Boatbuilding for Beginners [bab001]

Click to enlarge

This book contains full building plans for six different boats, including a 14-foot sailboat, a two-person canoe, two rowboats, and two motorboats. This book walks the complete novice ? armed only with a gleam in the eye, and a basic knowledge of hammer, saw, and screwdriver ? through the process of building a boat. The basic materials are easily available from any lumberyard: plywood, boards, nails, and wood glue. The process is simple, the result is extraordinary ? your own boat, ready to take you over the water, built in your spare time, for a fraction of the cost of buying a factory-built (boring!) boat. And the sense of accomplishment is beyond compare. This book goes beyond just building your boat: it includes chapters on making your own oars and sails; making kick-up rudders, pivoting leeboards, flotation compartments, and hatches; tips for cartopping and trailering your boat; information on fixing used outboard engines; and much more. Also included are a catalog of 23 other boat designs for dreaming over, a guide to boatbuilding sites on the web, a guide to materials suppliers, and a bibliography of further reading. A great book for families, for scout groups, for school shop classes, for anyone who enjoys messing about in boats.