which design program?

[lvergara]

I would like to get a graphics software I could use to draw and do 3D renderings of a boat to preview the finished shape, color schemes, etc from different angles. I have seen many drawings of that kind posted in this forum. I have no experience with design software and though someone could give me a recommendation for an affordable one. I work with windows PCs (I am not fanatic of them but that is what I have). Thanks in advance for your help.

LV

[Bruce Taylor]

http://sourceforge.net/projects/freeship/

http://www.delftship.net/

[George Ray]

Rhino 3D: http://www.rhino3d.com/
ProSurf: http://www.newavesys.com/
MaxSurf: http://www.formsys.com/maxsurf
Freeship/Delftship: http://www.delftship.net/

Freeship/Delftship is likely the way to go. Wide and growing user base and is very affordable.

Prosurf does not have as nice a user interface but is economical and powerful. the writer/progammer Stephen Hollister is VERY knowledgeable and VERY helpful/available.

Rhino3D: Is very widely used as a general 3D modeling program and marine usage is growing by leaps and bounds.

MaxSurf: Not affordable be mere mortals unless you are a student. It is the big boys real deal.

If you join the Metal Boat Society, one of the forum moderators (Kevin Morin) is a user of both Prosurf and Delftship. He is currently working on some of the Delftship docs/tutorials.

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Jan 19, 2006: http://www.metalboatsociety.org/

From: Kevin Morin:
To: All MBS Members,

This post, for the MBS Forum, reviews some of the many choices of PC software for marine design; as briefly as possible. Just like any market, the software available to help design and plan a boat starts low and runs high. I mean the costs of course, some programs are offered free by their programmers others cost more and more and finally there are software packages used by the day-to-day professionals that cost thousands.

http://boatdesign.net/software/ Review/Listing of the leading commercial software
http://boatdesign.net/forums/showthread.php?t=83&page=3 listing of Freeware
http://www.carlsondesign.com/ (scroll down) More Freeware
http://www.simplicityboats.com/resources.html More Freeware

The best news is that there are EXTREMELY powerful 3D design programs for FREE on the Internet. All you have to do is download them and begin to use them- absolutely free. Just like all software, you’ll have to learn to use the application or you won’t be able to design your boat. None of the software creates boats; ALL of the software assists you, the designer, to draw, modify and publish your boat plan.

This may not look like an investment but the time to learn any software’s methods is a “non-trivial event” it takes time and practice. To many people money is less expensive than time, so the idea that the software is ‘free’ is really a misnomer. If you’re already a Computer Aided Drafting (CAD) draftsman, then converting those skills to a new design package is not too difficult. On the other hand, if you’re learning to design at the same time you’re learning to use new software, please make sure you realize the time it will take to reach proficiency.

The bad news is; there are TOO MANY CHOICES and the decision process is a CATCH 22. You can’t choose wisely unless you KNOW the software and you can’t KNOW the software unless you’ve chosen wisely and invested many hours in using it. So when you’re choosing you’re naturally too ignorant (of the choices) to do it wisely! Not good news.

If you’re just beginning to use CAD then the time to become smooth and efficient using the ‘tools’ in each different package will naturally take more time. Before you cast off on this cruise in digital design, I’d like to observe a few items about ALL software.

Programmers are people who have learned to think in computer logic terms about everyday tasks so their products are software that use THEIR different methods of reasoning to solve problems. So each application is a reflection of that programmer(s) thought process. Just like every verbal conversation you’ve had with some other person, different computer programs will ‘strike’ you in different manners. Some will seem obvious to learn others will be difficult; but to the next MBS member your ‘hard to learn’ marine design software will be ‘easy’.

The most difficult choice is to find the software that MOST fits how you work, draw or think. NO software will be a perfect fit but some will fit better than others, because your thinking process is more like ONE of these programmers than like ANOTHER. The hardest step in learning to use the PC to design boats is CHOOSING your software.

Once you’ve made the choice learning isn’t hard, its just time consuming. This is time that boat designers enjoy spending since it’s spent realizing your imagined boat on the screen. However, before you can take the time to master some piece of software, how do you choose the ‘right’ application? Which is best for you?

If you’re choosing a new welding machine or grinder, maybe skill-saw or a new pickup truck you can almost always find some magazine’s comparative tests. Test and comparison articles are so commonly the ‘consumer reports’ magazine does this type of article all the time. Specialty magazines also feature a constant stream of shop tests of equipment, but the marine software business doesn’t have that luxury. Without these third party tests, by someone that is familiar with these software tools, we’re left on our own to select which application we’re going to invest hundreds of hours of training.

The basis for many people’s choice is cost so if you’re not investing money begin with the links to the freeware or shareware. If you’ll be spending(?), there are generally two groups; under $1,000 and over $1,000. Regardless of which group you are shopping the same decisions can reliably guide your selection.

If you think like ‘that’ programmer then what you see on the screen will ‘make sense’. If you don’t, then the screens won’t ‘feel’ right and you’ll spend longer learning to use the software. That may seem like a “touchy-feely” statement but its not really. The statement is an observation of a CAD teacher who has tried for 15 years to find ways to help others learn to be productive. Your reaction to the design of the interface WILL determine how fast you learn a software application.

Software tools are like shop tools, if you don’t have a feel for them they’re not going to give you the same results that they give others. Are you a band saw or table saw advocate? Do you rip lumber stock down on the band saw or the table saw? Both groups of joiners will argue forever because both groups use the tool that is comfortable to them. Do you use a plasma cutter, gas torch or saws to cut steel sheet? Each builder has their opinion, and taken in groups, each group of us has our reasons for that stance. The bottom-line with ALL tools, including computer software, is your reaction to the tool. If you like it, you’ll use it and if you don’t have a ‘feel’ for that tool you’ll use it less than another.

You need to find YOUR reaction to any software BEFORE you spend serious time with it learning to use it. As I mentioned before, this dilemma is common so take time to download ALL the packages in your cost group, and run them all on your computer. If one jumps out off the screen at you, it’s worth your time to take it to the next stage. If they all seem the same, choose the most appealing to you- visually.

Will the first choice do what you’ll need to do? If you’re working in small boats, especially small metal boats, you may not need rounded body plan shapes just chine shapes. Therefore, software that makes rounded surfaces may not be needed. But you’ll need to do waterline versus displacement calculations, right?

Can you make a list of the steps you’d need the software to perform? 3D views, Lines Plan Output, Print or Plot, Simple Hydrostatics (not speed prediction or resistance) are all common features of freeware and shareware marine design software. Don’t expect freeware to help you draw construction details, framing or other structural parts; those are mostly reserved to other CAD packages or the more expensive marine applications.

If you make a list of what your favorite freeware will do and compare it to others you can decide if you need to look any further. The only reason to spend time with another package is if a critical feature is missing from the first choice winner. By test running all the products in your cost range, and then looking closely for a flaw you can’t overcome, you’ll be able to spend the least time picking the “one” application most suited to you.

Productivity on a computer is not about having the most features or tools in a software package. Microsoft Word has more features and bells-‘n-whistles than dozens of other word processors, but the truth is most email programs have enough tools to get by for 90% of all word processing. When shopping for marine design software don’t worry about the largest list of features or the most exotic 3D colorized animation sequence, just find the one that you can use with the least frustration by choosing the one that looks most obvious when you review the tools, and methods of work and the on-screen interface.

If you choose software that requires you to enter a table of offsets to create a design it may be less functional, TO YOU, than another that lets you pick points with the mouse; regardless of the fine color pictures in the on-screen demo. So the work method, the order of creating the hull model is more also very important. Testing the work method is the final confirmation that you have a friendly package. If you find the order of creating a design hard to follow, or not explained in the tutorials or examples, then move on to the next choice because you may have found that you and that programmer don’t think enough alike to work together.

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