sailboat cad 3d

Top 8 Best Boat Design Software in 2024 (Free & Paid)

Written by: 3DSourced

January 16, 2024

Whether you’re a student, a hobbyist, or a professional, finding the right software is the key first step to designing a boat. However, with such a wide range of programs available, you need to make sure you choose the best boat design software for you.

We usually talk about 3D software in relation to 3D printing, but 3D modeling techniques are used across many applications and industries, including boat design. In fact, 3D printing is becoming increasingly prevalent in the boat design industry, with one example being Tanaruz’s 3D printed boats .

Quick Overview

• Free!ship : Best Free Boat Design Software for Linux
• Sailcut CAD : Free Sailboat Design Software
• Bearboat SP : Free Boat Designer for Small Boats & Kayaks
• DELFTship : Intuitive Free Boat Design Tool with Professional Option
• Fusion 360 : Best Free Boat Design Software for Beginners & Mac
• SketchUp : Best Boat Design App for iPad
• Autoship : Best for Naval & Marine Architecture, Best for Windows
• Solidworks : Best for Aluminum Boat Design Software & Best for Yachts

In this guide, we review several 3D ship design software to help you do just that. We’ll take a close look at both free and professional options, so that you’ll be able to find a suitable program regardless of your budget and experience.

Read more: our feature story on 3D printed boats

Best Free Boat Design Software

1. freeship – best free boat design software for linux.

Completely free and open source 

Subdivision modeling to design any hull shape

Can export designs in a range of file formats

Can submit support and feature requests 

Positive reviews from users 

Can be tricky for novices to get used to 

Not available on Mac 

Unlike most of the boat building software on our list, Free!ship isn’t developed by a company, but rather by an individual called Marven with a desire to make boat design accessible to anyone.

Free!ship is a surface modeling program for designing ships and yachts, using subdivision surfaces modeling rather than NURBs, providing the freedom to design hulls of any shape. 

Available on Windows and Linux, you can get started with this free CAD software by automatically generating a basic boat structure to use as a template. You can then easily use the nodes on the structure, as well as a variety of tools like curve, split, collapse, and insert plane, to reshape the design to your liking.

You need to fill in certain parameters, such as:

• Boat length
• Beam length
• Longitudinal and vertical direction

Once you’ve done that, you can view your boat design in four different perspectives and every angle to help you finalize your structure.

Free!ship offers the option to fill out support requests, feature requests, and report bugs. However, bear in mind that design beginners may be better off with a professional free ship design software that has more support options and tutorials available, as you don’t get any training with Free!ship.

2. Sailcut CAD – Free Sailboat Design Software

Specialist sailboat design software 

Easy to use node editing

Supports a variety of sail designs

Export designs in different file types including DXF files

Not suitable for designing other boat types

If you’re looking for a free small boat design software specifically geared towards designing sails and sailboats, you can’t go wrong with Sailcut CAD .

This design and plotting software can be used to design the sail, hull, and rail of a boat, in addition to precisely computing panel development in flat sheets.

You can use it for a variety of different sail types, including wing sails, cross cut, twist foot cut, vertical cut, mitre cut, and radicul cut, so it’s a versatile tool that will suit virtually any sailboat designer.

The software provides a base design template that you can then edit and view in a variety of formats, including shaded, wireframe, and development. It provides control over all the key dimensions of your sailboat, such as boat length, gaff round, and seam width.

Sailcut provides documentation that explains how to use it for CAD as well as community mailing lists and a bug tracker where you can report issues.

3. Bearboat SP – Free Boat Designer for Small Boats & Kayaks 

Specialist kayak design software 

Simple to use 

Control all aspects of your design

Multiple view options

Advanced tools like wetting

Not suitable for larger boat designs

Dated interface 

Bearboat SP is a specialist kayak design software that can also be used to design other similar types of small boats.

People have been using Bearboat to design kayaks since 1998 – and it’s the most popular program for this specific type of boat design. 

It’s a fairly simple, no-frills software that makes it easy to get stuck straight in. You begin by filling in the core boat hull parameters, such as length, stability, and design deplacement, and then just click the ‘create’ button to generate your base kayak template. 

From there, you can go about making structural changes to aspects like shape seam, bow and stern seam height, and rockers parameters. You can also easily change dimensions using the nodes on the 2D wireframe design.

There are three viewing options – bird view, side view, and cross-section view – for inspecting your design from different perspectives, as well as options such as changing the color of the wireframe design for easier analysis. 

Advanced features include the ability to view the wetted surface and underwater area, and a drag spreadsheet that contains all the parameters of your boat design, making Bearboat SP a well-rounded boat design tool overall.

4. DELFTship – Intuitive Free Boat Design Tool with Professional Option

More up-to-date and intuitive than other free boat design software tools

Impressive model rendering

Professional license and extension options

Perform basic calculations to check buoyancy and other factors

Free version has limited features compared to paid version

DELFTship is another great free boat design software, and offers a somewhat more professional and up-to-date solution versus Sailcut and Free!ship, with more impressive renderings than other free programs.

This 3D hull form modeling program is very intuitive with a range of easy-to-use design features, including lots of nodes that make it simple to edit your base model just by dragging and dropping.

You can inspect your models from five different viewpoints and convert them to wireframes and other formats to better analyze structure. Features like the keel and rudder wizard make it simple to design additional components of your boat.

DELFTship provides an unlimited free version alongside a professional license that costs $160. You can also add on extensions and board stability analysis calculations upon request for additional fees.

Even without the paid license you can still use DELFTship free to perform basic hydrostatic calculations and resistance calculations to help improve the precision of your designs, making this one of the most impressive free boat design tools. 

5. Fusion 360 – Best Free Boat Design Software for Beginners & Mac

More beginner-friendly than other boat design software 

Lots of learning resources & tutorials

High quality, flexible 3D modeling tool

Impressive renderings

Available on Mac

Not a specialist boat hull design software

Unlike the other programs we’ve covered so far Fusion 360 is a general purpose 3D modeling software that’s not specifically made for boat designing. However, it’s still widely used in boat designing, and its more general nature has some advantages.

For starters, designing a boat is a fairly large and complex task, and the more specialist software like Free!ship and Bearboat SP are complex if you’re new to computer aided design. 

While Fusion 360 still has a learning curve, it’s one of the best designed, intuitive, and beginner-friendly 3D modeling software out there. On top of that, it has a huge range of learning resources and tutorials, great support, and a large user community, so it’s very popular among new designers.

In fact, there are a variety of YouTube videos and written tutorials showing how to use Fusion 360 for boat design and for different types of vessels, including yachts and canoes. These include videos showing how to design wooden boats , so it’s a good choice if you’re looking for a plywood boat design software.

Another benefit of Fusion 360 is that, unlike most naval architecture boat design software, it’s available on Mac. It even has iOS and Android apps that allow you to view designs and collaborate via your smartphone or tablet. 

Fusion 360 is also free for three years as long as you’re using it non-commercially.

Best Paid Boat Design Software 

6. sketchup – best boat design app for ipad.

• Price : $119 a year for the app (free online version available)

3D modeling iPad app

High quality renderings

Intuitive and beginner-friendly

Free online version available

Not specialized for boat design

SketchUp is another general purpose 3D software used for boat design. While it’s not one of the most widely used boat design programs, the reason it’s on our list is that it’s one of the few premier 3D CAD tools that has a fully-fledged mobile app for iPad.

While some programs like Fusion 360 have viewer apps, these don’t have the modeling tools of their desktop counterparts. However, with the SketchUp iPad app, you can enjoy advanced modeling on a tablet, and you can even get creative using an Apple Pencil stylus.

There are a variety of tutorials and videos showing how to design boats with SketchUp, and as a user-friendly software it’s a good option for beginners. SketchUp also boasts high quality renderings for producing 3D boat designs that you can easily share with anyone. 

While the SketchUp boat design app has a yearly fee, you can also use the software for free using the online-only version, or choose from a variety of desktop licenses that vary in terms of features and storage.

SketchUp also offers iPhone and Android apps, although these are more stripped back versions more suited to viewing and sharing designs on your mobile.

7. Autoship – Best for Naval & Marine Architecture, Best for Windows

• Price : upon quote 

Large software suite that covers the entire boat design pipeline

Used by professional boat manufacturers

Highly intuitive NURBs modeling

Comprehensive testing features and data management

Extensive training and support

Can be used to create load plans

Not available on Mac

Steep learning curve 

Autoship is a software suite designed for professional naval and marine architects that provides solutions for every aspect in the boat design process, from modeling to construction and load planning modules for more optimal loading.

In terms of design, Autoship software offers five different CAD/CAM solutions:

• Autoship Pro – a hull design and surface modeling program.
• Modelmaker – for creating 3D models of vessels and components.
• Autohydro Pro – for analyzing hydrostatics and stability of your models.
• Autoplate – a plate design, expansion, and management system.
• Autopower – for resistance and powering predictions.

So, you can create a package with any number of these programs based on your needs. The great thing about Autoship software is all the programs are fully integrated, so any changes made to your model integrate into each solution.

Autoship Pro is the primary design solution in this suite, with a vast array of advanced features for designing vessels. Based on NURBs modeling, the intuitive interface allows you to work in up to four views simultaneously with ten levels of zoom and unzoom for top precision.

Some of the impressive features of this vessel design software include extensive context menus to help speed up operations, the ability to color surfaces so it’s easy to pick out parts in complex designs, curvature displays for curves and surfaces, hydrostatic and resistance calculations, and strength assessment tools.

Overall, with its mix of powerful design, testing, and engineering features, Autoship is one of the most complete boat design software on the market.

8. Solidworks – Best for Aluminum Boat Design Software & Best for Yachts

• Price : upon quote

Solidworks is one of the most advanced 3D CAD/CAM software out there and is widely used across design and engineering industries, from automotive to aerospace as well as boat design. 

In fact, this software is used by a number of leading boat manufacturers. One such example is Kvichak Marine Industries, a Seattle-based maker of high quality aluminum vessels, including both passenger and industrial boats.

In this v i deo , the assistant chief engineer explains how Solidworks’ highly precise 3D modeling tools allow them to improve processes by spotting issues quicker and therefore improve efficiency, with the ability to inspect every element from the individual pipes within hulls to the connections within engines.

Solidworks’ extremely advanced and flexible modeling allows you to create any type of boat you like. There’s even an eBook that explains each step in designing a superyacht using Solidworks.

While this software is mostly used by professional companies, there are also numerous YouTube videos showing you how to design a boat with it, so it’s accessible to amateurs.

What is Boat Design Software?

A boat design software is a program used to sketch, plan, and model a boat in 3D. Popular boat design programs include Free!ship, Solidworks, Fusion 360, and Autoship.

What is naval architecture?

Naval architecture is the processing of designing and engineering marine vessels like ships and boats, as well as their parts. Naval architects also work in boat and ship repair. 

Do I need special software for designing boats?

You don’t need a special boat design software to design boats and ships. While there are a number of specialist boat design software tools out there, general 3D modeling CAD programs like Fusion 360 and AutoCAD are also used for this purpose. 

What Can You Do With Boat Software? 

All boat software have different features that determine what you can do with them. For example, certain programs are designed for creating certain types of boats, such as kayaks and sailboats, so this is the first consideration you need to make to find a suitable program.

More expensive programs typically offer a much wider range of features than paid versions. At the top end are industrial solutions like Autoship and Solidworks, which offer extremely high quality and flexible modeling tools and provide support for testing, manufacturing, and engineering processes, so they’re complete solutions. 

There are also software like DELFTship and Fusion 360 that provide both free and paid versions, so you can try out the free versions and then upgrade if you want the extra features available on the paid licenses.

Buying Guide – Things to consider when choosing boat software

Type of Boat

Boats come in all different shapes and sizes, and some software are specially built for designing certain types of boats. For example, Bearboat SP is primarily geared towards kayak designing, while Sailcut is for sailboats. 

On the other hand, general 3D modeling software like Fusion 360 and Solidworks are more flexible, so you could use it as a Yacht design software and for other types of boats. The benefits of this are the increased flexibility and beginner-friendliness, but these general programs can lack some of the more specialist features that the likes of Bearboat SP and Sailcut have.

Compatibility

The device you’re using is going to have an impact on what naval architecture software you use, as most programs only work on certain operating systems.

In fact, the majority of boat design software are only compatible with Windows. If you’re looking for a boat design software for Mac, Linux, or iPad, you may be best off using a more general purpose 3D modeling software like Fusion 360 or SketchUp.

3D Rendering & Graphic Quality

Free programs like Free!ship, Sailcut, and Bearboat SP are all great for creating precise boat designs at no expense, but in terms of graphics and 3D model rendering, they’re all very basic. 

This isn’t unusual when it comes to free programs, and if you’re not bothered about graphics then it’s no issue. However, if you do want to create higher quality models and renderings – which is especially important if you’re a student or aspiring professional boat designer – then you’ll need a program that provides this, such as Solidworks or Autoship.

Usability & Training

Boat design isn’t exactly a simple process, so if you’re a complete beginner, you’ll want a software that’s easier to get to grips with. 

The free boat design software we’ve covered are all fairly simple to use, but the level of intuitiveness and support varies. If you’re a complete newbie to computer design, you may want to go for a widely used modeling software like SketchUp or Fusion 360, both of which boast great support, large communities, and more tutorials than specialist boat structural design software.

Budget & Free Trial 

The price of boat design software can vary a lot, from free programs to expensive professional solutions like Solidworks and Autoship that can cost thousands, so bear this in mind. Many paid boat design software offer free trials, so you should definitely take advantage of this to try a program out.

What software is best for basic boat design?

Free!ship, Delftship, and Sailcut are all popular free software that allow you to create basic boat designs. 

How do you design a yacht?

If you want to design yachts, the first step is to find a high quality yacht designing software such as Solidworks or Autoship.

How do you become a boat architect / ship designer?

To be a boat architect or ship designer you need to first obtain a relevant degree, such as a BEng or MEng in naval architecture.

How much do yacht architects make?

Yacht and naval architects can make anywhere from $60,000 to $150,000 depending on their experience and position, with the average salary around $75,000.

Autoship, Solidworks, Maxsurf, and OrcaFlex are all popular marine design software that are used in professional ship design.

To become a boat designer you first need a degree in a relevant subject, such as naval architecture, ship science, or marine technology. 

The best way to learn how to make a boat hull in Solidworks is by watching one the boast hull design tutorial provided by Solidworks Product Manager Mark Biasotti.

The first step to designing a yacht is finding a suitable CAD software, such as Solidworks or Fusion 360.

Lightning CAD Dock Designer is one of the most popular boat dock design software.

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• Development

Sailcut CAD

Sailcut CAD is a sail design and plotting software which allows you to design and visualise your own sail and compute the accurate development of all panels in flat sheets. The original Sailcut was a Basic program developed by Robert Lainé in 1978. The new version, called Sailcut CAD, is written in C++ using the Qt framework and is developed jointly by Robert Lainé and Jeremy Lainé . It is distributed under the terms of the GNU Public License (GPL) .

Sailcut CAD is able to do cross cut, twist foot cut, vertical cut, mitre cut and radial cut sail design as well as wing sails, all in a number of languages. It also includes a viewer where you can assembled a hull, a rig and a set of sails to see how they match. Sailcut CAD has been successfully used for making sails for racing and cruising yacht as well as for model boats.

Sailcut CAD is available for GNU/Linux, MacOS/X and Windows platforms.

• Sailcut 1.4 beta 2 for Windows
• Sailcut 1.4.1 for OS X
• Sailcut 1.4.1 source code

Sailcut CAD is also distributed with Debian GNU/Linux .

Documentation

The Sailcut CAD Handbook is currently available in the following formats:

• English version in HTML format
• French version in HTML format (work in progress)
• Spanish version in HTML format (work in progress)

Mailing lists

There are two mailing lists for the Sailcut CAD community:

• sailcut-users - a general discussion list for users of Sailcut CAD
• sailcut-devel - a discussion list for developers and translators

Reporting bugs

Your feedback on Sailcut CAD is welcome! If you think you've found a bug, you can check that it has not already been reported on the bug tracker and post a bug report.

J Boats J22 Sailboat 3D CAD Model

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3D Yacht Models

Downloadable 3D Polygonal Mesh file formats available: 3ds Max ( .max ), Wavefront ( .obj ), Autodesk FBX ( .fbx ), Blender ( .blend ), Cinema 4D ( .c4d ), AutoCAD ( .dxf/.dwg ), COLLADA ( .dae ), StereoLithography ( .stl ). Downloaded 3D Models can be used in 3ds Max, Blender, Maya, Lightwave, Softimage, Cinema 4D, AutoCAD, Houdini, Daz Studio, Modo, Unity 3D, Unreal Engine, SketchUp, ZBrush, Poser and other 3D modeling software. The following file formats can be exported from these above programs: 3D Studio ( .3ds ), Microsoft DirectX Direct3D ( .x ), glTF 2.0 WebGL ( .glb , .gltf ), Universal Scene Description ( .usd* ), VRML97 ( .wrl ), X3D Extensible 3D ( .x3d ).

Downloadable 3D CAD Solid Object file formats available: STEP SOLID [AP214] ( .step ), IGES 5.3 NURBS ( .iges ). 3D CAD Solids can be imported into SolidWorks, Autodesk Inventor, Pro/Engineer, PTC Creo, Siemens NX, Fusion 360, Solid Edge, CATIA, ACIS and other CAD/CAM/CAE packages. 3D CAD models can be downloaded as polygonal 3D meshes also.

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FreeCAD for boat design test

Discussion in ' Software ' started by pafurijaz , Nov 28, 2021 .

• open source

pafurijaz Senior Member

Hi, I've tried FreeCAD these days to create surfaces for hulls, and I have to admit that it has great features. For now I have created some surfaces starting from models in OBJ format, used for the generation of spline curves from the points generated by the mesh model that I created with Blender. The tools used are: The Workbench Mesh Remodel , Workbench Surface , and finally the Curves workbench. All useful for carrying out the various phases. I used the Mesh Remodel both to create the stitches from the mesh and the various Spline to generate the surfaces. Surface has been used for some surfaces such as Curves to generate more complex surfaces such as Gordon from a grid of splines. FreeCAD has many features to accomplish many task and I've much to understand but I think isn't bad. Below some screen shot of these experiments. and this below is a video tutorial for surfaces modelling Greetings  

And this is a new attempt just made now with an other hull type. I don't have a full control on the spline but I'm a novice with FreeCAD, I'll improve in next future and I will do a better hull, but for two day of self-learning I'm quite satisfied  

New hull also with lines plan generated directly in FreeCAD with the section tool of the parts workbench.  

I'm experimenting with FreeCAD, and I'm really impressed, I didn't think it was possible to make these surfaces.

 Today I also found the way to trim a surfaces, and I also saw that the quality is not bad, I opened this model exported in IGES with PolyCAD and Moi3D Still a lot to learn but I am increasingly convinced that it is a good alternative CAD. This model is only part of learning path with FreeCAD, has many issues, but is my fault. Test trimming FreeCAD model view Nurbs Surface control with Moi3D and I think they are very good Soon I make a more complete works but I'm still learning a lot.  

Tops Senior Member

Ciao PF, thanks for the postings about FreeCAD. It does seem to be a powerful software, and is very handy as a viewer for many file types. I am very used to Autodesk interfaces so I get confused in FreeCAD but that is operator error. Most of my career has been 2D design in another industry, I would really like to learn some 3D workflows better.  

Hi I'm also a beginner with FreeCAD, but I have experience with this type of software, FreeCAD has a chaotic but not complicated workflow, it's done by many developers and everyone has created things that are not always consistent with each other.
 I'm involved right now in drafting some advice on how to generate surfaces starting from 3D mesh objects with FreeCAD, as soon as it is complete I will share it here. 
Greetings  

Surfacing Tips: Surface creation with the help of a mesh model in OBJ format Introduction This is a workflow that simplifies the creation of surfaces with FreeCAD with the help of a 3D model created with Blender to be used as a guide for generating curves using the vertices of the polygons. With this workflow you can easily draw curves in 3D space without constraining them to planes. The structure of the mesh if done well can give excellent results in the final result. I use Blender for convenience to make these models with Subdivision Surfaces, but you can also use other programs that export meshes as an OBJ. For ease of use I do not apply the subdivision modifier in Blender because it would generate models with too many vertices and it would be very difficult to locate the vertices to generate the B-Spline curves. I recommend to keep a low number of vertices for the mesh, because these will then be the control vertices of the curves and a rule to always keep in mind because the surfaces will be better and homogeneous. Export model from Blender I usually use the default settings of Blender and I never change the measurement units, and these in Blender are in meters; this must be taken into consideration when exporting the model for FreeCAD from Blender, once the 3D object to be used with FreeCAD has been selected, choose Export to OBJ from the file menu. In this image it is also visible export to IGES, this is an add-on that allows you to export the subdivision surfaces directly in IGES format readable by FreeCAD without any conversion, this component is very useful and simplifies a lot, however this to be used correctly requires a basic understanding of how subdivision surfaces work in Blender and their use with all limits. to download this add-or this is page Digital-Sculptors Export IGES Add-On . Now in Export dialog set the scale transformation export options from 1 to 1000, and our object will be in from meters to millimeters in FreeCAD, moreover the Blender axes orientation are different and to obtain the model in FreeCAD with the right alignment they must be selected for Forward Y Forward and for Up Z U Below is the image of the export options I use, if you do this regularly you can add this in the Presets on the top pressing the plus icon and whenever necessary you can use your Preset by selecting Operator Presets from the menu. Now I open FreeCAD and open the OBJ file just exported from Blender. Then a dialog form will appear and you have to select Alias Mesh (Mesh) and press select After you have opened the model you need to activate the Workbench Mesh Remodel . , which can be installed from the Tools menu by selecting the Add-on Manger item below and install the Workbench you need for this tutorial. With the Workbench Mesh Remodel . tool for vertices, generate the vertices from the mesh as shown in the image below with the tool visible under the mouse pointer. Select the MR_Points object in the Tree view alongside and if you want to change the size of the vertices, I set this value from 4 to 8, useful for selecting the vertices, which is sometimes difficult to do. Another important thing is to disable the ability to select the mesh during the process of generating curves from these points. there are various possibilities of displaying the mesh and sometimes I use the Display Mode from Shaded to flat lines,this makes it easier to locate points around the mesh. Now you can start with the generation of the curves through the selected points in order, the curves must be generated with the selection of the vertices always with the same direction and all go in the same direction from the start to the end, if not this can generate surfaces twisted on themselves, when the direction of the generated curves is reversed. Whenever at least 3 vertices are selected, it is possible to use the command create a Spline from 3 or more vertices and holding down the shift key it is possible to prevent the curve from being closed, therefore shift must always be kept pressed because you need to create the curves useful for generate the patches of surface from the model, If two vertices are selected, you can use the command alongside which to create straight segments. Once you have generated all the necessary curves for the surfaces you can hide the objects you no longer need in the view. Here I have also made the curves on the opposite side but it is enough only to make one half of them and then with the Workbench Part use the mirror command. Most of the surfaces can be built with the Surface Workbench ., but some more complex ones need to use the Curve Workbench which can be downloaded and installed with the additional components manager as done before for the Workbench Mesh Remodel Here I have used the Gordon command in the Curves Workbench to create this curved surface which is constrained by a grid of straight lines, this is a very useful command for generating curved surfaces based on a grid. Here the FreeCAD window is reduced to have smaller images to insert in the document and it is not possible to see all the icons that are hidden. And here the Gordon surface obtained from the BSpline grid created earlier, I would say that it is a good result and it was all in all simple With the Curves Workbench I have made all the more complex surfaces now I can move on to the Workbench Surfaces, which is complete and can often be used to do everything. The Workbench surface must have the curves always in the right direction and must be selected in order for the generation of the surfaces, and has an interface with the management of the options. When the command from the menu is selected, you can go to the Dialog Box and add the curves, however I recommend viewing the documentation of both Workbenches available by clicking on the following links. Surface Workbench . and for Curves Workbench . Before changing the Workbench I need a curve divided from those generated for the surfaces I do not create a half curve because I only have two vertices in the bow half and I need a curved line to do this the Curves Workbench has some useful tools to manipulate and create curves and works similar to the Workbench Mesh Remodel but has some differences I recommend you explore these tools. This command in this case is convenient because it divides the selected curve in two and for me this is excellent and allows me to have tangent curvatures. Here is the split curve that I can use to generate the top of this model with a new surface. I hid the previously generated surfaces for convenience because it simplifies the selection of the necessary curves for the surfaces creation. Now I activate the Surface Workbench for the rest of the missing surfaces. With this Workbench you must first select the command to use and in this case I will use the command for the surfaces, from the edges, and then in the dialog box I select the add button and then I will select the lines in sequence. This is the Dialog box Here is the surface generated by the 4 edges at the top, one of which is part of the previous division In this case I can create the other surfaces with this command but for straight parts you can use the command a to create surfaces from sections useful for creating lofted parts even from only two curves. this command also has the same workflow as the previous one And this is the result of this process that makes things simple with surfaces. You can create a compound from the generated surfaces and then you can export them to IGES so that you can use them with other CAD programs such as PolyCAD , Rhinoceros or continue with FreeCAD to create the rest. Naturally this process is only an indication on how to start in a practical way with FreeCAD, some surfaces must surely be rebuilt to eliminate errors, in fact from what I have done for now it is not possible to obtain a perfect solid, I have to rebuild the curves and the surfaces in a different way. With FreeCAD it is possible to draw curves directly and obtain probably better results  

Here an other experiment done now. The images in the first two images are made by surfacing a mesh OBJ generated with FreeShip, the image 3 and 4 , are the Imported IGES, generated with FreeShip from subdivision surfaces. FreeCAD Gordon surfaces are two, and IGES exported from Freeship have 4 surfaces. FreeCAD hull surfaced over mesh OBJ and these the two images are the IGES exported with FreeShip and imported in FreeCAD This is an other test useful on checking the overall dimensions, by making surfaces on mesh created with Blender used as a guide for the B-Splines. With B-Spline created in FreeCAD over the 3D mesh objects, it is possible to have a good precision, with this method, the circles and curves created with Blender's polygons are inscribed inside FreeCAD B-Spline, and this allow to have same dimensions.  

wet feet Senior Member

I'm really pleased to see Freecad continuing to progress. I found it helpful to use the environment mapping feature to illustrate curved shapes in a way that my brain could make sense of them.I haven't yet tried hull surfacing, but I have been watching several of the Mango Jelly tutorials on youtube and they are very helpful. I also agree with the comments regarding workflow and interfaces, very little is intuitive but the features are in there somewhere or other.This thread provides a good illustration in that a lot of the work is done with the Curves workbench and not with the Surfaces workbench and it seems strange when creating surfaces. The orphaned workbenches are another source of frustration, they have seen no development for a long time and some have hardly seen development since they were begun.It seems to be a very good package that is really close to being a single universal solution to many design challenges. How many other packages can offer design,analysis and even machining from a single file and at no cost?  

Hi, I decided to make some effort to understand the Curves Workbench better, and I finally drew the b-splines and I also understood how to move with the constraints and snaps. it's very simple hull but I'm thrilled with the result. I am highly satisfied.  

IGES imported in Moi3D below also attached the hull in IGES, and is completely drawn with FreeCAD.  

Attached Files:

Whitehall-new-with-curves.iges.

Here a new attempt with FreeCAD after few day of using it, and now I done a better rowing boat only with FreeCAD a Whitehall 14ft the IGES exported from FreeCAD is attached below  

You really ought to put a link to this thread on the Freecad forum; people would find it inspiring. https://forum.freecadweb.org/  

I did the final test, with surfaces and b-spline curves and after this object made with surfaces and joined in a perfect solid with FreeCAD you can do everything .  

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I'm increasing my knowledge of FreeCAD every time. A simple boat by William Garden, the Island Tender, with many surfaces, splines, trimmed surfaces and solids, and some personalized colors  

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