Getting the hull shape right

It’s tempting to have your book copyedited and typeset before you have your editor read it.

And it feels right to spend time on the company’s website before you have your first customer…

But if you don’t have the foundational elements right, the fit and finish don’t matter at all.

This summer I designed and built a skin-on-frame canoe. I could have spent a lot more time on the details, the sanding and even putting on the gunwales. But it wouldn’t have mattered, because the boat’s design was so unstable and tippy, it was unusable.

All that remains of the boat is this picture and what I learned about hull design.

The first job is to figure out what “hull design” means for you and your project. What’s the hard part? What’s the part that has to be right for the rest to matter?

Then we get to focus on the rest.