| If you've been scouring the internet for free boat | | | | but it turned out that the software was so easy |
| plans, you've probably discovered what I | | | | to use that I picked up the basics within an hour. |
| discovered a couple of years ago when I was | | | | After another couple of hours working with the |
| looking for some free plans to build a plywood | | | | hydrostatics and resistance calculations, all done |
| dinghy for my kids. I'm sorry to have to tell you | | | | by the software as you modify your design, I felt |
| this but I'm afraid that free boat plans of any real | | | | I was really in control of what I was doing. |
| value just don't exist. | | | | Easy to use |
| They're never quite right | | | | Since then the software has been updated a few |
| I lost count of the number of sketches and | | | | times and is easier to use than ever. I went on to |
| half-completed drawings I downloaded. None of | | | | design and build the kids' dinghy. It took about five |
| them turned out to be any good in the end. I did | | | | months from start to finish. It was nothing fancy |
| find a couple of proper plans, but they weren't | | | | but the kids love it and it performs well. So well, in |
| exactly what I was looking for. One was far too | | | | fact that two other club members asked me to |
| big for two ten year olds and the other seemed | | | | design boats for them. I didn't want to charge |
| to have such a small freeboard that I was | | | | them, but they insisted on giving me something |
| convinced it would fill with water at the first sign | | | | for my efforts. What they paid me more than |
| of a wave. | | | | covered the original one-off cost of the software. |
| The only solution | | | | How to get free boat plans |
| The only solution was to design the boat myself. | | | | So there you have it, if you want free boat plans, |
| A guy at my sailing club told me about the 3d | | | | forget it. Buy yourself some boat design software |
| boat design software that had just come on to | | | | for under fifty bucks and let your friends pay for |
| the market. I didn't really think I had the skill or | | | | it when you draw up plans for them. That's how |
| the experience to design a boat hull from scratch | | | | to get free boat plans! |