Ultrasimple Boat Building: 17 Plywood Boats Anyone Can Build

Forty years ago I stupidly sold my last boat. I have missed it every day since. It was my sixth and best boat, a Chrysler Lonestar. Three of these six boats I built myself, one I shared the work with my father. Building a plywood boat is a bagatelle particularly using the stitch and glue method. The seventh boat is built by this method. In the process I have bought six books from Amazon though all of the information that I needed was free on the internet. The books are “Go Build Your Own Boat” and Build The New Instant Boat by Harold Payson, “Boats with an open Mind” by Philip Bolger, “Boat Building For Beginners” by Jim Michalak, “Ultra Simple Boat Building” by Gavin Atkin and “Understanding Boat Design” by Ted Brewer There are separate reviews for each of these books.Ultra Simple Boat Building” by Gavin Atkin is an excellent book for the home builder and I give it five stars. It features 17 very complete plans and instructions for a number of small plywood boats. The diagrams and dimensions are easy to read. Adkin's designs have flotation chambers which are a great safety feature. He explains Epoxy stitch and glue and polyurethane stitch and glue. He also includes a technique called simplified chine log construction. This method places a frame member outside of the hull along the chine. Bolger used this technique in Tortoise and justified it on grounds that it made the boat easier to clean and protected the plywood chine. He believed that it was hydrodynamically satisfactory. For small slow moving displacement hulls he is probably correct. For faster powered planing hulls I have my doubts. It is not completely clear that it really simplifies the construction over say placing the chine log inside the hull in the conventional manner. No matter, the resultant boat will probably be satisfactory. Most of these boats are small and narrow with low sides and are suitable for quiet waters. I know of one individual who takes one off shore here near Los Angeles where it is paddled like a kayak. He has not yet drowned and probably will be okay. Adkin also included plans for a “Puddle Duck Racer”which would be a great choice for someone who enjoys camaraderie and mild competition. I am intrigued by “Dogsbody” which of the offerings in this book is my favorite. One should pay attention to the recommended loadings of Atkin's boats for it could be catastrophic to over load them. Adkin presents a method, not his own apparently, of building a skiff that requires no plans. I found this intriguing because I and a partner once (1953) built a boat using a very similar method. That boat was assembled using glue and light framing with brass screws. I think it cost less than $20 at the time. It saw frequent service with a 5 hp Johnson outboard and lasted at least 10 years when I lost track of it. Adkin offered a piece of simple advice. When going to the store always buy a clamp. You cannot have too many clamps. I think Norm Abrams (This Old House) once made a similar recommendation.

This is a good book to get someone started in boat building. It starts out with easy to follow explanations of the tools and techniques needed to build very simple but useful plywood boats, such as the author's "mouse" series.He outlines three different methods of assembly using, timber joints, fiberglass tape and epoxy, and polyurethane glues with open mesh type fiberglass drywall tape. With the latter two methods, the hull panels are temporarily stitched together with adhesive tape, zip ties or wire ties. He gives detailed explanations on each of these three methods.He also provides thirteen of his own designs, which include his popular "mouse" series, two powerboats, and three sailboats. The smaller "mouse" boats are probably tiny enough to tiny enough to store in an apartment, which might make them appealing for those who have no outside property to store their boats.He also shows examples from other ply boat designs, both well known,such as Bolger and Michalak, as well as less well known ones.The only quibble I have is his method drawing the various panels which make up the hull. His method, though workable (it took me some time to figure it out) is not standard in the boat building world. So, anyone who gets used to his method might be lost at sea when trying to draw panels from another designer's work.Other than that, I think it's good enough to earn a permanent place on my bookshelf.

This book belongs on the shelf of anyone who is contemplating building their own boat. This book was a special treat for me because there is a picture of a boat I built in it. The prospect of building a boat can be very overwhelming. It is a process of figuring out your needs and then deciding on an appropriate design. This is followed by determining if you have the tools, money, space, skill, and time to see a project go from a pile of wood to a pleasant afternoon sailing on a local lake with your family. If you are like me you begin this process by reading as much as you possibly can prior to actually creating sawdust. Gavin Atkin's book is divided into two parts. The first part deals with the "how" to build a boat. Although you may supplement this information with additional material from other sources, Atkin gives enough practical information to actually build a boat. Atkin makes building a boat for someone who has never done it seem very doable, even fun. The second part of the book is filled with designs to whet the appetite of anyone whois in the process of trying to decide what would would be the right boat for them. Mr. Atkin includes complete plans for seventeen of his own designs, all very doable, plus he reviews designs done by other popular designers. My boat recently succumbed to dry rot and was hauled to the dump. I am now in the process of deciding which is the "right" boat to build and Gavin Atkin's book, "Ultrasimple Boatbuilding", has renewed my interest in building my own boat again.

Hi

To be honest, I bought this book just to pay Gavin Atkin back for all the FREE boat plans and advice he's given all of us over the years. But the book does have some good advice and some nice plans even for old-timers like me!

Alles bestens

An excellent book great explanations good for DIY ending with excellent plywood oats

good