Frequently Asked Questions

o Do I need to be a designer or naval architect to use the program?

No, but you should know something about boats, since the program cannot look at your design and tell you if it is a good or bad boat. The program will, however, eliminate the all of the tedious hand drafting tasks of matching up the waterlines with the buttocks, the stations with the diagonals, etc. If you stretch the boat in one view, the program will automatically update the hull shape in all three views. In addition, the program will do all of the volumetric calculations, but it will not interpret the results for you. In general, the program eliminates the tedious drafting and calculating tasks that have scared many people away from boat design in the past. With this program, our documentation and articles, and a book or two on boat design, anyone can learn to design a boat. The programs are designed for use by amateurs and professionals. Both back yard builders and large shipyards are using this program to design and construct vessels of all sizes.

o What are the hardware requirements?

These programs run on an IBM PC (or compatible) type of computer running any version of the Windows operating system. You do not need any special hardware or other software.

o How is support handled?

There are no yearly maintenance or support fees. All support and maintenance (error corrections) are free. Support is provided by phone, fax, mail or e-mail.

o How about program upgrades?

Whenever a program is improved, all current customers will receive a letter of upgrade listing the improvements and the cost of the upgrade. We try to keep the cost of the upgrade to be a fraction of the cost of the program.

o Can I upgrade to a higher priced package?

Yes. you can always upgrade to a more expensive package by paying the difference in cost plus the shipping and handling fees. There is no time limit for this upgrade.

o How can I try out your software?

You can download the full working demo with no limitations except that you can save (or import/export) only 25 times. After that, the program turns into a no-save demo.

o Why does your software cost so much less than some of the other hull design programs?

Since we started in the early 1980's, we have been aggressively improving our programs and lowering our prices. Our goal is to have programs that are priced to cover all parts of the marine market. The more programs we sell, the lower we can set the prices. You don't have to settle for less, however, since our programs contain major features not found in any program at any price!