Customer Reviews

Building an Adirondack Guideboat: Wood Strip Reproductions of the Virginia

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As a big fan of John Michne's website, I became very interested when I heard this book was coming out. I ordered it right away and I was not disappointed. The are a few books out today on the subject of boatbuilding for the home hobbyist that are really fantastic and this ranks right up there along with Ted Moore's Canoecraft, John Brooks' Glued Lapstrake Boatbuilding. The author's combine boatbuilding skill and documentation skill which is not an easy or common feat. They have done a great job in documenting the build of the H. Dwight Grant design 16' Guideboat "Virginia" so home boatbuilders like me can follow right along. I would not have considered building a boat like this without this book. The book includes all of the steps and precise details on how to reproduce this great craft. Many tips and techniques are shown that will insure high quality if carefully followed. The authors approach is one of setting a very high standard instead of mass appeal simplicity. The sanding stick idea is ingeniously simple for sanding rolling bevels on stems and ribs but I had never heard of it before. The sections on seat caning and brass metalwork clearly illustrate that it is something within my reach. I particularly liked that the authors were faithful to the Grant design "Virginia" lines as precisely documented by John Gardner. It is a great tribute to Grant, Gardner, Kenneth Durant and anyone who appreciates this special piece of history. I am sure they would be happy that new guideboats will continue to emerge from workshops and garages and be used all over the world rather than slowly fading away as museum pieces only. The Adirondack Guideboat design is really not for a beginning boatbuilder who is looking to build a first boat. It will turn out much better if you have already built a few boats. Don't miss out on this book though just because you are not ready to build one. No other type of book exists that I know of on how to build this remarkable boat.

This is an absolutely excellent book! If you have any interest in Adirondack guideboats or in strip building canoes, you owe it to yourself to buy this book. The authors do a masterful job of explaining - in excrutiating detail - how to build a reproduction of a guideboat that is currently in a museum. They leave no stone unturned and describe the process very clearly with lots of photographs. They do a great job as well of weaving throughout the chapters the history of guideboats and their construction. Much of what they describe can be used for building other boats as well. This is a must have if you're into boat building or guideboats or the Adirondacks. It's probably the best book available on this topic!

im no expert on any type of boat,nor a writer.

i enjoyed this book quite a bit. its amaizing what you learn that you never ever heard of before.

i would definatly like to build one of these boats,, but,i must first build a smaller less complicated dinghy type first. to get a bit of practice. after all, thats alot of money in wood and epoxy,FG so,, id want to be a little more confident before i begin one of my own.

the book has great pictures,and the text..... well you begin to admire the builders that came before us.. (i always do) the craftmanship of these boats is truly amaizing. and they did alot of it with old school tools.

i cant recomend this book enough. i buy two types of boat books.

one type shares building information with me,techniques,tips,ect,ect..,so i might build a beauty of my own somday.

the second reason i buy boat books,,is for the history of boating in general. and this book has a full load of both kinds of information.

its nice to have it on the shelf.

roy

When I bought this book, I didn't fully understand what I was getting into. I knew guideboats were some of the most beautiful boats on the water, but didn't fully appreciate the time and skill needed for construction. This book leads you step by step through the entire process of building a beautiful reproduction of the Virginia Guideboat. After 9 months of work, I know have my own boat and paddling it is almost as much fun as building it was. I can not thank Michael Olivette and John Michne enough for putting this book together. The detailed verbiage and photos make a the long and challenging process of building a guideboat understandable and the end result a masterpiece. Great Book!

This book is very well written with excellent helps and detailed photographs that should assist anyone with moderate woodworking skills to successfully construct an adirondack guideboat. I have begun my boat using this book and am pleased with the results to date. I would recommend this book to anyone who is considering constructing this beautiful boat.

very detailed and clear description of the building process. I'm going to build one of these outstanding and beautiful boats. Its different to the german desings I#ve seen so far.