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I'm designer and 3D artist and I'm translating my portfolio in German. I'm uncertain how to translate some specific design words, in this case:
(of a boat, yacht)
I found Abschnitt, Ausschnitt and Sektion, but there is no evidence when I try to check on Google images: for example, when I write yacht sektion I don't find yacht cross sections.
PS: I even didn't find the word in any German glossary.
The most common translation will probably be "Querschnitt". This is any view that shows how an object would look cut in half, usually along a central vertical axis. You can say "Seitenquerschnitt" to emphasise that this is a side cross section, but since this should be rather obvious in your case (unless you're designing a very unsual yacht) it will sound like "side cross section seen from the side (not from above or below)" Duh! :)
"Seitenansicht" and "Seitenriss" both mean a mere "side view" that does not reveal the interior.
If you're talking about a building, "Aufriss" is correct ("elevation" - also usually not showing the interior). "Grundriss" is a building's floor plan.
"Sektion" is more or less correct, but rarely used - sounds rather medical to me. I wouldn't recommend it.
"Ausschnitt" usally just means "detail" but can sometimes refer to a bit of the object being cut away to show the interior. But this is never a cross section - I suppose you'd say "with a section of the hull removed" or something.
"Abschnitt" means "section" in the sense of "part".
Aufriss, Seitenriss, Kreuzriss, Grundriss - may depend on the exact direction of view. (As you say "side cross section", it should be "Seitenriss" or as is apparently more modern: "Seitenansicht von links bzw. rechts")
