This article looks at some of the hull modelling software currently available and provides some suggestions for features that prospective purchasers should look for when selecting this type of software package for their design office or shipyard. There is a very wide range of software available and it is well worth spending some time examining the demonstration versions of the software, user documentation and sample files to get a feel for the programs before deciding which one to purchase.
Here the focus is on hull modelling software, though most of the packages offer additional capabilities such as hydrostatics, resistance analysis, etc. Obviously these other features are very important, but it is beyond the scope of this article to investigate them in any great detail. It should be noted that only software running under Microsoft Windows has been examined since this is the platform that the majority of ship designers are currently using.

A large number of software vendors were contacted and asked to provide working versions of their software for review; only those that provided software that was relevant to the design of larger vessels have been included.
Other hull fairing software not reviewed includes: Napa, Tribon, Defcar, Foran, MasterShip, GRC ltd, Ship Shape (Wolfson), Prolines (Vacanti Yacht Design), FREE! ship.

The following software has been included:
Autoship Autoship Systems Corporation
Fastship Proteus Engineering
Hullform Blue Peter Marine Systems Pty Ltd
Maxsurf Formation Design Systems Pty Ltd
MultiSurf Aerohydro
Naval Designer Verre-Mer
ProSurf New Wave Systems
SeaSolution Sea Tech Ltd

Rhino Robert McNeel & Associates, available from Simply Rhino Limited in the UK This is by no means an exhaustive list but does cover a wide range of products that are suitable for a range of users: from the enthusiast naval architect through to medium-sized shipyards and design consultancies employing an entire design office.
A reasonably high-end computer from mid-2004 was used for the review (Asus P4CG800-E; Intel Pentum 4 with Hyperthreading running at 3.0GHz; 1 GByte DDR SDRAM, dual channel RAM; 160Gm SATA hard disk drive; nVidia GeForce FX 5700 video card with dual 17” LCD screens, 1280×1024; Microsoft XP Professional). This system was sufficient to effectively run all the software tested.
In the following sections that describe the programs in more detail, only the key features have been discussed.
The programs have many other features, details of which can be found on the vendors’ web sites.

reed all in the pdf file (560 KB)

fonte Royal Institution of Naval Architects