AutoCAD for Hulls?

Posted by Kurt Maurer on Sep 7, 2006

James ponders: "...any available as AutoCAD downloads? It seems I could then modify a plan on my own to suit my size."

I'm not so sure you could do a lot of good with AutoCAD, and believe me, I know AutoCAD. Problem is, it ain't a hull design software. You'd be better off following Jim E's advice. Trimming down the sheers is easy enough to do, but it gets tricky when tweaking other parameters -- in a hurry. But it can be done, though, as a few enterprising souls have proven on this forum a time or two in the past.

If you're serious about customizing your own boat, best take a gander at a true hull design package such as Free!Ship, see link below. But better do your homework; everything you touch will affect something else, and it all must balance out in the end if you want a decent finished product to paddle.

I'm doing this very thing right now, in fact, except I've enlisted the help of an internet buddy who has experience in both Free!Ship and designing his own boats. And as another matter of fact, "our" hull is currently all stitched up in my shop, but we're going back and forth on tweaks at present before any gluing takes place. It's a low volume 17' x 20" Greenland-style yak tailored to my 5'-4" x 150 lb frame. And it looks really cool!

Cheers, Kurt

In Response to: Re: Kayak Size Question by James on Sep 7, 2006

Replies:

• Re: AutoCAD for Hulls? by Jim E on Sep 7, 2006
• Re: AutoCAD for Hulls? by George K on Sep 8, 2006
  • Ha Ha Ha!!! by Kurt Maurer on Sep 8, 2006