Customer Reviews

Steel Boat Building: From Bare Hull to Launching

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Steel boatbuilding isn't magic preformed with a wand. It is a very doable process achieved with cutting torch, grinder, and welder and Tom Colvin explains in exacting detail how to employ these tools and more in that process. If the devil is in the details, this is truely one hell of a book because it is filled with details. (Everything from how to select designers and plans to the types of paint to use and when and how to apply them. This book, which uses the construction of a 52 foot sailboat by a single person as it's model, was recommended to me by a man who has built more than a dozen offshore (50 feet or larger) fishing boats for service in the North Atlantic and still claims it is his bible. I am now working on my second steel boat under 35' and I am a believer.

Tom Colvin has succeeded in explaining a highly technical subject in a way anyone can understand. This book is not an evenings read but a reference source that will be used countless times.

Everyone in the business of marine repair will find it priceless at some point or another.

Anyone considering building or purchasing a steel boat will appreciate the clear reasoning of what they are looking at and how it should be vs how it is without being beffuddled with sales hype.

Opinionated. Brash. Detailed, and interesting. All in a two volume set. This guy knows about aboats and the techniques needed to create them. He is the "GOD" of boat building, and he is also the leader in this field. After reading this book, I wanted to go and construct myself a small ocean liner. He is that good. OK, this book is great, whether or not you are building a barge, or an ocean sailing hull. He really does know his stuff. He comes from the "old school" and you can see it in his hull plans, and his treatment of the subject matter. These books are classics and they are worth every dime. I recommend them highly if you have serious dreams of the construction and creation of steel boat hulls.

This book was a great resource for research as well as frank and detailed advice on the constuction of a metal vessel. This book allowed me to transform my technical aeronautical knowledge and vocabulary into pratical understanding of the undertaking, its requirements, and set expectations for my own construction project. A must read prior to any vessel construction project. It continues to be a valuable reference.