Product DescriptionThere are fewer than 10,000 wooden boats in America, but the circulation of WoodenBoat magazine exceeds 180,000. What is it about these boats that has captured the popular imagination? With his ''lively blend of reportage [and] reflection'' (Los Angeles Times), Michael Ruhlman sets off for a renowned boatyard in Martha's Vineyard to follow the construction of two boats-Rebecca, a 60-foot modern pleasure schooner, and Elisa Lee, a 32-foot powerboat. Filled with exquisite details and stories of the sea, this exciting exploration of a nearly forgotten craft and the colorful personalities involved will enthrall wooden boat owners as well as craftspeople of every stripe, nature enthusiasts, and fans of compelling nonfiction.
''Wooden Boats describes in loving detail how these vessels are made. . . . Mr. Ruhlman consistently comes through with touching lyricism.'' (The Wall Street Journal)
''Ruhlman's deft blending of boatbuilding description and seagoing lore will satisfy even the fussiest of wooden-boat enthusiasts.'' (WoodenBoat magazine)
What Others Say
Homage to G&B and Wooden Boats
Michael Ruhlman's WOODEN BOATS is not only a celebration of wooden boats and wooden boatbuilding but is an exposition on the very idea of wooden boats. Ruhlman expends considerable effort describing the construction of two boats and how the wood was obtained to build them; he also borrows David Pye's idea of "the workmanship of risk" (from THE NATURE AND ART OF WORKSMANSHIP) to elevate the building of a wooden boat to the level of an art form, which may be contrasted with the mass-produced nature of the fiberglass boat.
Ruhlman's book focuses on the G&B Boatyard on Martha's Vineyard. The principle subjects of his book are Ross Gannon and Nat Benjamin, master builders of wooden boats and the proprietors of G&B. Ruhlman ... Read More
gets ya motivated to build your own.
im nearly done with Wooden Boats: In Pursuit of the Perfect Craft at an American Boatyard,and ill tell ya,,what a book it is.
its a enthralling story about a shipyard and the boats they build. it tells about the boat shop,and nearly what it might feel like being/working in one. i for one would love to have a job in one,,money or no.(being disabled,,it aint gonna happen)
the boats they build are amazing,and the writer describes them in a way that i can imagine what it will look like even before i check out the pictures.
the best part of Wooden Boats: In Pursuit of the Perfect Craft at an American Boatyard,,is its a true story.
if there is a boat lover in your life,,or you happen to enjoy all things boat,,Wooden Boats: In Pursuit of the Perfect Craft at an American Boatyard will not disapoint.
buy it and enjoy,
roystr
Wooden Boats
The book Wooden Boats is a non-fiction story set in Martha's Vineyard and about two shipwrights and their business. Ross Gannon and Nat Benjamin strive to find the perfect design for a ship and try the boat built as smoothly and traditionally as possible. Michael Ruhlman writes, "They were still being made here the old-fashioned way- by craftsmen in small yards." Regarding the Gannon & Benjamin Marine Railway. Jon Wilson is quoted in the book commenting that Nat Benjamin is, " one of the best designers and purest builders in the country." Wilson also says, " Gannon and Benjamin are real sailors: they know firsthand the kinds of pressures the sea puts on a boat and build their boats according to that." It is always a challenge because ninety ... Read More
A finely crafted book
"Wooden Boats" reminded me of similar extended narratives by Tracy Kidder (think of "House" or "Soul of a New Machine"). Quite well done, with a strong sense of a story being told.
Ruhlman comes to the topic with no experience in boat construction, or even boating for that matter, but gets to the heart of why some people become obsessed with these projects. (This is a book about wooden boats, but this kind of obsession is certainly not limited to nautical pastimes. Read Rebuilding the Indian for a similar story involving two wheels instead of a hull.)
Although the characters in Wooden Boats: In Pursuit of the Perfect Craft at an American Boatyard spend an awful lot of time denigrating "plastic" boats, their enthusiasm for boat construction and traditional methods is hard to resist. ... Read More
Wooden Boats
As a wooden boat enthusiast and long time woodworker, I read Michael Ruhlman's book with enthusiasm. I found it to be a wonderful piece of work that portrays woodworking, and boat building in particular, as dying arts that are not art for arts sake, but an art with an end result in mind. The boatyard in question is the Gannon & Benjamin Marine Railway of Martha's Vineyard. This yard has been doing excellent work for quite some time and has aided in the renaissance of wooden boats that has largely been inspired by WoodenBoat magazine. Mr. Ruhlman does an excellent job of portraying the daily life of a boatyard, as well as a thorough history of G&B. The main thrust of the book however, is the now unconvential perspective that G&B has on ... Read More
