Go Build Your Own Boat!
by Harold H. (Dynamite) Payson
Many a would-be boat owner shies away from the idea of building a boat at home because of the imagined difficulty of the undertaking. And yet anyone with a little extra space, a modicum of skill, and the proper tools can do it&emdash;the only other re quirement is solid, down to earth guidance. Go Build Your Own Boat! fills this need admirably, providing the how to" for every step of building a boat, from blueprint to launching. Harold H. "Dynamite" Payson, lobsterman, boat designer, and boat builder, is your guide. Having earned his livelihood from the sea for over forty years on the wild and rocky coast of Maine, he is an expert boat craftsman who knows first-hand the importance of sound design and construction. Reading this book is like entering Payson's boatshop: you can observe the master of work, listen to his clear advice and instructions, and be put at ease by his recollections of his own experiences in boat building the lessons he had to learn the hard way, the secrets he gradually gleaned from old-timers, and the triumphs of fine work. In Go Build Your Own Boat! , you'll find a comprehensive view of boat building that draws together boat design and boat construction. Every phase of production is discussed, from setting a scale to making a model to drawing a design to building a full-sized craft. You'll learn the various procedures involved in working with grained wood, plywood, and fiberglass. In addition, you'll discover how to build three excellent boats from start to finish a carver planked outboard powered lobster boat, a beautiful rowing dory and an extremely versatile galley designed to handle with equal ease oars, sail, and outboard.Dynamite Payson's sensible approach to boat building is never more evident than in the large section of material he devotes to "A Miscellany of Simple Solutions." Although the tools used in building a boat are standard equipment in most home workshops, the techniques for using them in boat construction are not always familiar to a novice boat builder. Payson has a craftsman's affinity for his tools and provides you with thorough instructions on how to handle them correctly. He also has a practical builder's appreciation of where things can get tricky in the course of construction and stresses the simplest, most appropriate way to manage these steps. Best of all, he has a successful teacher's ability to offer you his knowledge with freshness, Insight, and lasting effect. Few pleasures in life can match producing, economically and with your own hands, a handsome, seaworthy craft. By reading this book and taking to heart Dynamite Payson's wise and friendly counsel, you most certainly can go build your own boat!
128 pages Paperbound 8 1/2" X 11" 101 photographs, 79 line drawings, paperbound
