Step one is to bring the plans into Fusion 360 as canvas objects. The plans are checked to make sure that all lines are perfectly horizontal / vertical, and that lines in one view match up to the corresponding lines in a different view. The images have been scaled in the 3D environment to match the scale of the model (1:64 or 1 foot = 3/16″). The 3D origin is at the intersection of the baseline, the center line, and the forward perpendicular.
A number of construction planes are defined. Here are the station planes.
And the two water lines plus the load water line.
Planes for the three diagonals are also defined.
And canvas objects for the diagonals are added to the environment.
A final, and very important, construction plane is one which defines the thickness of the false keel. I plan to use 1/8″ thick wood for the false keel and bulkheads. Converting to metric, that’s 3.2mm. But because I am only building a half hull now, which will be mirrored later, I will set the false keel offset plane to be 1.6mm from the center line.
With the reference images imported and the construction planes defined, the environment is ready for the hull modeling to start.