List Price: $42.00 Details

Save: $4.20 (10%)

& FREE Returns

FREE delivery: Saturday, June 26 Details

Fastest delivery: Thursday, June 24
Order within 39 mins Details

In Stock.
As an alternative, the Kindle eBook is available now and can be read on any device with the free Kindle app.

$$37.80 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details

Ships from	Amazon.com
Sold by	Amazon.com

Details

Ships from

Amazon.com

Sold by

Amazon.com

Return policy: This item is returnable

Add a gift receipt for easy returns

FREE delivery: Saturday, June 26 Details

Used: Good | Details

Sold by WCRP Reads and Gaming

Fulfilled by Amazon

Share <Embed>

Other Sellers on Amazon

$27.40
+ $3.99 shipping

Sold by: indoobestsellers

$33.23
& FREE Shipping

Sold by: Book Depository US

$32.85
+ $3.99 shipping

Sold by: Blackwell's U.K. *dispatched from UK*

Flip to back Flip to front

Listen Playing... Paused You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition.
Learn more

See all 3 images

Follow the Author

Dave Gerr

The Elements of Boat Strength: For Builders, Designers, and Owners Hardcover – August 10, 1999

by Dave Gerr (Author)

141 ratings

See all formats and editions

Price

New from

Used from

Kindle

"Please retry"

$21.49

—

Hardcover

"Please retry"

$37.80

$27.40

$15.33

"This work is significant. It is the first to include a method of assessing structural strength in the context of the modern marine environment." --Commander M. C. Cruder, U.S. Coast Guard

Acclaimed author and naval architect Dave Gerr created this unique system of easy-to-use scantling rules and rules-of-thumb for calculating the necessary dimensions, or scantlings, of hulls, decks, and other boat parts, whether built of fiberglass, wood, wood-epoxy composite, steel, or aluminum. In addition to the rules themselves, The Elements of Boat Strength offers their context: an in-depth, plain-English discussion of boatbuilding materials, methods, and practices that will guide you through all aspects of boat construction.

Now you can avoid wading through dense technical engineering manuals or tackling advanced mathematics. The Elements of Boat Strength has all the formulas, tables, illustrations, and charts you need to judge how heavy each piece of your boat should be in order to last and be safe. With this book, an inexpensive scientific calculator, and a pad of paper, you'll be able to design and specify all the components necessary to build a sound, long-lasting, rugged vessel.

What reviewers have said about Dave Gerr's books:

Propeller Handbook

"By far the best book available on the subject."--Sailing

"The best layman's guide we've ever read."--Practical Sailor

Dave Gerr and International Marine made a complicated topic understandable and put it into a handbook that is easy to use."--WoodenBoat

"Without doubt the definitive reference for selecting, installing, and understanding boat propellers."--Royal Navy Sailing Association Journal

The Nature of Boats

"If you are not nautically obsessed before reading this book, you will most certainly be afterward."--Sailing

Fascinating potpourri of information about today's boats, modern and traditional."--WoodenBoat

Print length

384 pages
Language

English
Publisher

International Marine/Ragged Mountain Press
Publication date

August 10, 1999
Dimensions

7.3 x 0.93 x 9.5 inches
ISBN-10

0070231591
ISBN-13

978-0070231597
See all details

Frequently bought together

Customers who viewed this item also viewed

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1

Stephen Pollard
96
Hardcover
$31.06
Dave Gerr
58
Hardcover
$39.94
Ted Brewer
70
Paperback
$17.10
Robert Steward
139
Hardcover
$32.82
Dave Gerr
63
Hardcover
36 offers from $3.49
Norman L. Skene
46
Paperback
$19.41

More items to explore

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1

Gil Gilpatrick
628
Paperback
in Boat Building
$21.37
Steve Sleight
686
Hardcover
$35.00
Don Casey
503
Hardcover
$41.80
Nigel Calder
454
Hardcover
in Ship Repair & Maintenance
$24.85
Ted Moores
447
Paperback
$21.49
Debby Greenlaw
180
Paperback
$24.99

Special offers and product promotions

Amazon Business: Make the most of your Amazon Business account with exclusive tools and savings. Login now

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Certain books, because of their thoroughness, tend to become industry standards; such is the case with Dave Gerr's latest reference volume, The Elements of Boat Strength. The book details construction methods and recommended scantling dimensions for fiberglass, wood, aluminum, steel, and composite hulls. " -- Ocean Navigator, November/December 1999

From the Publisher

Dave Gerr (rhymes with "bear") is a naval architect who designs both yachts and commercial vessels. A contributing editor for Boatbuilding, Yachting, and Offshore magazines, he is the author of Propeller Handbook, the industry standard reference on props, and the acclaimed Nature of Boats, both International Marine books.

Start reading The Elements of Boat Strength on your Kindle in under a minute.

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ International Marine/Ragged Mountain Press; 1st edition (August 10, 1999)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 384 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0070231591
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0070231597
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.34 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.3 x 0.93 x 9.5 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #421,092 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #447 in Boating (Books)
- #457 in Sailing (Books)
- #611 in Ships (Books)

Customer Reviews:
141 ratings

Customer reviews

5 star		73%
4 star		20%
3 star		3%
2 star		2%
1 star		2%

How are ratings calculated?

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Burton

Makes a lot of confusing things clear.

Reviewed in the United States on September 18, 2016

Verified Purchase

This book is a great book that helps us amateurs in boat building to understand some key things in boat design. Gerr has been a very readable author in many publications over the years, and his articles in the former Small Boat Journal were always a highlight for me and this book is in similar fashion--easy for the layman to understand and apply. (And, what should be left to real engineers.)

Having been rather bewildered over the years at how scantlings in boat design were determined, Gerr gives a good explanation of how these are calculated in primarily two different ways. One, a traditional strength formulation according to materials and their use that have proven to be good over the long haul. The other is by engineering the whole structure piece by piece and how it all works together. This book aims at the former, as the latter is the work of engineers on specific applications and designs. I was hoping for some good help on traditional ply construction and got it, albeit brief. Gerr wastes no words, and what I needed took some searching--Gerr put it in one sentence! If you are leaning towards aluminum boat construction you will find lots of support in this book. If you are looking for a lot of info on stitch and glue engineering, you may be disappointed. However, the explanations of what goes into boat strength is worth the price of the book. Some of the pictures could be better, but what is there serves the purpose. All in all, a good book.

It has been said, "An educator takes something simple and makes it complicated. A teacher takes something complicated, and makes it simple." Gerr is in the latter category.

5 people found this helpful

Helpful

manwithcash

Read every word!

Reviewed in the United States on October 11, 2007

Verified Purchase

Great book! This book was just what I needed, while making boat repairs and contemplating my next purchase (or perhaps build).

With an undergraduate degree in Ocean Engineering with a couple of naval architecture courses under my belt, I really needed a professional's common sense, savvy discussion of boat design. With each page read I visualized the different construction details seen at boat shows and on friend's boats, I can trace failures observed back to the discussions.

The author's writing style really livens up the reading! I have read many books on the subject, this and "The Nature of Boats" are my favorites to date.

My only criticism is that the scantlings were noted to be appropriate for speeds up to 45 knots, I would have liked to book to include higher speed designs as that is my current interest, still looking.... Otherwise, five stars!

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

Rick B.

Wide but Shallow

Reviewed in the United States on January 30, 2002

Verified Purchase

Boat Strength covers just about every common building method for boats, from fiberglass to copper-nickel (copper-nickel?). It is quite easy to read for those with a slight technical bent. The many graphs and formulas allow easy determination of the proper scantlings for any particular boat, BUT... it covers only one system of scantlings (as Mr. Gerr points out in his introduction). If you enjoy reading authors like Howard Chapelle or John Gardner (the boat builder, not the author of thrillers) you will be left scratching your head. When they describe the construction of a particular boat you might wonder how the scantlings they used can be calculated from Mr. Gerr's rules. A hint-they cannot. The other disappointment is in a total lack of discussion of the theory behind the rules. Still, it is fun reading and very informative.

11 people found this helpful

Helpful

Nicholas Peter Evans

more of a textbook, but extremely good

Reviewed in the United States on January 29, 2013

Verified Purchase

If you had ever wondered how you go about working out if a boat is strong enough, then this is the book for you. Goes into detail about how scantling numbers are created. For me I just loved reading how all the maths is determined, as it sated my curiosity.

For those serious about desiging their own boat, this is a superb book, Well written, well laid out, simple easy to follow logic. Thoroughly recommend it for those interested in the subject. David Gerr is a very good writer and a very smart person and it shows.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

carl anderson

Good book, lots of knowledge.

Reviewed in the United States on April 16, 2018

Verified Purchase

Great book for builders , technical but understandable, tons of bits of knowledge even for nonbuilders , even if ur just restoring and need to upgrade,

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Amazon Customer

the fundemental study is very well presented.

Reviewed in the United States on April 29, 2018

Verified Purchase

the fundemental study is very well presented. However the theory does not give displacement enough consideration allowing transverse strength to take greater emphasis thus losing potential for weight savings

Helpful

Max's-iom

Another Excellent Book from Dave Gerr

Reviewed in the United States on May 2, 2013

Verified Purchase

As with most of his books, which are packed with way more informaiton than most of us will ever need but this one I think is for the designer. From his vast experience he shares proven ideas, thoughts and practical examples of what makes a boat able to withstand forces that we can only emagine. A good investment for the designer/builder.
Maxey....It's Only Metal (I.O.M.)

3 people found this helpful

Helpful

Amazon Customer

Print quality was poor.

Reviewed in the United States on August 21, 2019

Verified Purchase

Dave Gerr gets 5 stars for a well written book with good information. International Marine gets 1 star for the lousy print quality. About every 4th page is out of focus making reading the text difficult and seeing the photos clearly impossible.

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

Alberto Acosta YET

Great work on strength

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 4, 2017

Verified Purchase

The first part of the book, where the author exposes his knowledge about construction with composite materials is really very good.
In my opinion, the sections for wood-structured boats are a bit less useful, not because of the content, which is very good, but because today the construction of wooden boats is residual.

One person found this helpful

karl hawkins

Fantastic Book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 6, 2018

Verified Purchase

Really good read and very easy read for the non academic professional.

Sebastian

Couple mistakes but good item to have.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 31, 2019

Verified Purchase

Not reliable book but to rough estimations.

Amazon Customer

PERFECT and CONCISE!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 14, 2017

Verified Purchase

A great, concise reference book, with all the tech details and calculations for boat strength if your're building or repairing a boat!

One person found this helpful

R J Huggett

Three Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 13, 2014

Verified Purchase

Very useful

One person found this helpful

See all reviews