That having been said, anyone with more than a passing interest in yachts and their design has, at one time or another, either said aloud or thought to themselves, ''I really like so-and-so about Plan A, but I really like so-and-so about Plan B. If only I could get Plan A's so-and-so together with Plan B's so-and-so..."
Some designers, when presented with this scenario, will happily take your money and produce the boat you're looking for. Some designers won't, citing professional courtesy or copyright infringement issues. I've read somewhere that in order for a design not to be considered a derivative work, it must differ from the original by a minimum of 15%. My first (and only, really) question is: "15% of what?” I have no idea how you would go about measuring that.
But I digress. I like to draw boats. I think the lines plan is a piece of artwork, but unfortunately, I am either not artistic enough or not handy enough with the various software applications used in their creation to draw my own set of beautiful lines.
But I digress. I like to draw boats. I think the lines plan is a piece of artwork, but unfortunately, I am either not artistic enough or not handy enough with the various software applications used in their creation to draw my own set of beautiful lines.
Instead, I taught myself to duplicate existing lines plans that I found online or in print so I'd have some starting point from which I could begin to doodle my own plans - derivative works though they may be. As I am neither an aspiring professional designer (i.e. I don't plan on selling anything I draw) nor an aspiring professional boatbuilder (i.e. I don't plan to build and sell any boats based on what I draw), I see no harm in using other designers' work as templates for my electronic tracing and subsequent noodling. If you disagree, well, then, go somewhere else. This is my little corner of the internet.
Now, on to the good stuff.
I am going to make some assumptions about you before I get started.
1. You have access to a set of lines (either in-print or online) that you want to turn into an editable electronic version. These should ideally be in some kind of image format - .jpg, .bmp, .tif, or .png. PDF files will work, but not very well. You can download free screenshot utilities all over the place and capture what you see on-screen, or you can use an inexpensive scanner to scan magazine or book pages into electronic format. I frequently use the copier at my office to scan things to email and send them to myself.
2. You have downloaded and installed Draftsight, a free CAD program from the same folks who make Solidworks (a really, really powerful - and expensive - piece of 3D modeling software). DraftSight is free and does a pretty good job of emulating AutoCAD - which is more powerful and really, really not free.
3. You have downloaded and installed Rhinoceros. Rhino is not free; they have an evaluation version that is good for 25 saves, and they offer an educational version at a reasonable price. Don't pirate it. It's good software designed and maintained by a reputable company and they have to make a living.
4. You know your way around a computer. I will show you how to use Draftsight, Rhinoceros, and a few other things. I will not tell you how to right-click anything, or how to adjust your computer's screen resolution.
5. You know your way around a set of lines. I will point out the important bits, but if your eyes widen in dismay when I mention the words sheer, chine, rabbet, cutwater, baseline, etc., then you need to buy a book on yacht design and start reading. I am by no means a professional (or even a particularly gifted amateur) designer, but I do know the lingo.
Go take care of all five of those things, and come back tomorrow.
Now, on to the good stuff.
I am going to make some assumptions about you before I get started.
1. You have access to a set of lines (either in-print or online) that you want to turn into an editable electronic version. These should ideally be in some kind of image format - .jpg, .bmp, .tif, or .png. PDF files will work, but not very well. You can download free screenshot utilities all over the place and capture what you see on-screen, or you can use an inexpensive scanner to scan magazine or book pages into electronic format. I frequently use the copier at my office to scan things to email and send them to myself.
2. You have downloaded and installed Draftsight, a free CAD program from the same folks who make Solidworks (a really, really powerful - and expensive - piece of 3D modeling software). DraftSight is free and does a pretty good job of emulating AutoCAD - which is more powerful and really, really not free.
3. You have downloaded and installed Rhinoceros. Rhino is not free; they have an evaluation version that is good for 25 saves, and they offer an educational version at a reasonable price. Don't pirate it. It's good software designed and maintained by a reputable company and they have to make a living.
4. You know your way around a computer. I will show you how to use Draftsight, Rhinoceros, and a few other things. I will not tell you how to right-click anything, or how to adjust your computer's screen resolution.
5. You know your way around a set of lines. I will point out the important bits, but if your eyes widen in dismay when I mention the words sheer, chine, rabbet, cutwater, baseline, etc., then you need to buy a book on yacht design and start reading. I am by no means a professional (or even a particularly gifted amateur) designer, but I do know the lingo.
Go take care of all five of those things, and come back tomorrow.
