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"John Gardner's work has engaged and inspired more individuals connected with traditional small craft than will ever be counted."--WoodenBoat magazine
"Deserves an honored place on the library shelf."--National Fisherman
"Poses clear and impassioned means to go from the armchair to the open water via your own boat shop."--Sea History
This big, handsome legacy volume contains all the plans, measurements, and directions needed to build any of 47 beautiful small boats for oar, sail, or motor.
"Gardner's work has engaged and inspired more individuals connected with traditional small craft than will ever be counted."--WoodenBoat
"Ought to be considered the Bible on the subject."--Cruising World
As Associate Curator of Small Craft at Mystic Seaport Museum from 1969 to 1995, John Gardner sought out the best examples of classic wooden boats and then measured them, drew them, and researched their histories. Building Classic Small Craft offers his meticulous plans and clear and complete instructions for building 47 beautiful, functional wooden boats for oar, motor, and sail, including dories, peapods, Sea Bright skiffs, wherries, Rangeley boats, and many others--a lifetime's worth of admirable projects that any amateur builder can tackle successfully.
John Gardner was the acknowledged "dean of small craft," and Building Classic Small Craft is an enduring expression of his philosophy, his knowledge, and his work. All the information you need to build these boats is here; no other plans are necessary.
"Worth your attention whether you seriously fancy to build boats yourself or just enjoy reading about them."--Sailing
"Another must for the boatbuilder's library from John Gardner, the authority on traditional small craft in America."--Down East
"Required reading for anyone who thinks of building a small boat."--National Fisherman
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
45 of 45 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
not for beginners,
By A Customer
This review is from: Building Classic Small Craft: Complete Plans and Instructions for 47 Boats (Hardcover)
I find the book to be a good general guide to the various boat designs covered - but, only for the previosuly experienced boat builder. It is not a good book for the beginner to learn basic shipwright skills and does not cover the more specific aspects of construction (such as a beginner would need) and the plans are a bit difficult to read at times. In summary, a good book for the seasoned boatbuilder who wishes to expand his horizons. Beginners be cautioned.
19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Review of Building Classic Small Craft,
By Kevin T. Kelly (Pittsburgh, PA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Building Classic Small Craft: Complete Plans and Instructions for 47 Boats (Hardcover)
It is very difficult to find a book that presents buildable plans of elegant traditional American working boats. Anyone suffering from this frustration will be delighted by Gardner's work. You can leaf through the book and when you see something you like, you are in a position to build it instead of sending off for hundreds of dollars worth of plans. I built a one-meter long model from the "alpha dory" plans in the book, using the table of offsets to loft the plan by hand. I noticed that one measurement in the offset table was way off, but that was obvious and caused no difficulty. I built the model following Gardner's masterful instructions for building the real thing and everyone who sees the model is very impressed by the beauty of the result. It was an easy and rewarding project. The book is not intended to be a newbie introduction, but reading one other book like Macintosh's Building Wooden Boats or John Leather's Clinker Boatbuilding will provide more than sufficient background.
16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
one of the classic "if I had more time" books...,
By Rick Demkovich (Chesterton, Indiana, USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Building Classic Small Craft: Complete Plans and Instructions for 47 Boats (Hardcover)
Yes, you can read John Garner for history/background, and he shares enough, most of the time, to make you look further. Yes, you can read John Gardner for technique, because there is so much (spiling, planking, plane-making). But best of all, you can read John Gardner to find a boat you want to, and can, and really should build. In fact, start this week! Clean out the garage or shed, match up a couple of sheets of plywood and make some battens, and go to it! For decades Mr. Gardner encouraged boatbuilders, and this book of his, like the others, carries on that encouragement. The writing style is educational without being pedantic, the technical terms are not a barrier, the drawings are superb. I rate this five stars.
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