This chapter outlines the concepts on which the program is based.
Hulls, appendages and superstructures are defined in Maxsurf using one or more surfaces. Typically a surface is used between discontinuities in the design. For example, a three surface design of a sailing yacht might be made up of one surface for the hull, one for the keel and one for the rudder. A five surface design for a workboat might use one surface for the upper hull from sheer line to chine, a second surface for the chine, a third surface for the lower hull from chine to keel, a fourth surface for the deck and a fifth surface for the transom. Designs may contain any number of surfaces.
Surfaces are defined in Maxsurf by the position of a set of control points that collectively form a control point net. Movement of these control points allows you to manipulate a surface into a desired shape.
Central to the process of modelling designs using Maxsurf is an understanding of how control points may be used to attain the surface shapes that you wish to achieve, and this is best explained by the following analogy.
In this chapter: