Thanks for the responses so far.
It's nice of people to express sympathy with my problem, but please don't see the whole dyslexia/aspergers thing as something to feel bad/sorry about. There are down sides - such as having to count to myself constantly when I type, there are upsides as well. I can calculas in my head without having to do any working out, and i am frigging *amazing* at anagrams - as I letters as jumbled up anyway - so I guess there are up sides to it all as well.
I do need to say though that this topic's title has been changed slightly from when I posted it originally - I didn't initally ask about CAD as I'm in the process of covering that already.
I think CAD and drawing are different skills, but I think of them as compliments, rather than replacements.
as an example -
at the moment I am playing with some designs for a few concepts of boats. I don't really have any detail around them, just some vauge shapes and idea's that I'd like to post up onto this site to get comments on.
This I see as an Idea job for drawing by hand. Rather than go all out and produce a wonderful CAD model - which - becuase the shapes I'm thinking of are fairly complex, may take a few hours per diagram - it would be nice to be able to knock out 4 or 5 different diagrams in 20 minute's, post them up here, get comments, then do another raft of 4 or 5 and post the again.
However, when the concept is roughly is "right" - that would then seem to be an ideal time to use CAD to get everything sorted out properly and be able to extract things like former templates straight out of the package.
Perhaps I'm wrong - and if I am please shout - but I see drawing by hand as an excellent way of prototyping idea's, and drawing in CAD as a way of solidifying those idea's and producing "locked" articles.
Also, there is a degree of envy here as well. It would be nice to actually be able to draw! most people seem to be able to do it.
As far as CAD goes, I'm just about to start classes on an evening. However, I showed the teacher a few pictures of what I wanted to be able to draw in CAD - things like my EarthRace build etc, and he said that it would take even him a few hours, and that it was "much" more advanced than this course would take me.
So: Drawing for concepts/prototypes/messing about with idea's
CAD for higher quality work.
CAD for me will be OK I think - the fact that it's in a computer means it is inheriently pretty "strict" in the way it works and so I should be able to get OK at it.
Final example:
Have a look (becuase I can't mak the link work at the moment ) at the Q+A post for the Cervia Tug build in the Master Classes topic. Someone asked bluebord how to build a davit. So he drew a picture. i "think" it's freehand - it's just a sketch showing how different things work and fit together. That's all I really want to be able to do.
Ah ha! link:
http://www.modelboatmayhem.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=9788.0Steve