Some days this design thing is just like work

After a few weeks of fun, launching new boats and getting out on the water for their first trials, the fun part of designing for home .builders has come to an abrupt end. Now instead of sitting in one of the boats on a  lake or a river  or even parked in front  of the computer or at the drafting table mulling over a new design it is time to put together the plans and construction notes.  As much as I enjoy the process of designing and building boats at times like these it seems just like a job, it needs to be done, so on with the task.

This plans building process is simply hours of sitting in front of the computer going through the construction process in your head and getting it all down on paper. It also involves running out to the boat shed taking more pictures, taking measurements of those parts that were either modified during construction, had their final location set or an aspect of the design that was finalized during construction.  This running back and forth to the boat makes me thankful for the digital camera and the ability to quickly and directly download pictures, and to take as many as needed quickly and efficiently.

With the first draft done next is trying to compile it all in a way that makes sense, not just to me but to those who will often only ever seen a picture of the boat online or in a brochure, until the plans arrive in the mail or the truck with the kit shows up at the door.  This may also be their first project of any size; they may have limited experience working with wood and more likely limited experience with epoxy resin systems.  While it is easy to write this line it is more difficult in practice not to make any jumps that may seem to not be of any significance to me but may stop the first time builder or even worse cause them some degree of confusion that could lead to mistakes.

Now that I have completed writing what seems to be in part a reminder to self about what I am doing spending these hours sitting in front of the computer, it is time to go back to getting the plans together.