 |  
Rating:  -
I have to agree with the reviewers that find Bolger refreshing and candid as well as knowledgeable to a fault. This book is eminently readable and rereadable. There is no doubt that there are many thought provoking ideas here. There are some handsome boats here as well but frankly many are aesthetic eyesores. I have an interest in a build-it-yourself cruising sailboat in the 25-35' range and the most attractive boats here from a practical usable/buildable sense are really pretty hard to look at. On one hand Bolger complains about concessions to style suggesting that to make them you admit that you are ashamed of the boat - on another page he suggests painting a mural on the slab side of one of the larger sharpies - a concession to their huge billboard bland shape. This book is practically an icon of good sense/ideas but as a guide to a boat building/aquisition it leaves one a bit frustrated. As for the plans they are of course hard to read - like every designer the author is entitled to sell his designs (not that that is the point of the book). A failing is that the book does not give any guidance to where plans could be purchased. Even it they don't please this readers eye the bigger sharpies have to be considered!
Rating:  -
OK, I admit it, I am enthralled with the genius of this boat designer, Phil Bolger. He has designed more boats than any person alive, 750+. This book reveals his thought process giving a window into his remarkably creative mind.
I especially enjoy how he chooses to draw upon the vast tradition and the history of boats designed throughout history, and then updates and synthesizes these boat designs to reflect modern materials and his new ideas. Bolger reveals that in many cases; the modern school of boat design is a 'The King has No Clothes' proposition. Bolger repeatedly questions the conventional wisdom, much in a similar way to how Buckminster Fuller questioned 20th Century architectural and industrial design ideas.
I simply can't wait for the next book by Phil Bolger! In the mean time I will re-read this one, and read his frequent articles in the magazine _Messing About In Boats_.
Rating: -
Open mind - you bet. A broad range of boats here. I wanted to build a light displacement, shallow draft, plus open ocean cruiser, 6 out of eight builders said it can't be done. Bolger gives you three designes from 30 to 90 feet, timber or steel plus a lot more smaller boats. I took the plans, which I enlarger on a photocopier from A5 book page, to A3, to the Tasmanian Wooden Boat festival in Tasmania Australia and had a wonderful response fron two 70+ year old ship wrights who thought the designs were very usefull, practical and seaworthy. I guess the best review you could get is a "build it" from a veteran ship wright who understands everone wants something unique or has a special need in their design. This book will give you ideas and solutions, if not exact plans, to overcome many unique problems you may have. I have a shallow bay to tie up in but I wanted to let the boat sit on the beach at low tide and I also have a thirty foot bridge between me and the sea and I want to sail to New Zealand, a tough design brief. I got all the answeres from Boats with an open mind. Only problem with this book is, "is your mind open enough?" If not, go buy a white plastic boat and miss the charm of a personal, warm, wonderful boat that meets your every requirement.
Rating:  -
While the book contains meaninful text, the drawings are nearly useless unless you want to go blind. They are virtually illegible due to there font type and size. Unless you want to use to a magnifying glass or produce enlarged photocopies, save your money.
Rating: -
Congratulations! You have arrived! If you dream practical dreams--if you dream of building a boat--and if you haven't discovered Bolger, prepare yourself, for you are about to be set free! Bolger THINKS. He thinks of what you need in your boat, and he designs them in. The details are all there. He considers engines, ground tackle, comforts. He considers place. Where is the boat going to be used. Where will it be stored. Will it need to fit under low bridges. He considers limitations, specifically those of the home builder. No fancy custom bronze castings here; his fittings you can build from stock items, and they work. Bolger is one of a kind. He is the Master. His boats can be beautiful (Nord Koster) practical (Diablo) extraordinary (Steel Singlehander) and all of the above (Sainte Valery). This book is aptly titled; it WILL open your mind. Welcome fellow boat dreamer and builder, to the world of Phil Bolger & Friends. You're gonna like it here.....
| | 
Boat Design.Net
Design Award
Top Rated Sites
Most Popular Sites
What's New
 Boat
Plans
Books
Designers
Boatbuilders
Materials
Powerboats
Catamarans
Propulsion
Sailboats
Multihulls
Software
Resources
Random
Site
My Links
Gallery
Forums
Search
|
