26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
If You Want A Wooden Boat, Buy This Book!, August 1, 2000
This review is from: Wooden Boat Renovation: New Life for Old Boats Using Modern Methods (Hardcover)
When I bought this book, I had some basic wood-working skills (I've built decks and simple things like that), but I knew absolutely nothing about making repairs to wooden boats. This book gave me valuable guidance in selecting a classic old wooden boat to buy, and helped me to transform her into something marvelous over the course of this summer.
The book is well-written. It is not highly technical or difficult to understand and it gave me confidence to take on some repairs that I would never have attempted if I hadn't read it. The author is clearly a character, and his personality shows in the amusing asides and comments sprinkled throughout the book.
A well-made, classic wooden boat is really a piece of art that just happens to float. There are few straight lines, pieces are bent in multiple directions and stressed in unusual ways. The book won't turn you into a Picasso of this amazing art overnight, but it is tremendously helpful to somebody just getting started.
If you are thinking about jumping into wooden boats, consider the following: With a little bit of money and lots of hard work, I now own something which speaks to my soul. How many of your current possessions can you say that about?
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16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Great read, but a bit thin in critical areas, August 17, 2005
This review is from: Wooden Boat Renovation: New Life for Old Boats Using Modern Methods (Hardcover)
This is a very entertainingly written book, essential for anyone restoring a wooden boat - worth it as a fun read alone. The book is full of fun wooden boat philosophy, interesting personal anecdotes, and great stories. On the practical side, the author provides a good introduction to wooden boat types and construction, excellent information about selecting, evaluating and purchasing a boat for rennovation; planning and initiating projects; necessary tools and supplies; repairing holes in a wooden hull; and even some tips about building in cabinets and furniture.
The approach is admittedly "quick and dirty," that is, it presents practical, time-saving, and relatively inexpensive ways to get your wooden boat on the water, as opposed to nit-picky and involved pristine restoration techniques. The book isn't for the purist but for the pragmatist, and in that regard the advice and techniques offered are spot-on.
Unfortunately, however, the book is lacking in a few critical areas. Firstly, the section on hull refinishing is insubstantial and confusing. His step-by-step example is weak here as well: he uses a hatch cover, really not the same as facing the challenges of refinishing an entire hull. All this is surprising, since the rest of the book is so comprehensive. (Indeed, ten highly detalied pages are devoted to wooden deck repair.) Also, the use of epoxies and their derivatives gets short shrift, and these days this is a critical area. It's as if here the author is an advocate but not an expert; recommendations about the use of epoxies in hull refinishing are dated and unreliable, and there is no mention of their potential, with fillers, for use in cabin or deck repair. For a book that prides itself on quick and easy alternatives this is an unfortunate omission.
Of course, for any ambitious wooden boat project you'll gather a collection of books, and be sure to add this one, since there is a wealth of good stuff here. Or get it for sure if you're an armchair boat refurbisher. But do look for additional sources if your main interest is hull refinishing or if you anticipate any epoxy work.
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19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Read and Superb Information, August 1, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Wooden Boat Renovation: New Life for Old Boats Using Modern Methods (Hardcover)
This is a "must-have" book for both the serious as well wanna-be wooden boat owner. The book is loaded with lots of helpful information and tips. And it is fun, easy and enjoyable to read. Jim's no nonsense writing style is clear and consise. The book does not cover topics in intricate detail but that is not its intent. What it does cover is 80% of what someone needs to know and the book is a great resourece for further research. You just get a sense that Jim knows what he's talking about. Buy this book!
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