We wrote our book to answer your questions.
How To Build Glued-Lapstrake Wooden Boats
ON THE WATER NEXT SUMMER SALE
SPECIAL
buy any set of plans and receive 10% off
on your copy of our book also!
(Please note: Special does not apply to books ordered alone,
or to any books ordered through our Amazon bookshelf.)
How to Build Glued-Lapstrake
Wooden Boats
John Brooks and Ruth Ann Hill
WoodenBoat Publications
Hardcover, 288 pages, index
Hundreds of photographs and illustrations
$39.95 (plus shipping and handling)
Since we design and build glued-lapstrake boats ourselves and teach classes in how to build them, we know how often answers to every little question—or every big one—make all the difference as you build a boat. We wrote this book with the answers to all those questions firmly in mind. We included plenty of details, along with more than 400 photographs taken as we built boats in our shop, along with many many of John's drawings to clarify matters further. If you would like your copy signed by us, just let us know what you would like with your order. Thanks!
5.0 out of 5 stars Best boatbuilding book I have found so far, May 2, 2011
By
Jon Fisher - See all my reviews
This review is from: How to Build Glued Lapstrake Wooden Boats (Hardcover)
The ability to design and build beautiful boats is one thing. The ability to convey an ostensibly complex process with clearly organized, well-written text is another. John and Ruth bring these abilities together to produce one of the best boat-building books that I have come across so far.
I bought How to Build Glued-Lapstrake Boats because I am currently building John's 12-foot sailing/rowing boat Ellen, but this book is more than a manual for building one of John's designs. If you are considering glued-lapstrake construction, it is indispensible. Not only is every stage of the process covered in depth, but each chapter is full of woodworking tips, useful jigs, and information on what to do when mistakes are made. In past boat projects I have run into problems that I did not expect. To see these inevitable mishaps addressed with very clear instruction is refreshing and is something that I have not found in other books. John's advice provides elegant, common-sense solutions to a lot of little issues that I have struggled with in the past.
The highlights: very clear writing style, comprehensive description of the building process based on years of experience, great perspective on woodworking, tools, how to build efficiently, plus mistakes and how to handle them.
The low points: some of the black and white images make it hard to see as much detail as I would like. In fairness, to include higher resolution color images in a book like this would probably not be cost effective.
The plans that I received for Ellen are the most accurate and complete plans that I have worked from so far. It is not surprising that the book shares this same detail-oriented, accurate, and comprehensive style that John and Ruth have aspired to. I highly recommend it.
". . .I've been buying woodworking books for many years and boat building books for a few and today I got your book in the mail and all I can say is THANKS! After just a few minutes looking through it I can say this is one of the most well done books on any kind of wood crafting I have seen. Fabulous job. Looking forward to reading it from cover to cover and then using it for years of reference."
"This is a great book for any boatbuilder, especially the home builder like I am. I have built 3 lapstrake boats, 2 hard chine boats and 1 cedar strip and I like glued lapstrake the best. John's book has a great amount of detail. I wish I had this book years ago. I really like his method of planking without clamps. He screws down battens instead. The building frame and mold set up allow you to get underneath to scrape excess epoxy before it cures. He focuses on minimizing sanding after the planking is all done. Sanding can easily take as long as building if you do a sloppy job. Many shopmade jigs and neat ideas are shown like such as: angle gauge, gain-o-matic, circular saw batten guide when ripping strakes, and many others. I was very interested in the section on finishing. I saw one of John's boats in person at a Mystic seaport small craft event and I thought for sure the finish was sprayed. It was not. It was beautiful. John's craftsmanship is first rate and probably the best I have seen in glued lapstrake boats. His attention to detail carries over into his writing. Ruth Ann Hill deserves a lot of credit too for the high quality boats and this book. Not many people can do both building and writing well, but they pull it off. I hope he comes out with more boat plans in the future."
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