by Howard I. Chapelle
Hundreds of details, drawings, plans, diagrams, and illustrations, index,624 pages, 6" x 9" hardcover.

This is the classic handbook of traditional wood boatbuilding by the renowned author and former curator of the National Watercraft Collection at the Smithsonian Institute. If you plan on using wood in your boat anywhere, you should read this book. The plans and drawings alone are worth many times the price of the book. The writing is especially comprehensive and well organized. Nowhere else will you find such detail on regional and traditional wood watercraft construction methods. The text is based on time-proven boatbuilding practices. While modern methods are not covered, the book serves as a foundation for building just about any wood boat since quality construction in any material is based on history and tradition of what has succeeded in the past. A "must" book also for anyone interested in the history of boatbuilding.