Services

At BaseLine Technology, we offer the following services.  

Vessel Design

With over 34 years of experience in designing vessels of all sizes and types, we can offer your firm quality, reliability, accuracy and speed in completing your design requirements.  

We have designed for naval architecture firms and shipyards of all sizes and work well in a design team environment as well as working as a sole practitioner.  

We have the tools to complete your design project anywhere you like, whether in your shop or our own.  With the advent of the internet, the design office has assumed world-wide proportions.

We can do your project for fixed price or on a time-and-materials basis.

3D Modeling

Like our design services, modeling has been a passion at BaseLine Technology as long as there has been a BaseLine Technology.  

We began 3D modeling almost as soon as IBM introduced the original Personal Computer.  We ported an interpreted BASIC program (LineFair) from a Radio Shack TRS-80 over to an IBM.  The programming work was done by Graham Shannon, who went on to create AutoShip.  

Working off the strengths of LineFair, BaseLine Technology created "BaseLine, the interactive hull-fairing system", which we marketed for several years, until the introduction in 1990 of Rhinoceros.  With that introduction of a NURBS surface modeling system, we could see that the future of marine design would be in that direction.

Ever since, we have been modeling in Rhinoceros for naval architects and shipyards all over the US.

Rendering

Hand in hand with mmdeling in Rhino is the art of rendering.  This discipline requires totally different attributes and few in the industry have mastered these attributes.

Rendering requires an understanding of the effects of light and materials and the application of these to a 3d model.  Each rendering engine has its own strengths and weaknesses and can take years to become really good at.  

At BaseLine Technology, we prefer Flamingo for its ease of use and flexibility.  It produces excellent results and is an affordable rendering solution for rendering in Rhinoceros.

AutoCAD and Rhino Drafting

The heart of any design firm is its ability to produce clear and accurate 2D drawings that can be given to the builder and be used in the production of its designs.  A  mark of a good drawing is that it requires little or no explanation.

At BaseLine Technology, we have been drafting in AutoCAD since its initial release in the mid 1980's and have achieved a high level of speed and accuracy, which will enable us to bring your project in under budget 

Recently, we've taken to drafting in Rhinoceros to suit the requirements of a client who does complete designs entirely in Rhino and needs the same from his drafters and designers.  In so doing, we've realized the need for a comprehensive set of tutorials covering the subject of 2D drafting in Rhino.  These tutorials are currently under development and should be released in early Spring, 2010 

NC Lofting and Nesting

In the past 25 years, we've lofted or participated in the lofting of over 50 vessels ranging from small aluminum skiffs to a 200+ foot stern wheel passenger vessel for use in Alaska.  We work with small shops to large yards and can keep your steel or aluminum rolling.

Rhinoceros Training

Cliff W Estes of BaseLine Technology has been the instructor for Professional Boatbuilder magazine's  online course, "Rhino Modeling for Marine Designers".  

In the course, students go from no experience to modeling some pretty exotic models in six weeks.  We can arrange in-house training for multiple seats of Rhino.  We have a separate page devoted to detailing the course material and structure.

Vessel Measurement

Although we are not doing much of this anymore, due to the evolution of laser scanners, we still maintain the capability to measure vessels and provide Rhino or AutoCAD documents for the naval architect to use in calculating stability or designing and lofting add-on structures such as sponsons, mid-bodies for lengthening, and stern additions.

We have measured nearly a hundred hulls and continue to maintain the capability, just in case it is needed.

Custom software development

When we find a process that lends itself to automation, we develop an application to make that automation happen.  Our software development began with the development of  "BaseLine, the interactive hull-fairing system"

Over the years we have developed a number of programs and plug-ins that have aided hundreds of designers in their tasks.  In addition to hull-fairing, we have developed softward for creating tables of offsets, calculating hydrostatics, calculating stability (under development) and material handling programs for shipyards.