Project help

Anathema650 · 19 Mar 2016, 23:14

Hi guys,

Ok so I'm completely new to this site and forum but have fount you by some major luck and am hoping somebody on here can help.

Im recently been given a project to design an interior of a 56ft powerboat and have little time to complete it. Now though I know nothing about boats.... and I mean nothing, other then the fact they float and tbh the tutor hasn't been very good in the way of giving me clear plans of this boat. Another problem I have is I've only used SU once or twice and though have managed to create a normal interior of a building I have no idea how to create a hull shape and/or if this is even possible on SU. So for the question

Ive been given only the floor plan of this powerboat and the dimensions to go along with it. Can I create a estimated 3d design on sketch up using this info?

Sorry if this question is dumb or obvious but I'm a proper newbie and just though id give this a try.

Dave R · 20 Mar 2016, 01:39

You probably can create a rough concept at least but with a boat you need more than a floor plan to do a proper job of it. Since the sides of the boat are probably not vertical, you need to be able to take that into consideration. It might be worth having a look at various boat manufacturers' websites to see how they handle showing the interiors of their boats. Starting out with little SketchUp experience won't work in your favor, either. Is this for an employer?

slbaumgartner · 20 Mar 2016, 14:18

It is certainly possible, though not simple, to model the hull of a boat using SketchUp.

But I'm a bit unclear about your assignment. In what form have you been "given a floorplan", and what are the characteristics of the space you are supposed to design? As Dave says, the shape of a boat is usually quite complex compared to a house, with few rectangular rooms and few flat or vertical surfaces. By "design", do you mean to plan the layout and materials for the interior furnishings the way an interior designer would do for a house? There are also special considerations that have to be given to materials and design to allow for the damp and sometimes actively wet conditions in a boat.

Do you have background for this? If not, you have a lot to learn about boats before you need to worry about SketchUp!