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Rating:  -
First written as a series of articles for the Wooden Boat magazine, this is a standard textbook for those who want to embark on the grand pastime of wooden boatbuilding. "Boatbuilding" by Howard Chapelle is, of course, the all time classic in this arena, but the pre-WWII tome does not have modern powertools in mind and the maritime language is a cypher to the modern reader. McIntosh, by comparison, uses easily understood expressions and jargon commonly found in any maritime dictionary. But if you are really about to build a boat, DO NOT let any one book be your guide. Buy as extensive a collection of books as you can get your hands on. Books are cheap, and reading them much less of a labor, than the money you will poor into your dream boat in the garage, and the back-breaking man-hours you will put in.
Rating:  -
This book may well be the best book around for understanding wooden boatbuilding. However, there several caveats to this statement:
1) It is an enormously technical book. This is not light reading. The first chapter is the best explanation I have ever read of the lofting process. He makes it so very understandable and easy for the novice. However the rest of the book is dry and technical.
2) The dry and technical I speak of is worth the read for an understanding of boat construction. However, it uses McIntosh's "Merrywing" boat as a model. Every aspect of the book relates a detailed description of methods and tools he used on that particular boat, though he does generalize a bit in places. This requires the reader to make some level of abstraction to apply the information--well worth the effort, in my opinion.
3) "Merrywing" is a boat that McIntosh designed and built with great difficulty. It was not a remarkable boat, except that its construction was so difficult, that in describing the same to readers, he feels that he covers any conceivable problem or issue a wooden boatbuilder is likely to encounter.
4) The picture on the cover is *NOT* "Merrywing." This is an editorial mistake, according to McIntosh's son.
5) You will fall in love with "Merrywing" while reading the book. BUT IT IS AN ILLUSION. The plans are not available, and McIntosh's son will not release or sell them to the public. "Merrywing" is a teaching vessel in many ways. And that is all that it is.
BOTTOM LINE: This should not be your first or your only book on wooden boatbuilding. However, once you are sure you will build in wood, or are comfortable doing so, it is an informative read, and a tremendous reference.
Rating:  -
I am fairly new to the language of wooden boat building and found the book a difficult read. The book would benefit greatly from a well illustrated glossary. The illustrations redeem the more obscure text but not enough to make it a fully understandable read
Rating: -
Since I am fairly new to the language of wooden boat building I found the terms in this book very hard to follow even with my sailing terms dictionary. The book would benefit greatly by a well illustrated glossary of terms. The illustration do make up for the rather obscure language but not enough to make it a fully understandable read.
Rating: -
Since I am fairly new to the language of wooden boat building I found the terms in this book very hard to follow even with my sailing terms dictionary. The book would benefit greatly by a well illustrated glossary of terms. The illustration do make up for the rather obscure language but not enough to make it a fully understandable read.
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