Books about Fiberglass 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: $17.41 [Notify me when price goes down.]

For those who own a cherished but dilapidated fiberglass runabout, or for those who want a boat but are turned off by the high prices and often poor quality of today's offerings, this book explains everything there is to know about turning a rundown runabout into a real showpiece for a fraction of the cost of a new model. Author Jim Anderson, a runabout renovator from Minnesota's Land of Ten Thousand Lakes, leads readers through the whole renovation process.

For those who think a project like this may be more than they can handle, renovating an old runabout is actually less complicated and expensive than adding on a deck or redoing a room--two of the most popular projects for home handymen. And Anderson's sense of humor and gift for providing simple solutions make Runabout Renovation as fun to read as it is easy to understand.

The backyards of North America house literally millions of rundown runabouts ripe for renovation. With Jim Anderson's help, you can own a better boat than you can buy new, for a quarter of the price or less. And like a beautifully restored '57 Chevy, it'll have class.

Low-cost alternatives for the powerboater on a budget.

Although more people own boats ranging in length from 14 to 24 feet than all others combined, most books published about boat repair and restoration are directed at the "big boat" or yacht owner. In addition, many marine dealers and technicians never seem to have the right answers or the time to spend on people who own "little boats." Hence Runabout Renovation, a complete guide to finding and fixing up old fiberglass speedboats.

You'll learn how to:

• Choose and survey a boat
• Make cosmetic repairs and repaint your boat
• Replace the floor
• Reupholster and carpet the interior
• Build a new transom
• Upgrade electrical and mechanical systems

. . . and much more. There's even a section on repairing aluminum boats, and one on installing and repairing horns, lights, bilge pumps, live wells, and other speedboat accessories.

"Considering the tens of thousands of fiberglass powerboats that exist today, one wonders why Jim Anderson's Runabout Renovation is so late in coming. Whether you're shopping for a used or new boat, or trying to maintain the value of a boat you already own, this book will prove indispensable."--Richard Lebowitz, Editor, Boating World.
Price: $9.89 [Notify me when price goes down.]

The Comprehensive Sailing Start-Up Resource

• Can a keelboat tip over?
• Can I take a centerboard boat onto open water?
• How can I determine what boat I want?
• Once I do, what’s a fair price to pay for it?
• Should I buy it new or used?
• How can I tell the difference between a used boat and one that’s used up?
• Now that I have it, how can I start sailing quickly and safely?

Your First Sailboat is the first book to answer all your questions about selecting, buying, maintaining, and using your first boat. This user-friendly guide covers issues that other books ignore, including how to choose between a trailer sailer, daysailer, raceboat, cruiser, or multihull; what hull material is best for your first boat; whether to buy new or used; where to shop; how to judge quality and condition; where to keep your new boat; and what to do about gear, loans, insurance, and annual maintenance. Special features of this all-in-one handbook include:

• A descriptive buying guide to 75 recommended sailboats of all types and sizes, from daysailers to racers, cruisers, and multihulls
• A decision tree to guide you to your ideal starter boat
• Complete instructions on how to care for and sail your boat as well as how to acquire it

Straightforward and fun, Your First Sailboat gives you just what you need to stop asking questions and start sailing. Everything else is optional. Save time. Save money. This book omits everything you don’t need to know.

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Price: $9.91 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Boatbuilding Manual is one of the most widely read texts on the subject, and it has been used for years as a standard reference at both boatbuilding and design schools

A builder and designer for more than 55 years, Robert Steward has rare abilities as a writer and draftsman. His phrasing is clear and easy, and he writes the absolute minimum necessary for a complete understanding of the subject.

This fourth edition, like its predecessors, emphasizes traditional wooden construction but also surveys plywood, wood-epoxy, fiberglass, steel, aluminum, and other boatbuilding methods. The chapters on interpreting plans, lofting, and moldmaking are common to all methods. New to this edition are several chapters arising from the "Miscellaneous Details" chapter of earlier editions; an appendix on sharpening tools; expanded tables of metric equivalents; an expanded and annotated source guide for plans, fasteners, hardware, wood, and other staples of boatbuilding; and a list of additional reading.

Praise for Boatbuilding Manual:

". . . the best building manual for wooden boats there is--clear, concise but inclusive, and written so the inexperienced boatbuilder can read it."--John Gardner, Mystic Seaport Museum

"I first got acquainted with the Boatbuilding Manual in the early 1970s when Murray Peterson, the yacht designer, gave me a copy saying, 'Read this. It's the best book on small-boat building I've ever seen.' I had to agree and it's still true. Steward's book is in a class of its own. It's the book I always recommend for boatbuilding classes, and we've used it to fine advantage at the local high school."--Sonny Hodgdon, Hodgdon Yachts, Inc., East Boothbay, Maine

This is a book at home in the workshop, not the library. Pulled from beneath a pile of shavings, it is the thing to help make a tough decision or to quiet an unwelcome adviser."--SAIL.
Price: $21.70 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Fiberglass Repair is filled with easily accessed information, all aimed at giving a determined boatowner the necessary skills and the confidence to tackle typical fiberglass repairs, using either polyester or epoxy resin. In every boating area, hundreds of fiberglass boats—twenty, thirty, even forty years old—are still afloat, still providing all the fun of boating because their owners were willing and able to do the repair and restoration..
Price: $8.39 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Turn a run-down fiberglass boat into a first-class yacht

Since it first appeared in 1991, Don Casey’s This Old Boat has helped tens of thousands of sailors refurbish older fiberglass boats and has become a revered classic among boat rehabbers. This second edition is revised from first page to last with new information on electrical systems, diesel engines, refrigeration, resins, plumbing and more. Plus, more than 350 newly created illustrations enhance the book’s beauty as well as its utility.

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Price: $26.37 [Notify me when price goes down.]

The strip building method was first introduced in the late '60s and has enjoyed an ever expanding following over the years. Little has changed in the basic method of construction; however, over the years new techniques and numerous refinements have been introduced, many of which you will find here. The one thing that has remained constant is that unquestionably, the popularity of strip built watercraft comes from the natural beauty of the wood they are made from. When coated with clear resin and fiberglass, the rich tones and colors of the cedar strips cry out to be touched and admired. The premise behind this book is that if you take your time, approach the project thoughtfully, and follow the guidance provided here, you will be able to successfully build a beautiful strip canoe without breaking the bank. Anyone with a little determination and patience can build one of these craft..
Price: $18.99 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Mustin's part-by-part look at hull, deck, rig, and machinery is both a minicourse for transforming used-boat shopping from a game of craps to a science, and the first step in a holistic boat maintenance program. His discussion of the significance of cracks found in aging hulls and decks is the most thorough in print. He is not shy in assessing the lack of regulation of professional surveyors, nor does he shrink from pointing a finger at shoddy building practices.

Having a used boat surveyed is a critical prelude to buying it. Yet a professional survey is expensive--several hundred dollars. Surveying Fiberglass Sailboats will enable you to conduct your own surveys while narrowing the field, then monitor a professional surveyor's performance when selecting your target boat..
Price: $9.74 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Now anyone can make their own, custom-built canoe guaranteed to draw raves on land and water alike. The Illustrated Guide to Wood Strip Canoe Building is a comprehensive, detailed guide to the process of contructing a high-quality wood strip canoe, written especially for the novice boat builder. Sheathed strip boat construction is becoming increasingly popular among both amateur and professional builders. This is a method of producing a light weight, strong, beautiful boat of the sleekest design using materials, tools, and techniques available to the recreational builder. This book offers complete coverage of the procedures and techniques of mold set-up, assembly of the wood strip hull, epoxy resin, and fiberglass application, finishing, and more. All phases of construction are extensively illustrated with color photos and line drawings. For each stage of the building process, a range of alternative methods is presented, enabling the builder to select those which will yield a craft customized to his or her own needs. Source lists for canoe plans, building materials, and tools are included. This book is dedicated to helping the backyard boat builder achieve professional quality results in creating a fine canoe to use and be proud of for years..
Price: $26.37 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Is your boat ready to go cruising?

Just about every sailboat—used and new—can make a good cruiser, but only if the hull-deck structure, rig, and systems meet certain standards. Spurr’s Guide to Upgrading Your Cruising Sailboat tells you what those standards are, and gives you all the help you need to refurbish and upgrade every structure, surface, fitting, and system on your boat—stem to stern, project by project.

This all-in-one guide leads you step by step to a seaworthy, crew-friendly boat with top-notch cruising performance. Not only will you learn what to look for when you buy a new or used boat, you'll also learn how to reinforce your boat’s hull and structural components, redesign and replace rigging, upgrade electrical systems, and much more. Special features include:

• A detailed survey of 70 used and new fiberglass sailboats best suited to offshore sailing
• Gear and equipment recommendations by brand name
• Construction details and other essential features of a strong, safe cruising boat
• How to make critical repairs to the deck, hull, bulkheads, blisters, and portlights

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Price: $18.51 [Notify me when price goes down.]