Customer Reviews

Wooden Boat Renovation: New Life for Old Boats Using Modern Methods

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

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?

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.

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!

This is the first wooden boat book I purchased and it is still my favorite. I've even reread it a couple of times, something I've never done before. Trefethen's sense of humor and realism make this book a delight to read. His knowledge of the subject and his ability to put his ideas into laymens terms make this book very educational to read. You are able to soak up every piece of information without rereading a paragraph several times scratching your head. Buy This Book!

My mother bought me this book when I bought my first wood boat(30 ft chris craft). It was an excellent resource for getting me started. It gives advice on what to look for in a wood boat and varying degrees of information on everything from sandpaper to cabinet construction. By far it has been the best resource I have had aside from real people.

The previous reviews touch on the good points of this book, so I won't bother to repeat these. Suffice to say, there's plenty of good info to be had from this book. I would however express one word of caution. It has to do with the author's tendancy to push the reader toward approaches and methods that may not be appropriate for boats with truly historic or aesthetic value. Mr. Trefethen makes no bones about the fact that he wants to get the boat back in the water ASAP and minimize maintenance. To use his own words, "authenticity be damned".

A prime example of this attitude shows up when he advises his readers to paint over large portions of the brightwork to minimize upkeep. Of course everyone's entitled to thier opinion, but I consider this advise to be inapproporate for many situations. Once the wood has been painted, it becomes very difficult to return it to it's original glory. This can be a hard mistake to undo.

Many portions of the book seem to be infused with this sort of "quick fix" mentality. Even though he explains himself early on, I still found myself wondering at times why he even wanted to own a wooden boat. If vast expanses of easy-to-clean white are what he's after, why not just buy a Bayliner?

Excellent book for us old wooden boaters. Many good tips and photos on the subject of wooden boats, info that's getting scarce these days.

I haven't had time to read it entirely yet but from what I have read, it looks like it contains the information that I was looking for. The chapters are very detailed and thorough. The author has definitely been around the industry and his humor is good, especially related to the wood vs. fiberglass debate! I just bought an old wooden classic so this book will help me to make educated decisions about caring for it.

I found the book to cover mostly the planking and basic framing replacement. My only wish is that the author gave more information on assessing a boats condition for restoration instead of recommending an expert to do it for you. All in all boat restoration is for no woodworking amateur.

I have spent the last dozen years as a custom contractor, crafting houses for my clients from the design through the finish carpentry. Wood seemed to me the natural material selection for a sailing boat as I already have a thorough knowledge of the medium and thousands of dollars worth of tools to work with it. Jim's book is not only very amusing and engaging, it approaches the job of renovation in a way that makes it easy to understand and accomplish for a person of any skill level. He takes the time to explain not only the specific techniques involved in boat renovation but to explain how to approach a complicated renovation in a manner that will make it most likely to succeed. The tick-stick trick, new to me, is worth double the price of this fantastic book.