Although books on strip building canoes abound, this is among the first to adapt the technique to crafting attractive, functional kayaks. Using high-quality, computer-generated illustrations and photographs to explain key techniques, the book provides complete plans and measurements for three different kayaks: 1) A simple solo craft for beginners, 2) A high-performance solo kayak for intermediate paddlers, and 3) A tandem design for two paddlers. With its easy-to-follow guidance and instructions, The Strip-Built Sea Kayak makes top-notch kayaks accessible to budget-minded paddlers.
When their old GRP yacht was devastated by a Southern Ocean storm, Jill Schinas and her husband, Nick, resolved to build something stronger. Gaily, - and without having researched the matter to the least degree -they threw themselves into the work of designing and constructing the ultimate, ocean-proof, eco-friendly, dream cruising yacht. On their side they had a wealth of sailing experience, which provided a perfect knowledge of what was required, but their only other weapons were irrepressible enthusiasm and the mindset which enables a man to build a radio from a potato or a mast from a lamppost. Had this been a business enterprise no bank would ever have lent the capital, for ranged against the dreamers was a whole battery of forces any one of which would have deterred more realistic people. For a start, neither Jill or Nick had any experience with a welder - and yet they were proposing to build a steel boat. Secondly, they seemed only to have enough money to buy a couple of masts and the sails. Worst of all, they had two kids and a new baby in tow - and no one with a young family ought to attempt anything more ambitious than the washing up. Regardless of these drawbacks, Nick and Jill went ahead. "It'll only take a year and a half," said he, confidently. Fifteen years down the line, Mollymawk is afloat and the family have cruised all over the Atlantic; but the boat is still not finished. This is the tale of what went wrong and what went right. Packed full of advice about such things as ocean-worthy design and sail plans, it will also tell you how to operate a cutting torch, how to avoid a leaky stern-gland, how to pour your own rigging sockets, how to handle a ferocious gander, how to sandblast, how to weld in mid-Atlantic, how to amuse three young children in a cabin space the size of a phone booth... and much, much more besides.
The first comprehensive book on stripbuilding almost any type of small boat Strip-planking is a popular method of amateur boat construction, but until now there has never been a book that showed how to use it for more than one type of boat. Author Nick Schade presents complete plans for three boats of different types (canoe, kayak, and a dinghy) and shows you step-by-step how to build them. Written for all amateur builders, the book covers materials, tools, and safety issues.
This book serves as a workshop handbook; giving detailed instructions on how to go about each part of a job building a boat and its proper sequence, as well as what must be looked forward to, while performing a given operation. The advantages and disadvantages of each type of construction suitable for amateurs will be described.
Reprint of the Chapelle (Search for Speed Under Sail) original published by Norton in 1941. Now printed on acid-free paper and with a new foreword by Jonathan Wilson. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
Arthur Edmunds is one of the country's top naval architects and his knowledge of the boat building industry has never been more apparent than in this book. Art has written this book so the reader, unfamiliar with the construction process, will understand every aspect of the process. But this is not a beginner's-only boat building book. Advanced craftsmen and top professionals have equally as much to learn from Art's years of experience. Art takes the reader from the first step of Building a Fiberglass Boat to the last step, in a manner that will certainly inspire all who ever pondered the notion. He expertly explains why a competent craftsman would want to undertake the seemingly overwhelming task of building his own boat. Art has described the two most popular sizes and styles of boats as examples for the project; a twenty-five-foot open boat and a thirty-three-foot cruising boat. Sail is also explained. By referring to these example boats, the reader can envision a boat of any size, limited only by the imagination. Everyone can learn from this book. If you have a boat just waiting to be built, you will now have the knowledge. If you never plan to build a boat, you will understand the entire process, making the Buying Experience far less confusing. There are no Trade Secrets, only knowledge not yet learned.
Greg Rossel grew up cruising the waters of New York Harbor and spending time in the boatyards on the south shore of Staten Island where economics (more than anything else) made wooden boats the craft of choice. He makes his home in Maine where he specializes in the construction and repair of small wooden boats, as well as writing for several publications. Greg has been an instructor at WoodenBoat School in Maine since the mid-1980's, teaching lofting, skiff building, and the "Fundamentals of Boatbuilding".
Everybody has the dream: Build a boat in the backyard and sail off to join the happy campers off Pogo Pogo, right? But how? Assuming you aren't independently wealthy, if you want a boat that's really you, you gotta build it yourself. Backyard boatbuilding has its problems. Building in fiberglass is itchy, smelly, and yields a product that yachting maven L. Francis Herreshoff once called "frozen snot." Ferrocement, once all the rage, has pretty much sunk from favor, if you catch the drift. But there's still wood, right? Ah, wood. Nature's perfect material. You can build in the time-honored traditions of the Golden Age of Yachting, loving crafting intricate joints in rare tropical hardwoods, steaming swamp oak butts to sinuous shapes, holding the whole thing together with nonferrous fastenings that cost a buck or better each. Does that sound like boatbuilding for everyperson? What about the currently fashionable wood/epoxy boatbuilding? You butter regular old wood with Miracle Whip, stick it together in the shape of a boat, and off you go, right? Epoxy works, but They don't exactly give it away; nor is it exactly a benign substance. Suiting up like Homer Simpson heading for a fun-filled day at the nuclear power plant isn't exactly the aesthetic boatbuilding experience many of us are looking for. Where does that leave us? In the capable hands of George Buehler, who honors the timeless traditions of the sea all right, but those from the other side of the boatyard tracks. Buehler draws his inspiration from centuries of workboat construction, where semiskilled fishermen built rugged, economical boats from everyday materials in their own backyards, and went to sea in them in all kinds of weather, not just when it was pleasant. Buehler's boats sail on every ocean and perform every task, from long-term liveaboards in Norwegian fjords to a traveling doctor's office in Alaska. This book contains complete plans for seven cruising boats--from a 28-foot sailboat to a 55-foot power cruiser. All the information you need is here, including step-by-step instructions honed by nearly 20 years of supplying boat plans to backyard builders--and helping them out when they get into trouble. Buehler is anarchic, heretical, and occasionally profane; his book is West Coast counterculture meets traditional hardchine workboat construction, leavened with hardnosed common sense and penny-pinching economy. This book is for those who look around them and see that much of what is done in the world today--whether in yachting or politics or economics or interpersonal relationships--is based not on logic but on conforming and meeting other people's expectations. This book is most definitely NOT about either. It is about the realization of dreams. If you believe that everyone who wants a cruising boat can have one . . . If you see beauty beneath the fish scales and work scars of a commercial fishing boat . . . If you want to build a simple, rugged, economical, good-looking cruising boat--power or sail--using everyday lumberyard materials and few skills other than perseverance, this is the book for you. Buehler's Backyard Boatbuilding tells you how to build extraordinary boats using the most ordinary skills and materials, with complete plans, instructions, and specifications for seven real cruising boats ranging from a 28-foot sailboat to a 55-foot power cruiser. "Build wooden boats the Buehler way, which is to say inexpensively, yet like the proverbial brick outhouse."--WoodenBoat Richly flavored with personal advice and anecdotes as well as a wealth of valuable information."--American Sailing Association "Everyone will revere this book."--The Ensign
"Boatbuilding in Your Own Backyard" makes building a variety of classic wooden boats accessible to anyone. Using the illustrated instructions in this book, you can truly build a boat-dingy, sailboat or cruiser-in your spare time, in your backyard or garage. Considered the best in its field for over five decades, "Boatbuilding in Your Own Backyard." offers the best practices of boat making processes, designs, concepts, and materials. Written for boat makers of all levels, boatbuilding expert Sam S. Rabl shares a lifetime of knowledge about designing and constructing your own craft, all in a single volume. From wood selection, tools, fastenings, laying down and taking off, framing, making the fits, planking and decking, installing the motor, the cabin, sails, and rigging, to caulking, painting, and more, Rabl guides the amateur boatmaker through every step of the process. The author also shares detailed drawing and guidelines for the construction of eleven boats, including a 14-foot skiff, 15-foot outboard utility, 15-foot sailing cruiser, 18-foot sport fisherman, 24-foot auxiliary cruiser, and several models of an 18-foot outboard tabloid cruiser (an example of which is the world famous Picaroon). "Boatbuilding in Your Own Backyard" is the ideal builder's handbook and is an indispensable guide to good care, safety, and maintenance for every boat owner. Rabl's concise instructions overflow with expert advice that will simplify the job and make your boat build a success "About the Author The son of a shipyard supervisor in Chesapeake Bay, Sam S. Rabl's love and knowledge of boats started very early. His passion was fortified by technical training as a draftsman, naval architect and marine engineer. Sam Rabl was brought to national attention with his unique ability to make boat design understandable for the layman."
