Ahoy Sailing Experts!

Bryan K

Thanks again Dave. I researched those terms. Definitely a big help.

Dave R

Glad you found some good info. So how are you doing on your boat design?

Bryan K

At this point, I'm rethinking the technique for the hull.

I also have some other constraints. Time is one. Not having a powerful enough PC is another. So all my projects for the time being are going to be simple or not at all.

The plus side is that I'm finding SU powerful and easy to learn and use. I just whipped out a visual "note" to myself on a new invention. Which is exactly what I want to use it for.

But I will complete the boat.

Dave R

I understand the constraints thing.

Here's a suggestion for you that will help with the lack of power in your PC. For things that are symmentrical such as boat hulls or many pieces of furniture, only draw half. Make that half a component, copy it (Ctrl+Move) and flip the copy to make the opposite half. This will reduce time spent because you only need to draw and later edit one side. The other side comes along for the ride. It also helps reduce the entity count which helps ease the load on your computer.

I'll be interested to see what you come up with.

Dave

Bryan K

Thanks for the modeling tip. Makes sense.

Yeah, I want to finish the boat. The complex curve and details are challenging. I figure if I can do that, then I'll be over the learning "hump." (not that I ever quit learning)

Roger

That flat transom would be scary with a following sea. Imagine a bog wave coming up from behind. You want the wave to slip under the vessel and then gently lift it. As is the wave would smack the flat rear end and go over the top and swamp you. And the sudden push from the rear could make it steer erratically. You will never have a dry moment once the waves kick up.Also to move efficiently a craft needs to gently part the water at the front and let the flow rejoin gently again at the back. It is called laminar flow. The square stern will cause turbulence and eddy currents behind the boat that will not be fuel efficient and would make it hard for the screws to bite as they should. Studying both plans and photos of successful boat would be a great help.

Bryan K

Thanks Roger. While not familiar with nautical terms nor marine engineering, I do have some grounding in hydrodynamics, hydraulics and aircraft. I'll get back to this at a later date. I'm not proficient enough yet to master the curves in SketchUp.

I've seen a catamaran cabin cruiser design I like. I think I'll try that when I get better.

But this is what I like about SketchUp. I'm looking at these attempts, and only a month later I'm already seeing what I did wrong.

And everyone and everything I see here is very encouraging.

Bryan K

And yeah... geez, what a tub,

geh4evr

@unknownuser said:

a catamaran cabin cruiser design

Good choice, you'll want to stay away from those half boats Might I ask which design it is?

But really, I agree with Roger, that Transom would frighten me.

Roger

@unknownuser said:

Thanks Roger. While not familiar with nautical terms nor marine engineering, I do have some grounding in hydrodynamics, hydraulics and aircraft. I'll get back to this at a later date. I'm not proficient enough yet to master the curves in SketchUp.

I've seen a catamaran cabin cruiser design I like. I think I'll try that when I get better.

But this is what I like about SketchUp. I'm looking at these attempts, and only a month later I'm already seeing what I did wrong.

And everyone and everything I see here is very encouraging.

Ah, the truth is there are no curves in SketchUp. It is all straight line segments arranged to simulate a curve. If you have a copy of the latest Adobe illustrator you can make beautiful and complex curves (splines) and then export them as straight line segments to AutoCAD files that can be read into SketchUp.

In traditional boat building you set your keel first, then you raise the ribs or frames (cross sections) at regular intervals. Once that is done you take straight boards and force fit them by softening them with steam to fit the frames. In sketchup you just create a web of triangles between the frames. So you end up building in a very similar way as has been done for thousands of years. It is simple but tedious.

Bryan K

Ah! See, I did not know that! Thank you!