| If you have ever thought about building your own | | | | twelve upwards. |
| boat then the first thing on your list is going to be | | | | Sophistication |
| boat building plans. That goes without saying. But | | | | So, now you have your mental image of what you |
| have you ever considered designing your own boat? | | | | want, you need some boat building plans. And to |
| Why rely on other lepoles designs? Only you know | | | | draw them up you'll need some 3d boat design |
| what you really want. It's a lot easier than you think | | | | software to bring your ideas to life. Fortunately, such |
| and can add a whole new dimension to the project. | | | | software is easy to come by. It's inexpensive and |
| Design it yourself | | | | easy to use. But because it's inexpensive, don't be |
| What could be more satisfying than sailing a boat | | | | fooled into thinking that it's not sophisticated. Like |
| with your friends or family that you have built | | | | much other software available these days it's the |
| yourself? I'll tell you; It's sailing a boat with your | | | | result of a good deal of development and |
| friends or family that you have DESIGNED and built | | | | improvement over the years and much of the |
| yourself! | | | | development cost has already been amortized. |
| Ideas | | | | Experiment |
| To get started you need to have an idea in your | | | | The key is to experiment, test and compare your |
| head of the sort of thing you want to build. Many | | | | ideas for speed and buoyancy (the software |
| people start off with a small wooden sailing dinghy. | | | | automatically calculates expected water resistance |
| Built from marine plywood, boats like this are | | | | and hydrostatic load) so you can come up with the |
| immensely strong and great fun. Because they're | | | | fastest, most stable, design you can. Nothing can be |
| small they're usually highly maneuverable which makes | | | | more satisfying and, for less than the price of a few |
| them great for club racing. And also because they're | | | | pizzas, you'll never have to buy boat building plans |
| small they can usually be handled very well by | | | | again! |
| children. I'd say from about the age of eleven or | | | | |