Product Description

A quality builder, John Brooks teaches at the WoodenBoat School. The construction technique described here is durable,, and low maintenance.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #65729 in Books
• Published on: 2004-07-30
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 288 pages

About the Author
As a child, John Brooks loved to build models and sail with his grandfather. When most teenagers were at the prom, John was changing jibs in the Indian Ocean, halfway through a 35,000-mile, two-year cruise. He began building boats in commercial yards at 19, while studying boat design and building his own boats. John worked for many years honing his craftsmanship on fine yachts, small boats, custom furniture, and a harpsichord. He has been a instructor at the WoodenBoat School in Maine since the mid-1990s, teaching glued-lapstrake boatbuilding, fine interior joinery, and carving. Ruth Ann Hill grew up on the coast of Maine. A writer, boatbuilding assistant, naturalist, and graphic artist, Ruth is the author of Discovering Old Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park: An Unconventional Guide and a contributing editor for Maine Boats & Harbors magazine. John and Ruth started their business, Brooks Boats, in 1991. They design and build glued-lapstrake boats in West Brooklin, Maine-and get out to enjoy their handiwork in its proper element whenever they can.

Customer Reviews

Simply Excellent
I am currently building a Merlin Rocket racing sailing dinghy in Italy and I have purchased various books including those by The Gougeon Brothers, Ian Oughtred, John Leathern, Greg Rossel and others all of which are very good. However, I have never built a boat before and I needed a text which provided information from the ground up.
This book is first class. The authors provide a step by step approach to every single minute aspect of the building process. There are many innovative ideas and the book is generally written with great clarity. You will need a working knowledge of marine and woodworking terminology and you will probably spend ten or twenty minutes reading, rereading and reflecting on the techniques and steps involved in many sections. But the sheer beauty of the book is that it is all there so we can all get cracking.
Many thanks to the authors for writing such an excellent book and for giving all of us the opportunity to embark on the beautiful craft of glued clinker (lapstrake) wooden boatbuilding.

boatbuilder
This is a really good book for the newcomer to boat building. The authors are very through in the technique for building wooden boats. They do an excellent job. They are professional builders so they have the best of tools. Unfortunately, the beginning wooden boat builder may not have all of these tools available. I believe that for the creative person, if they spent some time, they can find ways to build a boat with a lot fewer tools.

Indispensible
I have bought and read every book on the market about epoxy and wood boatbuilding in preparation for building my own gaff rigged crusing boat. This volume is the best of the bunch -- and it has some excellent company -- but it is heads above the others. I am now rereading it because I am sure I will absorb more knowledge that I will need as the epoxy begins to set up.