The Boatbuilder's Apprentice by Rossel, Greg;

Short description:

There is a peculiar form of insomnia that afflicts amateur boatbuilders. It consists of lying awake at night, reviewing the details of a boatbuilding project and wondering, "How am I going to do that?" Greg Rössel helps answer those questions.

Wooden boats have been called "the most lifelike" of man's creations. Their beauty can inspire even inexperienced woodworkers to attempt their construction, but their complexity can bedevil the most determined. In The Boatbuilder's Apprentice, longtime WoodenBoat writer and professional boatbuilder Greg Rössel helps weekend builders choose the best boat design and construction method for their first, second, or twentieth project.

Beginning with the question, 'why wood?,' and focusing on wooden boats less than 20 feet long, Greg provides a complete overview of the methods used to build small wooden boats, from traditional carvel or lapstrake planking to modern stitch-and-glue, strip-planked, glued-lap, cold molding, and others. He discusses their pros and cons, their adaptability to different boat types, and their degrees of difficulty in both construction and maintenance. He explains the basics of boat design and of hull form and function and helps the beginner decide which type of boat will best suit his or her needs, skills, and desires.

Greg also covers the essentials of every boatbuilding project, including:

• Tools, wood types, fasteners, adhesives, and coatings;
• Shop setup and safety;
• Whether to build right-side up or upside down;
• How to go about steam bending, cutting rabbets, scarfing, and laminating;
• Oar and spar making;
• Building knees, gaff jaws, and cleats, and taking the lines off an old classic.

Writing with wit and an engaging style, Rössel makes light work of that most feared of all processes for the beginning boatbuilder-lofting. He shares his extensive experience on problem solving, shows you how to work efficiently, and offers hundreds of ingenious techniques for surmounting age-old difficulties. He also includes a glossary as well as an extensive appendix of sources for plans and materials.

Long description:

Learn the Ins and Outs of Building Lapstrake, Carvel, Stitch-and-Glue, Strip-Planked, and Other Wooden Boats

Whether you are contemplating your first-ever boatbuilding project or trying to decide what design you'd like to build next, Greg Rössel can help. Here's just a glimpse of what's inside this complete overview of wooden boatbuilding:

• How rowing, sailing, paddling, and powerboat designs perform, and how they compare in cost, time, and necessary skills for building
• How wooden boats are built, including the pros and cons of carvel, lapstrake, dory lap, stitch and glue, strip plank, and other methods
• How to choose the best boat and building method for your next project
• How to loft a hull, steam bend frames, scarf a joint, cut a rabbet, laminate stems, and spile planks
• How to take the lines off an old classic whose plans have been lost
• How to make oars, spars, coamings, knees, gaff jaws, cleats, and more

Greg Rössel writes with warmth, wit, and an engaging style. The Boatbuilder's Apprentice is a must guide for anyone planning or even dreaming about building a wooden boat.

?Greg Rössel is a Renaissance man. While there are many talented boatbuilders in the world, only a handful are also good teachers. Even fewer can write or illustrate effectively. Yet this author is highly skilled in each of these areas. . . . The Boatbuilder's Apprentice is a successful blend of technique and wisdom, and is, I believe, destined to become a classic.?-Karen Wales, WoodenBoat Review

Learn the Ins and Outs of Building Lapstrake, Carvel, Stitch-and-Glue, Strip-Planked, and Other Wooden Boats

Whether you are contemplating your first-ever boatbuilding project or trying to decide what design you'd like to build next, Greg Rössel can help. Here's just a glimpse of what's inside this complete overview of wooden boatbuilding:

• How rowing, sailing, paddling, and powerboat designs perform, and how they compare in cost, time, and necessary skills for building
• How wooden boats are built, including the pros and cons of carvel, lapstrake, dory lap, stitch and glue, strip plank, and other methods
• How to choose the best boat and building method for your next project
• How to loft a hull, steam bend frames, scarf a joint, cut a rabbet, laminate stems, and spile planks
• How to take the lines off an old classic whose plans have been lost
• How to make oars, spars, coamings, knees, gaff jaws, cleats, and more

Greg Rössel writes with warmth, wit, and an engaging style. The Boatbuilder's Apprentice is a must guide for anyone planning or even dreaming about building a wooden boat.

?Greg Rössel is a Renaissance man. While there are many talented boatbuilders in the world, only a handful are also good teachers. Even fewer can write or illustrate effectively. Yet this author is highly skilled in each of these areas. . . . The Boatbuilder's Apprentice is a successful blend of technique and wisdom, and is, I believe, destined to become a classic.?-Karen Wales, WoodenBoat Review

Table of Contents:

Introduction: Selecting a Small Boat to Build
Part One METHODS OF HULL CONSTRUCTION
1 Construction Systems
2 Carvel Planking
3 Lapstrake Planking
4 Dory
-Lap Planking
5 Planking a Traditional Flat
-Bottomed Boat
6 Batten Seam Construction
7 Strip Planking
8 Traditional Hard
-Chined V
-Bottomed Construction
9 Stitch
-and
-Glue Construction
10 Glued Lapstrake Planking
11 Cold Molding
Part Two SETTING UP SHOP
12 Traditional Hull Materials
13 Plywood
14 Hull Knees
15 Selecting a Glue
16 Fastenings
17 Bedding Compounds
18 Boat Finishes
19 Tools
20 Setting Up Shop
21 Wood Dust
Part Three BUILDING TECHNIQUES
22 Construction Planning
23 Lofting Basics
24 Let?s Loft Some Boats
25 Construction Setup
26 The Backbone
27 Steaming Frames and Planks
28 Scarfs
29 Steam
-Bent Coaming
30 Oars and Spars
31 Oarlocks, Pads, and Leathers
32 Bitts and Pieces
Part Four BOATS TO BUILD
33 Pulling Boats
34 Canoes and Kayaks
35 Dories
36 Sailboats
37 Powerboats
38 Taking the Lines
39 Young Folks and Boatbuilding
Appendix A: Tables, Lists, and Technical Specifications
Appendix B: Resources
Glossary
Index