Kayak Model Set Up

[mr_jones]

Anyone try this yet? I've read a few posts warning not to try boat hulls...so that makes it more of a challenge

First question, whats the best way to orient the model, i.e. length of boat in X, Y or Z axis?

Second question, what's the best tool for creating the surface or skin?

The project will be based on a simple kayak using wood frames and "skin" hull. Frames on regular intervals. Stringers will connect to "nodes" on the frames and, hopefully create a fair curve. That seems like the tricky part. Actually for the hull "skin" i have no idea where/how to start.

thanks

[CipesDesign]

I am by no means an expert in this kind of 3d modeling (ie: free-form or nearly so), but here's my 2?. Orient the model realistically. In Top/Plan you should be looking down on it from above, etc. If you can create the wood frames, then turn the whole model upside down (which *might* require you to group and literally flip the whole thing) you might be able to use the "Drape Surface" command to create your skin (as a nurbs surface). Or you can trace/draw 3d polygons by snapping to the various different points on the frames... I'll bet others have some more insight on this. Let us know how it goes...

[Assemblage]

I'd try drawing your frames, then use the loft tool. I believe lofting is actually a boat building term - scribing out the boat's curves literally in a loft at 1:1 - from which 3D modelling software has taken both the name and the process.

[Benson Shaw]

A couple more ideas:

Make the hull and deck as two separate lofts. Draw the ribs as NURBS curves and make a standard loft with the loft tool by clicking the end point of each rib in sequence. Smoother curves with fewer points may make a better loft. You can draw ribs in 2d and convert to NURBS, then place them along your axis.

The deck can be a continuous lofted surface. Punch the holes after lofting.

Add ribs to strictly control the surface shape, say every 25cm instead of every 50cm. Otherwise, the loft may curve too much past the inflection points.

OR

Draw the 2d, plan view, starboard side outline and a straight line representing the axis. Convert to NURBS curves, and loft them as a simple loft (mirror this later to get the Port side). This makes a planar NURBS surface. Increase the u and v degrees so that you have a set of 4 or 5 points at each rib crossing. Now you can use the 3d reshape tool to move the vertices downward to form your hull shape - it has modes for single vertex, u only and v only. These u and v modes move a whole line of u points or whole line of v points. Try it, it works. Repeat by moving the vertices upwards for the deck. 2d or 3d guide objects may help as targets in each view. Use the contour tool to derive rib curves, or make section slices in a duplicate model.

-B

[mike m oz]

The Guillemot Kayak website has quite nice drawings that you could use as the basis for your nurbs curves: http://www.guillemot-kayaks.com/guillemot/node/28/draw

[bcd]

I'd try drawing your frames, then use the loft tool. I believe lofting is actually a boat building term - scribing out the boat's curves literally in a loft at 1:1 - from which 3D modelling software has taken both the name and the process.

I love it!

You might enjoy modeling it in clay first: fast, fun and intuitive.

Then photograph & apply lens correction to take the model into VW (a reference grid behind the model really helps)

Then use the imported images as your template to create your VW model.

[Kaare Baekgaard]

It is my experience, that it is almost impossible to get a fair hull from lofting. Too many vertices makes for unintended bumps and crevices. Also the stem is very hard to get just right. The fewer control points, the better. The hull of the boat underneath is made from just 16 nurbs vertices for each side - some of which are weigted other than 1. It is easy to model and almost impossible to get wrong.

[img:right]http://lh5.ggpht.com/_M3rjGHuD-UM/TLoxWygjNsI/AAAAAAAAABM/O8nfPv1t5FQ/s640/boathull.JPG[/img]

[CipesDesign]

Nice work Kaare!

[GWS]

Wow!