets as you
have in Canada. But IF there is a toilet, it must have a tank to hold the
waste.

Best regards,
Thomas


"William R. Watt" skrev i meddelandet
...

You're welcome to look at the design process for Solo15 on my website
under "Boats" (address below). It describes how I used two free hull
design programs (Carlson and Blue Peter) and compared the numbers to lists
of boats in books. The Solo15 was an exercise to demonstrate on the
Internet how amateurs like myself might go about designing a small boat.
The design is incomplete and will not likely be built. I'd advise reading
a lot of books on boat design from the public library. Chosing the shape
is just part of it, there's chosing the right strength and weight of
materials, getting the weight distribution and sail balance right, etc.

For a combination of inspiration and practical information for small boats
I
like the two books by designer/builder TF Jones.

You might be interested in looking at amateurn boat desing competitions.
There's one a year at www.duckworksmagazine.com. I think only the most
recent one is avaiable for viewing without paying a membership fee to
login.

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"wtf" skrev i meddelandet
ps.com...

few years, I brought in a professional designer for the 20 footer. He
went over the numbers and made a couple of reccomendations to adjust
the shape of the bow, cockpit placement and design... etc...

I have actually been considering this myself: Do the basic design myself.
Then have all the "lads" down the harbour take a look at it (it is
incredibly how many ideas people down the harbour have when it comes to
other peoples boats :-). And then have a professional designer look over it.
I think that those money are well spent.

Do you have any more information about your 20 footer. It would be nice e.g.
to see some photos or hear something about the thoughts in the
design/building progress. E.g. how long time it took, what it cost, etc.

Best regards,
Thomas

"Sal's Dad" skrev i meddelandet
...

As to Jim's warnings: Even the best home-built boat has a resale value
approaching zero. Just please, when you launch a home-designed boat, take
it out a lot, alone. Preferably before you reproduce.

I am not doing this for money :-). If I spend these hours working instead of
designing/building, I could probably buy a very nice boat and still have
money left :-)

I actually already own a 30 ft. yacht from 1937. The whole idea now is
actually not to get a boat, but to build it. Ofcourse I have ideas on how to
use it when it is finished, but the goal is the building of it. The
satisfaction to sail a boat I have build with my own hands. Now the dream
just got one step further - the design.

Best regards,
Thomas

"Jim Conlin" skrev i meddelandet
...

Same with boats. If you're willing to stand the risk that the boat won't
be
any good and will have zero value (or worse, drown someone), have a nice
trip.

I certainly understand your arguments, but even Mozard started somewhere.
But probably he did not have newsgroups, books and computer programs to help
him. So hopefully my odds will be better in succeeding :-).

But ofcourse: My posting here is to get ideas and inspiration and good
advice. This could end up with, that I buy one of the many plans available
instead of trying a design myself. But one has to start somewhere...

Best regards,
Thomas

Don't be put off by people who tell you an amateur or a first timer can't
design and build a good boat. You can take a look at Paradox or Squeak
(read Ladd's "Three Years in a Twelve-foot Boat"), or Toad Hall if it's
still on the Internet. These are just a few examples of great amateur
sailing boat designs for coastal waters. Actually Toad Hall is supposed to
be offshore. The fellow who finally got the design of a trimaran right,
after so many professionals had tied and failed, was an insurance
salesman. Perhaps the most popular desinger of sailing catamarans for home
building (James Wharram) is an untrained amateur.

Some of Phil Bolger's boats may look like they've been designed by a first
time amateur but he's actually a fully trained professional with many
traditional boat designs to his credit. He just happens to design a line
of boats for performance and for ease of constrution by amateurs, rather
than for appearances.

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