PeterPan wrote:
II have been designing and building boats since the late 70s. I have read anything I could find in print on canoe design since that time. It is not the most complex of subjects, though subtle I suppose. So far I am still waiting (though I don't need it any more myself) to read a single book that does something other than a self-serving support of the designer's efforts. The ABC of canoebuying kind of thing. It is possible to write a book that actually serves the interest of the individual who would like to learn or practice small boat design. Outside of YDI etc... I don't think it has been done, and not there for canoes. The subject is usually rendered more impressively complex rather than less. So the good news is that the field remains open. I recall the fight over who could best describe the function of a paddle, in the old Canoesport Journal, as an example of the kind of writing that probably helps no one, though doubtless amusing to many.
My own self-serving efforts are the best I can do (ahrd to do better than the best you can do). I found it dificult to write about other people's designs because one has to be critical (negative as well as positive) and that is hardly fair since the "written about" designer can't respond. So, you end up writing about your own efforts sort of like L. Francis Herreschoff's book on yacht design.
As for software, there is plenty of it out there for anyone who wants it. Some of it free and some of it for sale.
You might want to lead off a discussion on the function of a paddle here because people always find it interesting.
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