Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)"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 this book spend an awful lot of time denigrating "plastic" boats, their enthusiasm for boat construction and traditional methods is hard to resist. What these throwback builders are creating are "plank on frame" craft, vessels sculpted out of traditional materials with every part unique and handmade, boats that will (according to their proponents and backed up by history) far outlive their builders.
As a sailor I found this book inspiring. Maybe someday.
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