Nautical - Powell's Books

http://www.powells.com/section/nautical/
Powell's City of Books is an independent bookstore in Portland, Oregon, that fills a whole city block with more than a million new, used, and out of print books.

Link is to the Nautical section.

Boat Building

Rating:	★★★★
Category:	Books
Genre:	Professional & Technical
Author:	Percy W. Blandford

W & G Foyle Ltd - copyright 1958 - 7.25 x 5 " 92 pgs.

This book is a delight, especially for beginners and those who enjoy smaller boats. Its eight chapters give the builder the foundation for six different boats, two canvas covered decked canoes, a punt, and three dinghies. In the preface the author describes his work as "a guide for the amateur with little equipment and no experience." The first chapter, "Materials and Methods," touches on woods, plywood, canvas and fasteners and illustrates riveting using boat nails and roves. The discussion of glues, paints and varnishes is dated, in view of modern materials but good for purists wishing to build as it was done in the past.

Chapters 2 and 3 give plans and methods for building an eleven foot and a fifteen foot canvas covered decked canoe (or kayak, if you prefer). Drawings for the frames, stems and sternposts are shown on grids so the builder can enlarge them to full size. Details for sealing the ends are provided too. The instructions for the longer boat include splicing boards if 16 foot stock is not available. The next chapter, "Canoe Accessories," shows how to make paddles, seats, brackets, covers, a trolley and sailing rigs, including a full sloop rig for the longer one.

The fifth chapter details a thirteen foot punt with curved sides and bottom. It's symmetrical end for end, the only difference being an off center thwart and oarlocks. This is the first of the designs to be laid out and built on the floor although no lofting is required, the frames and ends giving the layout. The plans are first given for building with boards with an addition for building with plywood or hardboard.

The ten foot rowing dinghy in Chapter Six doesn't require lofting either but the author uses this chapter to give an introduction to the process. This boat is flat bottomed, built of plywood over frames.

If you'd rather be moved by the wind than oars and you prefer a dinghy with a slight vee bottom, the next chapter has the plan for you. This is a twelve foot, cat rigged boat with a daggerboard that looks like a good introduction to sailing. The sail is hoisted on a gaff that is pulled up to near vertical, parallel to the mast.

The last chapter brings out the most traditional construction. The plan here is for a seven foot, round bottomed pram, clinker built with a planked hull. This boat has a bow board so there is no fitting the planks to a stem post. If that seems too easy, there's the process of treating the ends of the planks, which overlap, flush at the bow board and transom. That sounds like something I'd have to learn by doing, not by reading.

The spirit in which this little handbook was written is summed up in the last line of the preface: "Finally, the statement that there is no fun to equal that to be got from messing about in boats is perfectly true, but to do it in a boat you have built yourself is an immensely satisfying experience which words cannot describe."

Reviewed by Spiritus Solus.

Boat Data Book

Rating:	★★★★★
Category:	Books
Genre:	Professional & Technical
Author:	Ian Nicoloson

Second Edition - Conway Maritime Press Ltd.-ISBN: 0 85177 345 1

Ian Nicolson’s “Boat Data Book” can’t be described as a “sit down, page burning, cover to cover read”, but certainly should be a centerpiece of any boat builder’s library. In fact, if you did try to absorb this wealth of data in one sitting the men in white coats would probably scoop you up for a restful weekender in a softly lit room with gentle walls and probing conversations about your family life and potty training. But this 175 page gem is the best compilation of boat building facts, charts, tables and descriptions this reader has ever encountered. It also gives one an idea of the myriad of things a Naval Architect must keep in mind when casting ideas onto the drawing board and lofting floors. If you’ve ever wondered how long a typical arm’s reach at a Nav. station should be, or the breaking loads of bolts in wood, or prop pitch and thrust horsepower conversion ratios, (how big a screw do I need to stick on this beast to make it go somewhere?) this is the resource for your desk/bench. I mean this book has IT. You'll find most useful the immediate access to every sort of conversion graph between imperial and inch, foot, pound, and volume measurement imaginable. It’s a wealth of information on lumber and ply, fastener specifications and loading values to name just a few of the miracles packed between the covers. Everything from weight per volume per species to radius of curve (with and across grain) to shrinkage rates per moisture ratio is there for the taking. For bending tolerance info it's worth it’s weight in gold or, more to the point, marine ply. When wondering if you can really slap that half inch thick fir ply to that radical bend or go with two layers of quarter inch this will give you a measure of the reality factors. The price of the book will probably be recovered in the Marine plywood you don’t turn into oatmeal because you didn’t know the bending strengths required to make that monster fit.

My dog-eared and stained copy is the Second Edition and I see at Amazon.com that the Fourth edition is now the current release. I can’t imagine that much has changed through the subsequent releases from mine perfect edition, so you can’t go wrong with a new one or an old one. Look in the used books stores too. I bought mine there. Can't imagine why someone let it go. This is gold on paper my lofty (bad pun) friends. And good news! The book’s price won’t empty your college fund or take food from your baby’s mouth. Amazon starts it at $16.00 for used and $21.00 for a brand spanking new copy. Believe me, your copy will not stay squeaky clean and newly for long. At roughly 9” X 6” X 1” it will live happily amongst the glue pots and sawdust of your shop with epoxy resin thumbprints and pencil notes happily showing you are a wizard of nautical. For the longest time I carried my copy in the car for those few minutes of read and dream while waiting at the drive-through or for sweetie to finish at the grocery.

Reviewed by: Prairie Schooner

Featherweight Boat Building

Rating:	★★★★
Category:	Books
Genre:	Professional & Technical
Author:	Henry "Mac" McCarthy

WoodenBoat Books copyright 1996 11 x 8.5 " 101 pgs.

For anyone curious about cedar strip construction, this is the place to start. Mac McCarthy takes the reader through the process, detailing the building of an eleven and a half foot "Wee Lassie" open canoe. The nine chapters take you step by step from selecting the wood to enjoying your finished boat with clear instructions backed up by plenty of photographs.

The author is not only a builder, he enjoys the quiet backwaters every chance he gets. The book provides five interludes or "Time Out"s where he tells a short tale of some of his favourite paddling places.

Chapter One covers the set up, selecting the wood, ripping the strips, bead and cove edges and building the molds. Chapter Two is devoted to laying up the hull and sanding the exterior. In Chapter Three he details applying the protection of epoxy and fibreglass.

The next chapter deals with the detail work on the interior, inner rails, decks, bulkheads, the thwart and seat. If you like the traditional look of a hand caned seat, the instructions are right here. Chapter Five leads you through varnishing.

The author recommends a double bladed, kayak paddle for the Wee Lassie so building one is covered in Chapter Six. Later chapters deal with "using" the boat (including sailing), "Thoughts on Strength and Weight," and a troubleshooting guide in Q & A format. Appendices give a materials list, tools, materials suppliers and patterns for the molds. Using slightly different molds (patterns provided) and a little more cedar, epoxy and fibreglass will give you a longer (13' 6") Wee Lassie II.

Speaking of fibreglass, the cloth becomes (and remains) transparent when saturated with epoxy so even though sealed, the wood shows. This allows for accent strips or any other artistry you include to shine through.

This book shows that the author knows what "messing about" is all about.

Featherweight Boat Building - Reviewed by Spiritus Solus.

Book Reviews

By WBB Members and web sources 

The Traditional Small Craft Association's Review of Wooden Boats To Build And Use by John Garner Review by Tim Weaver

Woodenboat.net.nz's on-line serialisation of Simple Boat-building by Geoffrey Prout (1946) After Clicking on the book, Notice the  left pane; The entire book can be read on-line.

Featherweight Boat building By Henry "Mac" McCarthy Reviewed by Spiritus Solus   "For anyone curious about cedar strip construction, this is the place to start."

Boat Building By Percy W. Blanford Reviewed by Spiritus Solus   "This book is a delight, especially for beginners and those who enjoy smaller boats."

Boat Data Book By Ian Nicolson Reviewed by Prairie Schooner   "can’t be described as a “sit down, page burning, cover to cover read”, but certainly should be a centerpiece of any boat builder’s library"

Grand & Glorious  By Larry Larkin  "Some of these boats are so rare that they have not previously been photographed" This book is off-line.

new book

Hi all just got BUILDING SKIN-ON-FRAME BOATS by Robert Morris can't wait to get started reading,

 Might never build a skin boat but just love anything to do with wooden boat building and I can dream

Still to finish new seat for canoe then don't know what next project will be

If Kruez is around , could you help me to down load pictures or set up another members project thanks

Bogsdolics 

Review: A Great Book By Greg Rossel

Book Reviews

You know,

 

We have not had a new book review in a while. Anybody want to write one? Whats the most recent on topic book you've purchased? Was it good? Want to share your opinion with others?

 

Kruez