Books about Boatbuilding from Amazon.com

"This book will save you money and grief before you can say woven roving."--Sailing

"A comprehensive and accurate work that should benefit almost any owner of a fiberglass boat."--SAIL

"This book will prove a valuable addition to the library of any boat builder or owner who is seriously interested in doing his own repairs, as well as intercepting minor problems before they become major projects."--Boatbuilder

Are there hairline cracks in your boat's deck or topsides gelcoat? Have her color and luster faded over the years? Does she have deck leaks? Has she been holed? Is her hull oilcanning in a sea? If your answer to any of these questions is yes, this book is for you. This is the definitive guide for fiberglass boat repair and beautification, covering not just cosmetic dings and scratches, but also major repairs of structural damage to hull and decks. It will show you how to:

• replace deteriorated gelcoat, or repair the flaws in an existing gelcoat and recoat it with polyurethane or marine alkyd enamel paint;
• strengthen a weak and overly flexible hull or deck;
• tab in loose hull liners and joinerwork;
• make templates from the good side of a hull to reshape large shattered or missing areas on the other side;
• repair or replace water-saturated deck cores;
• repair keels, rudders, and centerboards;
• rebed and refasten underwater and on-deck hardware;
• rebed, refasten, and strengthen hull-to-deck joints;
• fix broken hatches, and make new ones when necessary;
• treat the symptoms and causes of overstressed hulls.

That beautiful craft swinging at anchor or nestled dockside, her topsides reflecting water and sky like a polished mirror, could be yours. Here's how..
Price: $17.63 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Why is stitch-and-glue boatbuilding so popular?

Any number of construction methods will produce a beautiful boat. But for the backyard builder with limited experience and a tight budget, the choice is not so complicated. Traditional plank-on-frame and cold-molded construction require complicated lofting and building molds--to say nothing of expensive tooling and lots of time. Stitch-and-glue construction, on the other hand, can produce the same results with a substantial savings in time and money. The process is quicker, easier, uses fewer parts, and produces a boat that is much easier to maintain--without the building molds and with only the simplest lofting. For tools, you need little more than a circular saw, a sander/polisher/grinder, a block plane, a framing square, a level, and a tape measure.

Sam Devlin has elevated stitch-and-glue boatbuilding to an artform, and his graceful designs have attracted the attention of backyard builders across the country. Here is all you need to know to build the boat of your dreams, whether it's a 7-foot dinghy or a 40-foot power cruiser. Devlin's Boatbuilding: How to Build Any Boat the Stitch-and-Glue Way shares the wisdom of his 16 years of experience designing, building, and helping others build his fleet of small sail- and powerboats.

It's all here, from choosing a design and setting up shop to painting the finished hull and launching. There is also a gallery of Devlin's designs and a detailed appendix listing sources for tools and other materials..
Price: $12.57 [Notify me when price goes down.]

"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.
Price: $19.59 [Notify me when price goes down.]

For new boating enthusiasts--even if they've been at it awhile--there are scores of burning questions. If one boat has a round bottom and another's is veed, what difference does it make in the way they perform? What are the advantages of a cutter rig over a sloop? Why does one sailor swear by a full keel, while others won't have anything but a fin keel? Why does one powerboat have more flare in its topsides than another? And what is flare? Why do some hull shapes look "right"? How big an engine and propeller will it take to move that powerboat? What elements make a boat safe, or comfortable?

Understanding Boat Design has been the place to look for quick, uncomplicated answers since 1971. Founder of the Yacht Design Institute, a highly respected designer for more than 30 years, and a frequent contributor to SAIL, Cruising World, and other magazines, Ted Brewer has again revised his classic primer. This new volume has been greatly expanded and contains information on many aspects of design that were not even thought of twenty years ago.

Understanding Boat Design has eased tens of thousands of readers into the complex world of small-craft design. It is the ideal introduction for backyard boatbuilders, students of boat design, or someone looking to buy a first boat.

"This tight little book should be required reading."--Soundings

"A natural for those embarking on a first purchase, or the amateur builder."--Sailing

"One of the cleanest and clearest expositions on the elements of yacht design ever published . . . by a naval architect who knows what he is talking about."--WoodenBoat.
Price: $8.75 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Make your boat shine again

No improvement to a tired-looking boat will have a more dramatic impact than refinishing, and few tasks are easier. Here is everything you need to achieve a fabulous finish on your fiberglass boat’s bottom, topsides, deck, spars, wood trim, and belowdeck surfaces while saving time, money, and grief.

What reviewers have said about Don Casey's boat maintenance books:

“Astonishingly clear text and illustrations. The reader can almost feel the hand-holding this book provides through each step.”--Dockside

“I own many books filled with advice, but I strongly suspect that this is the one I will consult most.”--Sailing

“Casey makes tricky points clear in hundreds of illustrations and lively prose.”--SailNet

“If you have an older sailboat, you need this book.”--The Ensign.
Price: $8.25 [Notify me when price goes down.]