The Joli Wee Spark

I’ve worked a little with the floor plan of the Joli to see if I could make it look a little more like a nautical boat. I’m using the basic hull shape from the Wee Spark that I introduced to you during our last visit. 

I tried to work within the confines of my revised frame locations based on my extended length version of the Joli. I left the original width on as many frames as possible and only the ones on the end get modified.

It looks like the rounded transom will work fine as it still hides the outboard motor. The rear bunks get narrower right towards the foot end, but that should be fine.

The bunks in the front are more severely affected by this hull shape change. The forward bunks are now a modified V berth. I did lose some overall width but I think they’re still within reason. It looks like they will tuck under the front ladder. 

Larger Video

I may be exceeding the abilities of Sketchup with this modified shape so I’ve downloaded the newest free version of DELFTship and may try again to learn this software. It really is a better tool for boat designing. We’ll see. Here’s a version of the Clyde Puffer done with DELFTship. The Puffer is the original ship that the Wee Spark is based on.

Here’s another example of what is possible in DELFTship.

I haven’t given up on Sketchup yet. Look at how complex this hull shape is. I guess I need a little more practice ;-)

Now let me complicate the options a little further. There is also a program called FREE!ship. This software is produced by the original developer of DELFTship, Martijn Van Engeland. There is a nice tutorial at the Wooden Boat Forum if you’re interested in pursuing this further. Here is another tutorial for FREE!ship.

It also seems that models built in DELFTship or FREE!ship can be exported and used in Sketchup. See an example here. 

Wow, so much to learn!