: Is there software out there for S&G boats? I have seen Ross's for stip boats.
: Just curious if there is anything similar for S&G boats? I have heard of
: FreeShip but have no looked at it.

: If there is anything, do they generate the panels or offsets for the panels?

I'm going to assume that you are planning to use this software for your second or third boat--because I don't think it would be a good idea to use it for your first boat.

Building your first boat you'll have a bunch of problems to solve, but if you are building from an existing design you'll be able to find plenty of people here who have built that design, or one very similar to it. They can give you guidance. You'll also find construction problems which you wish to avoid on your next build.

Only after you have your list of things to avoid, and things you want to add will you be ready to sit down and translate those real-world situations into abstract concepts drawn on paper.

So build something first so you have a benchmark to start from.

Otherwise, you risk becoming one of the many people who start to build a boat, and don't finish it. Or worse yet, you can drift into the realm of "paralysis through analysis" where you try to predict so many intangibles that you are buried under the permutations--and the boat never gets started.

IF you are worried about having the best boat for a given use, and feel you can only own one, then build a skin-on-frame boat. You'll get a nice boat in a reasonable time at a reasonable cost.

If you reeeeaaallllly like it --but you want it in plywood instead of cloth-- just lay a panel of thin plywood over the outside of the boat and use a pencil to outline where the chines are. Cut panels to those shapes (yup, your actual boat is a full size template) and stitch them together.

If you want to change it, go ahead and make another. The cost will still be low, and maybe lower than for the first boat as you should have some scraps around. The time to build it will be less as you'll have some experience.

Paddle both boats and sell the one you don't like. Now you'll have supplied another potential paddler with a boat, and you'll have one more person to call on when you want to go paddling with a buddy.

There are plenty of books around with free plans for SOF boats. Some of them don't even have plans. They just tell you, for example, how many arm lengths to make the pieces. The boat fits your personal size.

In the time it takes you to get boat design software and learn enough about using it to be able to make a simple design, you could have a finished kayak.

Long before software, and long before mechanical drawing, people were making their boats by working with real materials in three dimensions. They may have hacked and burned away wood from a log to make a dugout, or they may have lashed together branches and animal bones. (Some boat ribs really were actual ribs!) Their designs were developed by building and trying, then building anew, and trying afresh.

Do the same. Decide on a length and cut some strips of wood a couple of eet longer. Decise on an end profile for the bow and stern and cut these out of plywood. Mount the ends to a long bench, or an extension ladder sittong on a pair of sawhorses and tack on the wood strips. Start with a keel runnign straight between the ends. Add strips where you want the gunwales to be. Spread those apart to get the beam yo need to fit inside, and hold that shape using a stick for a spacer. Add two more strips for the bottom of the hull (the chines) and prop them in place with more sticks. Instead of a wireframe model on a computer screen you have a wood-stick model in real size. Decide how you want the crossection of the middle of the boat to look and make a frame or ribs which will hold your wood strips in the right place. At this point you can raise or lower the ends to change rocker, or you can pinch in or flare the ends to increase bouyancy. Make all the changes you want, cover the thing with a tarp or a lot of saran wrap (R) and take it out to some water and try it.

To save time and cash, make this as a 1/6th or 1/4 scale model.

By today's standards it is definitely a Luddite approach, and an old-school philosophy, but I think you'll find it a satisfying experience.

And it will get you moving toward actually building that first boat. The second and third will come soon enough By then you'll have some problems which the software can solve for you.

Hope this helps

PGJ