Customer Reviews

The Sharpie Book

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To coin a phrase, Parkers designs are "so salty they make your eyes rust"

GRP and the prejudice of the yachting community relegated the sharpie to history. Plywood and epoxy have brought it back.

Parker and Bolger are probably the pre-eminent living exponents of sharpie design, but whilst Bolger has taken years to get to the minimalist essence of what exactly a boat is, Parker has taken a wonderfully simple concept and imbued it with the grace and beauty of ages. To put it simply, he has an eye for a line.

If you have always wanted to build your own yacht, want it to look stunning, but don't have ten years up your sleeve to build "the old way" this book contains everything you need to build any of the designs described and will even tell you how to sail them. For the armchair builder the food for thought is immense and will have you sailing south to a Pacific paradise within hours. For the real builder, be warned, the text is infectious, but all designs need to be lofted full size (have a BIG lounge and an understanding wife), you will need a magnifying glass to read all of the details (or buy the plans from Parker Marine) and if you don't know a toe rail from an inwale I would recommend buying Bolgers book or Fred Binghams book on boat joinery first (better still buy all three).

To sum up, it is a one stop shop for a type of yacht forgotten by too many, but sharpies are not for everybody. They suit the sailor looking for simplicity, low cost, performance and style and who is happy to work within a few basic limitations of the flat bottomed boat - limited headroom, higher centre of gravity and relatively low mass.

I really enjoyed this book. The author includes everything, from the history to the modern construction of these boats. Some of the sections on construction are a little confusing for beginners. One area that comes to mind is the section on lofting, some diagrams would be useful here (other books or websites help). I have read the book several times and expect I will always use it as a reference.

I think the kernal of this book is the description of why plywood is a superior boat building material. (diagonal strength) I had been thinking of carvel planking as the best type of wood construction. I was wrong. Other than that, the book does a great job of describing the history of, and reason for, sharpies.

From what I read, I decided that a deeper, heavier, and stronger boat might be more appropriate for the inside passage to Alaska. Also, I'm just not short enough to spend much time in the cabin of a sharpie.

Good book, good read, and I will be buying the Ruel Parker book on cold molding.

This book has many virtues: It is highly readable, down-to-earth (or sea?), and covers a fascinating topic. The sections on this history of the sharpie are nicely punctuated by sea-stories, observations, and photographs of working sharpies.

I'm building my own boat. It is not a sharpie (more of a dory), but it uses many similar construction features (flat plywood sides, rockered bottom, chine log construction, centerboard, epoxy covering, etc.). Mr. Parker's book has been an absolutely priceless resource on every aspect of construction.

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in small sailing craft, either for history or building your own. I'd also advise people to check out the Parker-Marine website for more information on the Author's designs.

Reuel Parker has captured the simple essence of small, functional boats. This is a terrific read, chock full of interesting information about the evolution of the sharpie type. It includes several excellent boat-building projects with instructions aimed at semi-knowledgeable builders. (First-time builders may need an additional building resource to understand some of the finer points of boat construction.) This book will very quickly instill you with a fondness for light, simple, shallow-draft boats. Anyone who likes sailing or boat trivia will love this book.

Reuel Parker really has a hit with this book. He information is excellent and easy to understand, no elitist jargon here. He makes a wonderful case for the Sharpie's use and how versatile a boat it is. Anyone who is considering build a boat at home should read this for sure. The book contains several boat plans, and all the information need to build one is contained within.

I love this book it starts out with history of the sharpie design, to get you hooked and then it finishes with a modern interpretation of a classic sharpie. You gain enough knowledge from this book to create any of the sharpies mentioned in the book. You are even given the dimensions for a few of the more popular models.

Reull's book is wonderfully illustrated and superbly written. He is a wonderful salesman for the sharpie in general and uses great historical references to build reader interest in these great boats. As an aspiring boat builder I found the book indispensible. Do yourself a favor and pick up a copy. You won't be disappointed! I want to build them all!!!

This book was just what I needed. It is incredible how much informational quality Reuel Parker is able fit into such a small book. The book appears similar to his classical boat re/designs (eligant, yet spartan).

The review above is complete. Don't bother reading the following warning:
I do have one problem with this book. As a recent amatuer boatbuilder, for the past year I've been enjoying collecting and reading these type of books, as well as boat designs. My appetite has been insatiable. This book, and his re/designs of classical sharpies, is so good; it literally filled the gap. I didn't expect my needs to met so thoroughly. What do I do now? I have a long list of books in my wish list, that can't possibly compare. How many times can I re-read this one? As mentioned above, it is a small book regardless of how much quality information it contains. Hopefully building a boat will work-up an appetite.

I bought the book and built a sharpie. It's proved to be a good boat especially for shallow water. This boat makes you seek shallow water and go places other sailboats don't dare.

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