I’m John Richards, weekend sailor and amateur boat-builder. I’ve been testing 3D Boat Design Software to see how easy it is to create a proper hull design and whether it’s a sensible investment for the hobby sailor. Read on and I’ll not only give you my honest objective opinion on the product but I’ll also tell you how to get the software for under $50 with a full 60 day 100% money back guarantee.

3D Boat Design Software is not brand new, it’s been around  a little while. But it does get continuous upgrades (I used version 2.6.0), so there might well be a later version by the time you read this. Never having used any sort of CAD or boat design software before, I was a little unsure just how much I was going to be able to achieve. But I was pleasantly surprised and I have to admit, it’s pretty good. I’ve given it scores on a five point rating for some criteria which I think are important. It scored pretty well.

3D Boat Design Software is designed for all versions of Windows, including 98/2000/ME/XP/Vista/Windows 7 and it installed painlessly on my Windows XP test machine. As a boat design software beginner, I was a little overwhelmed by the number of views that it’s possible to have of your hull as you develop it, (see screenshot on right) but fortunately you can switch off the ones you don’t want. There are a number of sample hulls included with the 3D Boat Design Software package and it makes sense to experiment with them first, as I did, to get used to the interface.

The program itself is not brand new, it’s been around  a little while. But it is subject to continuous upgrades (I used version 2.6.0), so there might well be a later version by the time you read this.

Never having used any sort of CAD software before, I was a little apprehensive and unsure just how much I was going to be able to achieve. But I was pleasantly surprised and I have to admit, it’s pretty good. I’ve given it a five point rating for some criteria which I think are important. It scored pretty well.

Ignore my review and go straight to the order page here

3D Boat Design is designed for all versions of Windows, including 98/2000/ME/XP/Vista/Windows 7. It installed painlessly on my Windows XP test machine. For such a sophisticated piece of software I was surprised at the small size of the installation. The exe file is just 2.1MB, smaller in fact, than the manual! I was a little confused by the number of views that it’s possible to have of your hull as you develop it, but fortunately you can switch off the ones you don’t want. There are a number of sample hulls included with the package and it makes sense to experiment with them first, as I did, to get used to the interface.

Is It Intuitive?

It’s not quite as intuitive as I expected and it did take a little while to produce something useful. This is my first attempt. Somehow I managed to duplicate everything and I ended up with a complete mess. The duplicate facility is there for a reason though – it enables you to develop one side of your hull then reproduce an exact mirror image for the other half. But it’s like most software, once you’ve played around with it for a few minutes then it all begins to fall into place. It’s a standard Windows interface so you should have no problems finding your way around.

My rating: Ease of Use: 4/5

It Always Helps To Read The Manual!

Fortunately there’s a very comprehensive manual (right) that starts right at the very beginning for newcomers to CAD. This makes a difference because, as I found, much of the CAD terminology was somewhat foreign to me. I recommend that you read it thoroughly before you begin fiddling with the software, to save yourself an awful lot of time. The manual itself is 57 pages long. Not huge for such a complex subject but certainly enough to get started and working on a variety of projects. The main chapters are: Introduction, shown right, A chapter on viewports, which are the different windows that are used to view your design from different angles. Then follows a highly necessary description of the File and Edit menus. These contain many terms which will be completely baffling if you haven’t read the manual. Then follows a number of chapters that deal, in turn, with how to handle point, edge, curve face and layer operations. It sounds confusing but it makes sense once you start doing it. The final three chapters deal with the tools that are available to help you, how to perform calculations and how and why to do transformations.

There is a well-established forum and user group which it will probably be worth visiting and getting involved in. You can also sign up to their newsletter to remain updated on new developments. I haven’t tested the user-support response time as I didn’t really get stuck anywhere and had no reason to contact them.

My rating: Help & Support: 4/5

Help With Surface Modelling

There’s plenty of instruction on surface modelling  and how to create and modify surfaces, but you do need to experiment for yourself, to get the hang of it. I’m not going to go into a discussion of the details of surface modelling techniques here because, quite frankly, I don’t know enough about it. What I can say, however, is that once I’d learned the knack of developing a surface, most surfaces almost seemed to develop themselves. It’s simply a matter of placing a point on a surface and then pulling it around. OK there’s a bit more to it than that (you’ll learn about points, lines, curves, creases and faces, for starters) but it’s not difficult and actually very enjoyable. One point I would make though, is that your designs are very sensitive to mouse movements. Sometimes, the smallest movement of a point can make a dramatic difference to a surface. My tip would be to go into the Windows control panel and slow down your mouse tracking speed to give yourself a lot more control. Having done that, I found surface development to be a very satisfying operation indeed.

My rating: Productivity: 5/5

Useful Wizards

It’s not all hard slog….some of the work is done for you. Here, for example is the Keel & Rudder wizard, to enable you to create those features simply by entering a few parameters into a few boxes. If you can read the image, you’ll see that it calls it an ‘appendage’. Having created your appendage and viewed its drag and lift graphs, you simply hit ‘Send’ to send it to your hull drawing at your desired insertion point. It can also be used to create hydroplanes and fins. Very useful and very time-saving. There are other useful, no, essential, wizards and tools to help you make your boat design as efficient as possible. You’ll need to know how changes to your hull shape are going to affect draft, displacement and water resistance. These can all be calculated on the fly according to a number of different algorithms. There’s quite a learning curve here but it’s all good interesting stuff and you’ll probably find it as absorbing as I did.

My rating: Tools & Wizards: 5/5

Cool & Useful Tools

Among the other cool gizmos included is this one, I’m showing you the instructions from the manual because when I wrote this I hadn’t yet produced a hull surface to use it on, but it’s so useful I thought you’d want to see it. It’s called ‘zebra shading’ and when switched on, it colors your hull with a series of stripes. By checking the pattern of the stripes you can find areas where your hull is not as smooth as it could be. It’s the same effect you get when you look along the length of a piece of wood to see if you’ve planed it straight, the foreshortening tends to exaggerate any deviations. You need to see it in action to understand it fully, but here’s an extract from the manual to be going on with…

My rating: Useability: 5/5

So…Is it worth the money?

At under $50, 3D Boat Design isn’t exactly going to break the bank and I felt, that for anyone interested in taking their interest in sailing just that step further then it was a valuable and instructive investment. It certainly managed to accomplish everything I asked of it and I had no crashes or blue screens during the six or seven hours I played with it.

Our rating: Value for Money: 5/5

3D Boat Design Software – My conclusion: The current version of 3D Boat Design Software is a very comprehensive package, and an ideal introduction to CAD hull design. It has everything you need to create and develop your own hull designs from start to finish. It probably doesn’t have some of the bells and whistles of some of the much more expensive CAD programs but at $49.95 I think it’s well worth the money. It comes with a 60 day 100% money back guarantee, so there seems no reason not to give it a try. And, I haven’t seen any negative reviews of the package, so that’s encouraging too.

Click here to get your own copy of 3D Boat Design!

and get to work on the boat you always wanted!

All material provided on this web site is intended solely for informational or educational purposes. Nothing on this site is intended to be a substitute for professional boat construction advice. Always consult a professional if you are in any doubt about the seaworthiness of any craft you design.

The alternative is to approach a professional boat hull designer to design it for you. What’s wrong with that? Well, for a start, it’s going to cost you an awful lot of money. These guys don’t come cheap. But more importantly, you’re going to be relying on someone else’s interpretation of the catamaran design that you’re looking for. What happens if, after two weeks of this expensive designer’s time, you find that his design is not quite what you’d had in mind?

1.       Are you going to ask him to spend more time (and more of your money) on redoing the design?

2.       Or, in the interests of keeping costs down, are you just going to go with what he’s come up with, even though it doesn’t quite match your ideal?

3.       Or are you just going to pour the money down the drain and abandon the idea?

You can see the problem. I’ve seen the above scenario unfold a couple of times and on both occasions the customer has gone for option 2. The result is that they’ve ended up with a catamaran design which is similar to their original idea, but disappointingly, not quite on the nail.

A much better way to approach catamaran hull design if you’re considering building a catamaran, or having one built for you, is to design it yourself. For less that the cost of one hour of a professional boat designer’s time you can buy purpose-built software that will enable you to realize your ideas for yourself.

‘Don’t talk nonsense!’ I hear you say. ‘I don’t know the first thing about designing a catamaran’. Well, my father taught me to always be somewhat skeptical of claims people make.  Who says catamaran design is specialized business? Well, OK, there’s a bit of a learning curve involved, but I have discovered that it’s not nearly as difficult as people make out. As usual, they’re just protecting their own interests.

Even if you have no experience and are somewhat daunted by the idea, the software will guide you through the process to help you achieve what you’re looking for. I have now designed and built two catamarans using this software and, let me tell you, I’m never going back to a professional for a boat hull design ever again. The pleasure to be had from both designing then building your own catamaran takes some beating let me assure you. And even if you just want to experiment with your ideas at first, you’ll soon gain the confidence to go on and start drawing up your plans for your first catamaran. And once you’ve done one, you’ll find that you can keep churning them out, one after the other. Well, maybe they’re not strictly free, but with freedom to design at your fingertips, they might as well be.

And when you put one of your catamaran designs into production, then you’ll really start enjoying your catamaran sailing like never before!

Click here to get your own 3d Boat Design Software and get started on your project!

Well, think again. There is always room for innovation and new ideas as these shots of the new LCS-2 USS Independence will testify.

Shot one: this is the vessel on trial, clocking up 43 knots at half power. Note the absence of a bow wave. The dolphins are going to be disappointed!

Shot two: Here she is, executing a hard turn to port, again at 43 knots. She remains completely upright with no heeling over at all.

Shot three: A waterline view showing the interesting bow shape and the unusual paint job.

Shot four: Giving all her secrets away in dry dock. As you can see it’s a completely revolutionary design for a vessel of this size.

So if anybody tells you that there’s nothing left to design in the world of boats, yachts catamarans, trimarans, proas, dinghies and kayaks then tell them to think again.

With the 3-D boat design software that we’ve been recommending here all of this is achievable. All you need is $49.95 and a bit of inspiration and perspiration!

If you, like many others, have a dream of building your own boat you probably have some sort of 3d boat design in your head. And whether it’s a yacht, a dinghy or some other sort of craft you’re considering, you’re going to need some plans.

Three dimensions

Now, paper plans don’t allow you to view your boat in three dimensions. If you had some sort of 3d boat design software you could view your prospective craft from all angles it would make life much more easy. And it would make the job much more interesting. Being able to rotate your drawing is a huge advantage. Until recently, this sort of software was available to professionals only and usually cost thousands of dollars.

Learning curve

Well, things have changed. You can now purchase your own 3d boat design software for less than the cost of a lifejacket.  You might think that you just don’t have the skill to design your own boat, but, because this type of software is aimed at the home build community, it is especially easy to use with lots of help to guide you as you progress. It’s true, there is a bit of a learning curve associated with this type of software, but once you’ve got the hang of it, you’ll find that there’s no going back to pencil and paper!

Get designing!

Most people would say that there’s nothing more satisfying than building and then sailing your own boat. Well, there is; and that’s DESIGNING, then building and sailing your own boat.

I’m convinced that this new 3d boat design software is going to mark a sea-change in the types of craft we see on the water. For too long, boat design has been stifled by commercial constraints and considerations related to marketing and sales volumes. For boat builders like you and me, such considerations don’t apply. That’s why I’m looking forward to seeing a whole new generation of ingenious and unusual hull designs.

Click here to get your own copy of 3D Boat Design and get started on your project!

If you have ever thought about building your own boat then the first thing on your list is going to be boat building plans. That goes without saying. But have you ever considered designing your own boat? Why rely on other lepoles designs? Only you know what you really want. It’s a lot easier than you think and can add a whole new dimension to the project.

Design it yourself

What could be more satisfying than sailing a boat with your friends or family that you have built yourself? I’ll tell you; It’s sailing a boat with your friends or family that you have DESIGNED and built yourself!

Ideas

To get started you need to have an idea in your head of the sort of thing you want to build. Many people start off with a small wooden sailing dinghy. Built from marine plywood, boats like this are immensely strong and great fun. Because they’re small they’re usually highly maneuverable which makes them great for club racing. And also because they’re small they can usually be handled very well by children. I’d say from about the age of eleven or twelve upwards.

Sophistication

So, now you have your mental image of what you want, you need some boat building plans. And to draw them up you’ll need some 3d boat design software to bring your ideas to life. Fortunately, such software is easy to come by. It’s inexpensive and easy to use. But because it’s inexpensive, don’t be fooled into thinking that it’s not sophisticated. Like much other software available these days it’s the result of a good deal of development and improvement over the years and much of the development cost has already been amortized.

Experiment

The key is to experiment, test and compare your ideas for speed and buoyancy (the software automatically calculates expected water resistance and hydrostatic load) so you can come up with the fastest, most stable, design you can. Nothing can be more satisfying and, for less than the price of a few pizzas, you’ll never have to buy boat building plans again!

Click here to get your own copy of 3D Boat Design and get started on your project!

This collection of boat and yacht design literature will give you the confidence to get designing and ultimately to start building your own boat! Be patient, it takes a little time to load…

Click on the scroll buttons to see them all.

Click on any book to go straight through to Amazon.com – so you
can buy with complete confidence

Until, the release of 3D Boat Design, many people who have had an interest in designing boats and boat hulls have just never been able to put their ideas into practice. This note from a user in Florida says it perfectly.

This guy really has right idea – use your software to
earn an income….

It’s not just users in North America either, we had this one from South Africa

Click here to get your own copy of 3D Boat Design and get started on your project!

Well, I have never bought into this idea so now; I draw up my own boat designs. I’m not a professional boat designer, I work in the retail business, but I have found a way to get the designs I see in my imagination actually drawn up within a matter of hours. I’m using some superb 3d cad software that is so easy to use that it makes boat designing an absolute joy.

What I find so satisfying about it is that it enables me to experiment with my ideas, change a line here, tweak a surface there, and use the built-in hydrostatic and resistance calculations to see how my changes are likely to affect draft and speed. I can then go on to hone my design until it’s as good as it can get. In my view, it’s always worth experimenting with software, particularly 3d boat design software because, unless you do, you never know what you might achieve. It’s very strange how you can sit down in front of your computer with no ideas in your head, then, once you start developing some thought with the software, the ideas really start to come in, thick and fast.

I’ve now built two boats using this system (and I’m working on a third for my brother-in-law) and, I can tell you that there’s nothing more gratifying than actually putting a craft in the water that you have designed and built yourself. When you can develop the germ of an idea into a design and then turn that design into an actual boat that you and your family can enjoy then, I can assure you, nothing beats it.

So my recommendation would be not to spend your time and money on other people’s boat designs, get yourself some boat design software and give free reign to your creativity to produce them for yourself.

Click here to get your own copy of 3D Boat Design and get started on your project!

So getting the design of the hull right is THE major step in designing a boat and it makes sense to spend some time in getting the design absolutely perfect. And the best way to go about this is to get yourself a copy of this superb boat hull design software. It’s professionally written and won’t fall over as soon as your design gets interesting. Crucially it contains modules for calculating displacement and potential effects on water resistance (which will, of course, affect the speed of the boat) and you work on and refine your design.
On the right is a design lifted directly from this new software. (Like these!) It’s just one of four simultaneous views you get of your hull as you work on it, each one giving a different perspective of your boat hull. Sure, it takes a bit of time to learn how to use it, but this is sophisticated software and just look at what you can achieve!

While we’re on the subject, let’s just think about boat hulls for a moment. From the dawn of civilisation man has been developing boat hulls that meet his needs in all sorts of ways. The first boat hulls were probably carved from a single tree trunk with a stone axe of some sort. It was the first canoe. Next came the realization that the boat hull could be made a whole lot lighter if, instead of solid timber, it was made from a framework of ribs over which was stretched animal hide. Craft like this were developed all over the world, craft such as the native Indian canoe, the Inuit kayak and the Welsh coracle. In the middle east, sailors were experimenting with bundled reed boat hulls but these suffered from waterlogging problems, as Thor Heyerdahl discovered in his famous Ra expedition.

In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries warships had their boat hulls made from layer upon layer of oak. In some places the timber was two feet thick! This was to protect them from cannon fire, but it also consumed huge amount of timber and led to the destruction of many of the oak forests in lowland England during that time.

Coming more up to date, along with the Industrial Revolution came the development of the iron hull, Brunel was the great pioneer of this technology and realised that, paradoxically, a boat hull could be built much lighter from thin iron plates than from thick timbers.  It wasn’t just the materials that were changing, it was boat hull design too.
The Titanic, for example was one of the first ocean liners to adopt the principle of using watertight compartments. The idea being that, even if one compartment was holed and filled with sea water, it could be isolated from the other compartments and the ship could continue merrily on its way. Unfortunately this type of boat hull technology didn’t help if several compartments were holed, and this is, of course exactly what happened when the famous iceberg ripped a gash along the entire length of the Titanic’s starboard side.

Modern large vessels, such as oil tankers now have double hulls. That is to say, one boat hull sitting inside another. That way, even if the outer hull is holed by a rock or iceberg, the inner hull (hopefully) remains watertight and pollution through oil spillage is avoided.

What about smaller craft? Well, the big advance in small boat hull design came, from the chemical industry. It was the development of two component epoxy resins that, together with fiber glass, made is possible to build strong yet flexible structures in a bewildering array of shapes and sizes. Anything from dinghies, canoes, workboats, multihulls, day sailor yachts, ocean racers, like the one on the left, and hydroplanes can be, and are, built from fiber glass. That’s not to say that similar craft cannot be built from wood though. Modern marine grade plywood is immensely strong and rot resistant.

No one material is easier to work with than the other. With timber there’s the special satisfaction that comes from working with a natural material whereas with fiber glass the pleasure is in making something complex and worthwhile from very simple components.

So, with your new boat hull design software you can get to work on any design you like and bring your dreams to fruition. The boat building world is your oyster so all you need is to grasp the nettle (to mix my metaphors) and get started!

Click here to get your own copy of 3D Boat Design and get started on your project!