My thoughts exactly. I'm surprised that it amtters whether I use the tiny picture or the offsets though. I have access to a CAD system, so putting in offsets is no big deal, it just takes a little longer than a Xerox machine. The only drawback is that I kinda like the hull shape of the Guillemot Play (Below the waterline).

I had even though of putting offsets of a couple of boats into a spreadsheet and having it interpolate a mean curve between the two (at each station).

As you might have guessed, working up the lines is part of the fun for me. I've even thought of using the offsets for Nick's stitch and glue boat in a spreadsheet, and using a little curve smoothing to round the chines a little.

What if I blow up the lines from study drawings for several boats on a Xerox machine, superimpose them onto one sheet, and use them as a guide to do my own shape, and then destroy all of the xerox copies? I could just look at several tiny pictures and try to mimmick them, but it'd be easier to have them together on a fullsize sheet.

Would it be ethical to build from plans, and then, instead of throwing out the forms, cut them into a new shape (add a little here, shave a little there) and call it my own design?

I find these design rights discussions very stimulating.

> I in no way intended to imply that the design is no longer yours,
> or that I would xerox the tables from another's book to build from.
> Only that, by purchasing the book which is much cheaper than drawings,
> I would not owe further royalties. The tradeoff is that I have to
> draw my own forms. It shouldn't be a problem and I intend to do so
> next year (next boat...). I would never even consider going into production
> of a design without explicit permission from the designer. I think
> you are reasonable to request royalties for every boat built period,
> whether from your drawings or mine.