Yacht Design / Naval Architecture Books / Software

[Ben M-P]

I have been trying to wrap my mind around all aspects of boat design and was wondering if there are any good books for learning about naval architecture as they relate to the cruiser particularly that one could learn the details of changing rigs and hull design.

Also, what are the best boat design programs out there? What are some good inexpensive or free ones?

I have been asking a lot of questions and realized that I need to learn alot more to be able to ask intelligent ones.

Thanks

[CDunc]

Ben,
start with the book, BASIC NAVAL ARCHITECTURE, Kenneth C. Barnaby. PRELIMINARY DESIGNS OF BOATS AND SHIPS, Cyrus Hamlin
SKENE'S ELEMENTS OF YACHT DESIGN, updated by Francis S. Kinney
PRINCIPALS OF YACHT DESIGN, Larsson and Eliasson

I would suggest learning first to hand draft your designs as this will help you to understand the processes involved and to understand how just a little change in beam, draft, freeboard ect will change everything like as in a domino effect. I would start with small boats such as a swampscott dory, or a pea pod and when you understand what is going on there move up to a larger boat. Dont limit yourself to one type of boat either, draw sail boats, and power boats. At first keep things simple, spartan accomodations untill you understand the relationships of berths, heads, galleys. The other thing is understand the market, lets say you want to design a small outboard powered displacement fishing boat of 20 ft. go online and find examples of as many as you can then average all the parameters of them and design yours to meet the averages. The Computer programs are not cheap, I use Rhino, autocad, and fast ship. Others include solid works, and ship constructor. If you want to change rigs you will need to understand force vectors and strength's of materials. There are many text books on this but for best results you will need to take college here as they will be able to evaluate what your skills are and what you will need to learn before you start trying to understand how beam theory works. I knew Cy Hamlin and what he taught me that stands out is designing boats is one of the hardest things to do because you are designing something that interfaces with two different mediums (air and water). Google boat design schools and you will have a good list of schools to attend. I attended the Landing School of Boatbuilding and Design in Kennebunkport ME. There is also the Web institute in NY, if accepted they pay all your cost. I hope this helps you in your search. Good luck

[Glenn C]

Hi,

I found Sailing Theory and Practice by C J Marchaj, an excellent source of detail and deeper discussion whilst i was building my Roberts 36 in the latre 70's early 80's.

[Auspicious]

Look at the SNAME books - big blue, big red, big green (Naval Architecture, Marine Engineering, Ship Construction). While focused on commercial ships, the concepts and basic principals are the base of good design.

[Zanshin]

By far the best Book I've come across for this is:



Lars Larsson & Rolf E. Eliasson Principles of Yacht Design (3rd edition)

This is, beyond a shadow of a doubt, my yacht hardware reference tome of choice. The authors present a logical and clear route along the complex paths of yacht design in a manner that both lay people and experts can follow and use. The book is filled to the brim with formulæ but even for those mathematically challenged the textual and graphical illustrations suffice to make each and every aspect of designing a yacht understandable.

I put together this webpage listing my on-board books if you feel like looking at it.

[bangkaboat]

If you want a basic, good for the layman type that doesn't delve into the subject too heavily, Ted Brewer's " Understanding Boat Design" is good. Otherwise, the above mentioned books are all good and, if you can find a copy, Chapelle's "Yacht Designing and Planning" is a classic oldy. Dave Gerr, from Westlawn, has some good stuff, as well.

For CAD programs, I use Rhino. Orca3d is a great complement to Rhino, as it does the calculations for you, but is no replacement for learning to work things out for yourself & truly understand the why's & wherefore's.

Mike

P.S.: The book by Brewer is cheap, but only a superficial explanation for the boat owner/buyer. The rest are not cheap, but most educational texts are not. You can often find cheaper deals on Ebay, etc.

[Ben M-P]

Thanks for all the help.

has anyone used free!ship?

[CDunc]

Ben,

I havent used it but from a few friends they say its very similar to fast ship. I like fast ship it exports to Rhino Marine very well and if I got all the parameters right I can knock out a hull in about 10 hrs.

[s/y spindrift]

Hard to go past "Yacht Design According to Perry' McGraw Hill 2008, Robert H Perry..
Rgds John

[Ben M-P]

Thanks, I'll start tracking them down.

[sneuman]

Highly recommend Bob Perry's book on the subject. Clear and concise discussion for the layman.

[ronbo1]

Strongly suggest Chuck Paine's new book "My Yacht Designs".
An inside, revealing, humorous look at Chuck's long career as one of the most gifted
designers of all time. A bit pricey but you get a lot of good drawings and photos.

Also recommended is Bob Perry's book.

Ronbo

[sailorF54]

Originally Posted by sneuman

Highly recommend Bob Perry's book on the subject. Clear and concise discussion for the layman.

Highly personal (idiosyncratic), just as his designs are (from across the pond, at least)

Skene or L. & E.'s books are mainstream, with an slight european flavor for the second.
Just my biased opinion, though

The Boat Design Forum is a must read
Boat Design Forums

On that forum, a great free ressource to start with is E. Sponberg's pdf's
more convenienly here
http://www.sponbergyachtdesign.com/Articles.htm

[sneuman]

Originally Posted by sailorF54

Highly personal (idiosyncratic), just as his designs are (from across the pond, at least)

Skene or L. & E.'s books are mainstream, with an slight european flavor for the second.
Just my biased opinion, though

The Boat Design Forum is a must read
Boat Design Forums

On that forum, a great free ressource to start with is E. Sponberg's pdf's
more convenienly here
Articles

Perry's book busts the myth that he's all about full-keeled double-enders. Aside from being pretty much the inventor of performance cruisers, you will find many examples of racers he's designed in the book. It's actually quite well rounded.

[sailorF54]

Originally Posted by sneuman

Perry's book busts the myth that he's all about full-keeled double-enders. Aside from being pretty much the inventor of performance cruisers, you will find many examples of racers he's designed in the book. It's actually quite well rounded.

You"re absolutely right and my comment was not meant to be disparaging (see two different designs on facing pages in his book) But I'd argue that assessing his points requires some previous exposure to 'classic' boat design...