From School Library Journal
Grade 3 Up To be sure, the text which accompanies these 56 black-and-white photographs of boatbuilding is very brief, but the easy-to-read style is succinct and effectively yields a surprisingly clear impression of the art and skill of wooden boatbuilding. Ralph Stanley is a fourth-generation boat builder who owns and operates a small, traditional boatyard in Maine. It is therefore fitting that he has chosen to design and build a 19-foot Friendship sloop, one of the classic New England boat types. The book briefly tells about designing, framing, planking, caulking, rigging, and other skills that are used by a builder. Technical errors do occur: a bowstay should be a bobstay , one does not paint a coat of bedding compound, nor is it necessary for all wooden boats to be hauled out every winter. Sometimes it is difficult to understand how a photograph relates to the text, and sometimes is is hard to determine who's who in the photograph. However, these problems are minor. Boatbuilder gives an accurate feeling for traditional boatbuilding and depicts a way of life in a Down East community that is probably disappearing. Don Reaber, Meadowdale High School, Lynnwood, Wash.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.
