Boatbuilding Books

Provided some needed insight into my own effort to go electric. Much of it is well written and easy enough to understand. Some of it was way over my head technically, but still enough down to earth stuff to be helpful. Does spend a bit too much time on AC motors, which are not yet practical for battery powered craft, and he missed completely the permenant magnet motors such as Etek, PMG and LEMCO. Still there is a lack of published information in this area, and he does make a definate start.

This cloth bound book displays some of Beken's best work, the only reason I give it three stars is that it is just too small. The beautiful sepia colours of his art and majestic sailing ships of the bygone era are not done justice by the tiny reproductions in this work, considering its' cost.

At 8" x 5" it is almost too small to be a coffee table book.

Anyway, the book displays the famous yachts of the era from the 1880's to pre-WWII with small dialogs before each chapter to explain the stage and history of sailing at Cowes in each era, from the turn of the century (1800-1900), pre-WWI, Post WWI, pre WWII. It gives little history of the photographer, and his methods.

If you own any Bekken prints, it will hold a little interest to you, but you will be disappointed in a album that could have been done so much better.

Makassar Sailing is Collins' 3rd book, after Twin Flower, an autobiographic tale about Bali's culture and customs and the author's tragic love affair with a young Balinese girl. East Monsoon was his second, in which he told about the building of his own prahu. Makassar Sailing follows on it, dealing with life in the East Indies (Celebes to be exact). It is well-written and lively, full of interesting legends of these people, and complete with maps and photographs. Collins' good humour and his skill as storyteller make this a most recommendable book.

If the boat-building bug has bitten you hard enough that you've already gotten more than a few "how-to-build the Pineapple Snipe on your lunch break in one week for spare change" tomes under your belt, and progressed into the realm of plans by Gardiner, the practical wisdom of Dynamite Payson, and maybe (gasp!) even taken a saw to some wood, then this book will be a pleasant companion on an end table by the fireside. One that you can dip into at random from time to time, soaking up the esoteric as well as the more mundane gleanings of Culler's lifetime spent messing about with boats. Don't expect to learn HOW to build a boat from this book, and you won't be disappointed. Instead, enjoy how Culler shares with you how to approach building boats you can use, how building meshes into a boat's usability, maintability, and enjoyability. Culler never goes "zen" on the reader, nor waxes on about how materials and methods "back in the day" were perfecto and today's not worth squat. Instead, his writing lets the discipline and insight of a Master shine through as an extension of the quietly enthusiastic sharing and tutoring he gave so freely of in his lifetime, and pours out a cornucopia of boat builder's lore of rare quality which helps one grasp the WHY of older techniques (both high-end and mass-market) and how to fit newer materials and constraints on construction into context with what went before. I wish I could rate this book higher than three stars, as I really like it (for what it is). But the muddy photos, small-sized drawings, lack of annotations, and failure to include plans and/or photos illustrating each of the boat types and construction techniques discussed in the text make a higher rating impossible. Hopefully somebody will address all of the discrepancies in a revised edition, and print it on quality paper. Meanwhile, if you're ready for it, and can accept this book on its own terms, then by all means buy it: you won't be disappointed.

This book contains only the basic information on construction and does not even fulfill enough content to meet the title of the book.

The book have basic content. Present some hints that help a novice, but don't stands projects and details how to do.

I have recently read (and bought) few books about boatbuilding and desing and this book has been most fruitless so far. First of all
it is VERY short for the topics it covers (only a bit over 200 very, very short pages) and hence none of the topics are discussed in detail. Anyone who is considering of building his/hers own boat will probably want to read all books of the subject, since there aren't too many.
There is however much better books for this subject. From early 80's there is "Fiberglass Boatbuilding For Amateurs" By Ken Hankinson which is much more profound text of fiberglass boatbuilding. It is out of the print (I think) so you need to find it used.
This book is only one that is in print and covers fb boat building in practice (at least only one that i know). So If you can't find Ken Hankinsons book, this works as poor substitute.

After third time reading, purely in the angle of fact finding, couldn't help to add this view. In chapter 19, too much assumption is made on the similarity of monohull and catamarans, when it's not. With the growing popularity of catamarans, many beginner and small builder will attempt to cash in on this idea, DON'T EVER! The complexity of a catamaran is way beyond the scope of this chapter. When the hulls split their own way in the mercyless sea, no amount of investigation, debate, and effort can bring the death alive. DO NOT attempt a catamaran without formal training. This chapter should not be written at all! This chapter do not deserve any star rating at all, but there isn't such option in the review.

This book will give the information needed to build a quality boat but the craftsman must have basic knowledge and good skills. I have been a shipwright for more than 40 years and still learned from this book. I don't believe it is, or was even intended to be, the last word on boat building but it is well worth reading regardless of your talents. Add this to Mr. Edmunds Designing Power & Sail and the reader will be well on the way to a complete understanding of design and construction.

For a potential boat buyer the bonus is learning what makes a well or poorly constructed boat.

I paid for this in August and have yet, as of November 3, to receive it.

This is a book for the yachting purist and technically minded. Few design offices have achieved the success of S&S. The book covers meter boats to fast cruising designs as well as out and out racers. This volume is a must for any sailor with a knowledge of the hsitory of yacht design. One dissappointment is the lack of colour photographs. It is difficult to appreciate the true beauty of "The Classic Yachts" when all are depicted with line drawings and black hulls.

Generally a good read with interesting insights into the personalities and motivations of Rod and Olin Stevens. Some heartfelt commentary is woven throught the pages by folk who knew the brothers well.

I would recommend the book to serious sailors but not for those seeking a coffee table book.

I¹m afraid this book is a bit of a disappointment. For me and, I suspect, many others, S&S is synonymous with the Stephens brothers, especially with Olin. Although, with characteristic modesty, he would probably be the first to disagree, his successors just did not live up to him. So, for me, the book should have covered designs only up to the late seventies. Besides, I would argue that to an unbiased observer (which the authors are not) the best 100 S&S boats are all from that period. It seems strange, for instance, that none of the boats from the winning Admiral¹s Cup teams of 1971 and 1973 is featured. What about Kialoa II and III? No disrepect intended, but most of the designs from the eighties ‹ while undoubtedly good and competent ‹ are just too uncharacteristic and bland. No sparkle. Certainly not worthy of S&S¹s former glories. If anyone could have taken up Olin Stephens¹ mantle at the helm of S&S and kept the firm true to its traditional innovation and genius, it is German Frers Jr. He is the master¹s true spiritual successor. Since he chose to set up on his own, S&S after the Stephens brothers¹ retirement became a different firm, and this book should have stopped there. Apart from those, let¹s say, philosophical, disagreements, I also find the text somewhat boring, sycophantic in parts, and I am disappointed that there aren¹t more lines drawings and more detailed specifications. Having said all that, the book is worth every penny of its price, and no-one interested in yacht design and the history of yachting will want to do without it.

You have to read this book if you are planning to buy or to build a steel or aluminun metal boal

This book is for someone who wants to know a little about some of the basic things to look at on a boat. I did not find it to be a good value for the money and would not recommend it.

Quite ok if you just want to know the basics of Metal Boat Building. If, for example you want to buy a finished metal boat. If you really want to build a boat yourself, consider Tom Colvins Steel Boats (if i'm remembering the title right).

I'm afraid the Dockside review above is too optimistic about the scope of this book's coverage--little of what is here is useful to the owner of even a very old fiberglass production boat of any size. What this is, however, is a treasury of obsolete technologies for people with specialty interests such as owners or keepers of wooden schooners and the like. There are excellent diagrams of line-splicing jigs and tons of advice on wooden deck and hull painting/protection. The book was also intended for a British audience and takes up a lot of space on the usual British things such as instruction in the unthinkable practice of leaning a boat against stone piers when the tide goes out...
If you are someone dealing with an antique or wooden boat you will want this for your collection; if you are surrounded by fiberglass, best to look elsewhere.

If you are a new boat owner, this book will give you some good tips to keep your boat in a good working order and it will also give you a good but shallow explanation/instruction to many of the jobs required onboard. However if you are an experienced yachtsman you will not be enlightened by any fantastic ideas but it will merely serve as a reminder of what you already know or a second opinion on something you think should be done differently.

I did not enjoy this book at all. The diagrams in the book were poorly explained and their were very few photographs. Furthermore, this book was not very specific in its methods. It merely provided an overview of what I was looking to learn.
Unless you are looking for a very vague, bland and boring book, I would not recommend this one.

The primary audience for this book is a boat designer who has experience designing scantlings for wood, steel or aluminum boats. It assumes you have enough of a knowledge of solid mechanics to calculate stresses and deflections in reinforced panels. It gives design load data for different classes of boats, but omits some data, such as rigging loads on sailboats. Given that knowledge, with this book you can design a sound fiberglass boat.
I'll note that this is not a "how-to" type of cookbook. It's an engineering text. If you have the technical background, it's a great resource. It isn't useful, however, as a general introduction into boat design and construction.

Update July 2008: The book is unavailable through Amazon, but is still available new for $25 at the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers, SNAME.org

This is a pamphlet. You'll get as much from the websites of equipment manufacturers. After finishing it, I realize that I don't "understand" boat wiring any more than I did before reading it -- I'm just familiar with a few more terms. This would probably be a good book for an entry level surveyors program, where a lot of emphasis was on what NOT to do -- because it certainly doesn't tell you HOW to do anything, and is full of contradictions.

more like a dictionary for electronics. doesn't really tell one how to wire your boat

This little, with the emphasis on little, pamphlet/book, is more suited as a cash register handout or fifty cent bargain bin item, than it is to be called a book. No disrespect is intended, however you cannot glean any worthwile information or expand your knowledge through reading this. I am an extremely slow reader, and completed the book in it's entirity on a 2 hour flight with time to spare. I am looking forward to getting Nigel Calders book on boat electrical systems as I thought his two on diesel engines and refrigeration systems for boats were excellent.

Written by professional marine electrical engineer and surveyor John C. Payne, Understanding Boat Wiring is a no-nonsense technical coverage of boat wiring standards, basic electrical principles, system voltages, the nuts and bolts of installing boat wiring, how to safely ground systems and more. Written in clear terms with an emphasis on practical application, Understanding Boat Wiring is a superb reference and "user friendly" resource which is enhanced with numerous diagrams to make its instructional information especially easy-to-follow. Also very highly recommended for all boat owners and operators is John C. Payne's Understanding Boat Batteries And Battery Charging.