Boat Design Forums

  1. Design

    1. Boat Design

      Discuss boat design concepts, projects, plans, reviews, resources, and general design topics.
      Discussions:
      15,218
      Messages:
      230,695
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      Latest: Hickman style hull any good for low powered outboard Houseboat? fallguy, Mar 19, 2026 at 12:13 PM
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    2. Hydrodynamics and Aerodynamics

      Technical discussion on fluid dynamics: theory and analysis.
      Discussions:
      1,057
      Messages:
      23,888
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      Latest: Overbalanced rudder with no balance area Robert Biegler, Mar 17, 2026 at 1:47 PM
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    3. Stability

      Discuss stability issues and calculations, power and sail.
      Discussions:
      1,025
      Messages:
      16,908
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      Latest: Roll Period Test... Waterline Beam or Total Beam? william stokes, Mar 8, 2026
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    4. Class Societies

      Scantling Rules, updates and discussion on Society Classification: Lloyds, ABS, DNV, ISO ...
      Discussions:
      418
      Messages:
      4,773
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      Latest: Structural stiffness related to material and scantling rules william stokes, Jan 8, 2026
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    5. Powerboats

      Discuss production and custom powerboats and powerboat design.
      Discussions:
      2,719
      Messages:
      29,260
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      Latest: Custom Aluminum Boats Out of Florida Tarantino Boatworks Wgrabow, Mar 17, 2026 at 10:18 AM
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    6. Propulsion

      Discuss marine engines, drives, and propulsion systems.
      Discussions:
      6,080
      Messages:
      72,122

      1. Props

      2. Surface Drives

      3. Jet Drives

      4. Outboards

      5. Sterndrives

      6. Pod Drives

      7. Inboards

      8. Diesel Engines

      9. Gas Engines

      10. Electric Propulsion

      11. Hybrid

      12. DIY Marinizing

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      Latest: "Powerfin" perpendicular(?) rowing method/system Eurosnob, Mar 19, 2026 at 3:12 AM
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    7. Motorsailers

      Discuss monohull and multihull motorsailers and motorsailer design.
      Discussions:
      161
      Messages:
      4,051
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      Latest: Revolutionary Sailboat Design MotorCityBW, Feb 28, 2026
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    8. Sailboats

      Discuss monohull sailboat design, production and custom monohull sailboats.
      Discussions:
      4,523
      Messages:
      83,230
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      Latest: New Zealand Scow william stokes, Mar 13, 2026 at 4:56 AM
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    9. Multihulls

      Discuss multi-hull sailboat design, production and custom sailing catamarans and trimarans.
      Discussions:
      3,396
      Messages:
      90,829
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      Latest: New rudder design for 49ft performance cat Hugy, Mar 19, 2026 at 12:22 PM
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    10. OnBoard Electronics & Controls

      Discuss onboard mechanical, hydraulic, and electric control systems, monitoring, navigation, communication, systems integration and onboard computer systems.
      Discussions:
      884
      Messages:
      11,110
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      Latest: I built my own marine monitoring system using a Raspberry Pi Skipper Don, Feb 25, 2026
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    11. Software

      Discuss marine design software: hull design, fairing, modeling, rendering, and CNC.
      Discussions:
      3,158
      Messages:
      25,394

      1. General Computing

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      Latest: checking fairness maxsurf william stokes, Mar 14, 2026 at 10:51 PM
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  2. Collaboration

    1. Option One

      Collaborative design of a power cruiser: trailerable, 300 mile range, economical at cruise & displacement speeds.
      Discussions:
      67
      Messages:
      1,727
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      Latest: Cool trailerable boat parkland, Jan 9, 2015
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    2. Projects & Proposals

      An open forum to generate ideas for collaborative design projects.
      Discussions:
      451
      Messages:
      8,753
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      Latest: Electric Launch Design optimized for semi-displacement speeds Stephen Ditmore, Nov 28, 2025
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  3. Construction

    1. Boatbuilding

      Discuss boatbuilding projects, methods, plans & kits, ask questions, and share your experiences.
      Discussions:
      11,023
      Messages:
      136,387

      1. Fiberglass and Composite Boat Building

      2. Metal Boat Building

      3. Wooden Boat Building and Restoration

      4. Electrical Systems

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      Latest: Hot Moulding in the 1950's wet feet, Mar 18, 2026 at 2:48 AM
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    2. Materials

      Discuss boatbuilding materials: composites, woods, metals, plastics, and finishes.
      Discussions:
      3,039
      Messages:
      32,598
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      Latest: Titanium Seacocks are Here jehardiman, Mar 18, 2026 at 12:07 PM
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    3. Marketplace

      Boatbuilding materials, tools, equipment, molds, tooling and custom projects for sale or trade.
      Discussions:
      2,942
      Messages:
      13,288

      1. Boat Molds

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      Latest: Marine balsa core stock for sale nikolsson, Mar 17, 2026 at 3:17 PM
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  4. Employment and Education

    1. Education

      Discuss schools and programs of Naval Architecture and Yacht Design and entry paths into a boat design career.
      Discussions:
      908
      Messages:
      6,489
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      Latest: Faculty positions CDBarry, Jan 15, 2026
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    2. Services & Employment

      Post positions available and marine design and boatbuilding services offered.
      Discussions:
      1,884
      Messages:
      6,484
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      Latest: Seeking an engineer to design a rotatable pod brian eiland, Feb 27, 2026
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  5. Community

    1. All Things Boats & Boating

      Enjoy friendly conversation with other forum members and boaters on marine-related topics, boats, and boating in general.
      Discussions:
      4,302
      Messages:
      142,505

      1. Press Releases

      2. Wiki Archive

      3. Forum Questions and Suggestions

      4. Post-Tsunami

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      Latest: What is the model of these boats? Pinopinoppi, Mar 8, 2026
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