There is a peculiar form of insomnia that afflicts amateur boatbuilders. It consists of lying awake at night, reviewing the details of a boatbuilding project and wondering, “How am I going to do that?” Greg Rössel helps answer those questions.

Wooden boats have been called “the most lifelike” of man’s creations. Their beauty can inspire even inexperienced woodworkers to attempt their construction, but their complexity can bedevil the most determined. In The Boatbuilder’s Apprentice, longtime WoodenBoat writer and professional boatbuilder Greg Rössel helps weekend builders choose the best boat design and construction method for their first, second, or twentieth project.

Beginning with the question, ‘why wood?, ‘ and focusing on wooden boats less than 20 feet long, Greg provides a complete overview of the methods used to build small wooden boats, from traditional carvel or lapstrake planking to modern stitch-and-glue, strip-planked, glued-lap, cold molding, and others. He discusses their pros and cons, their adaptability to different boat types, and their degrees of difficulty in both construction and maintenance. He explains the basics of boat design and of hull form and function and helps the beginner decide which type of boat will best suit his or her needs, skills, and desires.

Greg also covers the essentials of every boatbuilding project, including:

• Tools, wood types, fasteners, adhesives, and coatings;
• Shop setup and safety;
• Whether to build right-side up or upside down;
• How to go about steam bending, cutting rabbets, scarfing, and laminating;
• Oar and spar making;
• Building knees, gaff jaws, and cleats, and taking the lines off an old classic.Writing with wit and an engaging style, Rössel makes light work of that most feared of all processes for the beginning boatbuilder-lofting. He shares his extensive experience on problem solving, shows you how to work efficiently, and offers hundreds of ingenious techniques for surmounting age-old difficulties. He also includes a glossary as well as an extensive appendix of sources for plans and materials.
• pp. 352 illusts. First Edition. 240625