How to Design a Boat [Paperback]

John Teale (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 2003

Since its initial publication, How to Design a Boat has become an international bestseller. In this newly updated third edition, John Teale takes the reader step-by-step through the stages of designing both power and sailing boats, pausing along the way to explain the reasons behind the process. Diagrams and working drawings illustrate the text, providing practical demonstrations to aid understanding. Teale also works through the standard calculations employed in boat design work, most of which require only basic arithmetic skills. By the end of the book, even a first time designer's effort will be readily translated into a sensible and workmanlike reality.

Editorial Reviews

Review

This is a step-by-step walk through a series of designs that grow in size and complexity as the reader progresses, we trust with pencil in hand, from chapter to chapter. The author addresses a variety of boat types, small and large, and his writing style is so infectious that the more avid reader is likely to pass from plans on the dining-room table to shavings on the living-room floor without realizing it. --Cruising World

There are, of course, only two kinds of boating people: those who want a 33 (10m) white plastic cruising-racing yacht and those who want a 33 (10m) white plastic planing powerboat. If you don t believe me, look at the mainstream boating magazines; they patently adhere to the credo that there are no other kinds of boat to which anyone could conceivably aspire. Which makes it particularly brave of the publisher to re-issue this little manual of a distant counter culture. As totemic in its way as Das Kapital or The Motorcycle Diaries, it was back in 1992 that it first gave voice to the radical notion that you might not want to own 33 (10m) of elongated bidet. But its author, the late John Teale, a designer best known for his multi-chine steel motorboats, went even further by suggesting you could actually design for yourself an individual non-bidet to suit your own needs and inclinations. Clearly the boating equivalent of bra burning. Coming back to the book now, with its engaging coursework of a 14 (4.4m) lug-rigged dinghy, a 21 (6.4m) flattie skiff, even a good old-fashioned displacement motor cruiser, I can only cry Viva la revolution! --WaterCraft

From the Back Cover

There is nothing magical or particularly brilliant about designing a boat, and you don't need to be an Einstein or a Leonardo da Vinci to sketch out the sort of craft that appeals to you. Indeed this first sketch that many potential owners will have made at some time is the most important part of a design. It needs only the bare bones to be fleshed out and some checks and balances to complete the design process. This may take a little time but it certainly isn't difficult. And the same processes apply for a dinghy as well as a cruising yacht.

John Teale takes the reader step-by-step through the stages of designing both power and sailing boats, while also explaining the reasons behind the process. Sketches and reproductions of working drawings are used throughout to help understanding so that by the end of the book even a first time designer's effort can be translated by a builder into a sensible and workmanlike reality.

Since it was first published, How to Design a Boat has proved itself a bestseller. The second edition simplifies several calculations and introduces new designs. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Sheridan House; 3rd edition (July 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1574091573
• ISBN-13: 978-1574091571
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #650,730 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #63 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Outdoor Recreation > Sailing > Instructional

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I read it again and again, May 21, 2005

By 

Guzzi (Brisbane Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How to Design a Boat (Paperback)

I have accumulated a lot of boat books over the years, mainly on building and design. I really love this book. Mr Teale gives you a concise course on how to design a conventional boat. He doesn't try to turn you into a naval engineer in this little book, he just gives you enough info with no guff and not too much jargon.

What this book will let you do is understand the desisions taken by designers, understand what people are saying when they talk about boat technicalities, and if you want to it'll show you how to design a conventional yacht or motor boat.

If I have one complaint I'd have liked a bit more on multihulls, which are my particular interest.

The book is small, and cheap. I'm an engineer and I have struggled with the bulk information in some of the more comprehensive books. This one isn't as detailed but it has the important stuff and I'd say most people could follow it.

Really good!

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A difficult book on yacht design, June 5, 2003

By 

Juan Lleras "Juan Manuel LLeras" (Bogotá, Colombia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: How to Design a Boat (Paperback)

Mr. Teale made a mistake in the way he organized this book and in the way he presents the subjects. Not that he makes mistakes in the concepts, but rather in the form.
He has chosen to present numerical methods whose origins, uses and explanations are not presented. He uses graphs, without any clue as to their origin and he packs several issues with no clear order to the reader. For someone already acquainted with the basics of yacht design, Mr. Teale has some teachings, but over all this is a difficult and obscure book on that beautiful art of designing a seaworthy craft.
I would suggest you start with other books and later - perhaps - take the chance with this one.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must for those interested in amateur boat design, May 17, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: How to Design a Boat (Paperback)

After restoring two sailboats, I think I am ready to design and build one. John Teale's book has been extremely helpful in providing me with the confidence to undertake this task. It is easy to follow and clear to understand. It would have been nice to have some examples on aspects like developable surfaces (in chine designs), or more background on the calculations to better understand where they come from. The book, however, flows through the design process with no difficulty.