Product Description

The last 30 years have marked a revolution in sailboat design. Advances in hydrodynamics, materials, and computer technology have created lighter, stronger, faster, and more comfortable sailboats than ever before. But the language of this transformation can be truly intimidating, as every sailing magazine reader soon learns. When designers and builders of sailing yachts struggle to keep up, what hope is there for sailors? Plenty, thanks to this new bible of sailboat design, comprehensible to amateurs, comprehensive for professionals. It follows the design of a 40-foot cruising sailboat from the first sketch to the final weight, strength, and sail area calculations, with tables, charts, and diagrams to let the reader adapt the process to any other design.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1918943 in Books
• Published on: 1995-03
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 302 pages

Review
"... [In] sailboat design, Principles is more detailed and up-to-date than Skene's and a copy belongs in the collection af any aspiring designer." -- Soundings

"... essential in understaning the new era in yacht design." -- WoodenBoat

"Whereas Skene's remains a great primer on design basics-Prinicples of Yacht Design goes far beyond-this one is bound to become a classic." -- Cruising World

From the Back Cover
Principles of Yacht Design was the first book for mnay years to examine every aspect of the process of yacht design and was welcomed with open arms by owners of boats small and large, practising designers, naval architecture students and the boatbuilding industry as a whole. Now revised and expanded for its second edition to cover power boat design in more detail, it makes an even more valuable contribution to our understanding of the process of yacht design.

The authors have used a newly designed 40 foot performance cruiser to demonstrate the practical application of yacht design theory. Beginning with the yacht's specificaitons, the authors explain the geometry of the hull by means of lines plans and introduce CAD techniques. Hydrostatics and stability in calm water as well as waves are described in detail, as is the design of the hull, keel and rudder. Next the aerodynamics of the sails and the influence this has on the shape of the sail plan is examined. Methods are introduced for finding the balance of the yacht, and there is a short chapter on selecting the correct propeller and the engine. The special hydrodynamics of high-speed power boats is also addressed for the first time in this edition.

Structural aspects of the design are treated comprehensively for both sail and power boats. Loads acting on the hull and rig are identified and methods for computing them introduced. There is also a discussion of different fibre reinforced plastics, including sandwich laminates. Finally, practical matters such as the layout of the cockpit, deck and cabin are discussed, and a complete weight calculation is provided for the 40-footer.

The book is richly illustrated with explanatory diagrams, and although the subject is complicated, the authors treat it in a remarkably clear and concise manner, making it easily understandable for both professionals and amateurs interested in the principles of yacht design.

"This book is deeply fascinating . . . a must."--Classic Boat

"Here at last is a book that replaces Skene's Elements of Yacht Design as the yacht designer's bible."--Yachting Monthly

"A copy belongs in the collection of any aspiring designer."--Soundings

"Essential in understanding the new era in Yacht design."--WoodenBoat

"Bound to become a classic."--Cruising World

"A definitive work on yacht design."--Cruising

"A new bible on yacht design."--SA Yachting

"A sound and up to date manual of yacht design . . . a classic in its field."--Practical Boat Owner

About the Author

Lars Larsson, a naval architect, is Professor of Hydrodynamics at Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden. He is President of Flowtech International and was a scientist at SSPA Maritime Consulting from 1971-89. He has written around 100 papers on computational fluid dynamics applied to ship hydrodynamics, and has taught many academic and public courses in yacht design.

A sailor since birth, Lars Larsson was instructor in aero and hydrodynamics to the 1984 Swedish Olympic sailing team, was design consultant to the Swedish America's Cup team from 1975-80, the US America II team from 1984-87, and the Italian Il Moro di Venezia from 1989-92.

Rolf E Eliasson, a yacht design/construction engineer specialising in yacht structures, runs his own design company for both production and one-off yachts. More than 4000 yachts have been built from his designs over the past 25 years. Between 1976 and 1982 he won three international design competitions and was runner up in a fourth.

Rolf Eliasson has been a member of working groups within the EU since 1990, setting ISO standards for yacht safety, stability and scantlings. He has built six yachts himself--in steel, wood and using different GRP methods--and is one of the forerunners in using computer techniques for yacht design and for the evaluation of new designs.

Customer Reviews

Too narrow a focus and a very poor index.
This book focuses almost exclusively on modern, fin keel, canoe body, racing/cruising sailing yachts, with sloop rigs. There is little to interest those whose tastes run more to traditional designs or rigs, multihulls, or anything out of the ordinary. Much space is devoted to the hydrodynamics of fin keels and rudders, and as presented it is reasonably accessable/understandable to the average reader. All the mathmatics in the book is left out of the main text, and presented instead in separate boxes, a very nice arrangement. The index is poor, to the point of atrocious. I never seemed to be able to easily find what I was looking for.

Highly detailed and technical analysis of yacht design
Larsson and Eliasson present - in detail - the engineering and naval architecture processes that a yacht designer should use in designing a seaworthy yacht. The book presents, as an example, the design -from scratch- of a 40 ft. cruising sloop. Every aspect of yacht design is covered: hull shape, speed, friction, displacement, stability, dynamic stability, rigging, construction, interior design ergonomics, deck design, scantlings, standards, etc.
Typical of an engineering book, the style is factual and dry. Some people may find it lacks the poetry of other books.

Specially attractive is the presentation of formulas in separate boxes. Be prepared, however, to get acquainted with metric units, and engineering terms and formulas.
This is probably the most serious book on the subject of the yacht design. The only possible deficiencies are that motor yacht design is not specifically covered, and that emphasis is placed in the design of safe cruising sailboats rather than high performance racing boats. Despite these omissions, there is no doubt this book is a MUST for anyone really interested in the subject of designing a boat, specially if it is a sailboat.

very good reference
As a formerly trained naval architect, this book answers the questions about yacht design practice that were not covered in my education. In simple language, it supplies the basic knowledge of current yacht design principles in a way which most sailors will understand, yet it gives enough technical background that an engineer can put the information to use. Very good reference (I have no connection with the authors or publishers).