Building Classic Small Craft

"Gardner's work has engaged and inspired more individuals connected with traditional small craft than will ever be counted."--WoodenBoat "Ought to be considered the Bible on the subject."--Cruising World As Associate Curator of Small Craft at Mystic Seaport Museum from 1969 to 1995, John Gardner sought out the best examples of classic wooden boats and then measured them, drew them, and researched their histories. Building Classic Small Craft offers his meticulous plans and clear and complete instructions for building 47 beautiful, functional wooden boats for oar, motor, and sail, including dories, peapods, Sea Bright skiffs, wherries, Rangeley boats, and many others--a lifetime's worth of admirable projects that any amateur builder can tackle successfully. John Gardner was the acknowledged "dean of small craft," and Building Classic Small Craft is an enduring expression of his philosophy, his knowledge, and his work. All the information you need to build these boats is here; no other plans are necessary. "Worth your attention whether you seriously fancy to build boats yourself or just enjoy reading about them."--Sailing "Another must for the boatbuilder's library from John Gardner, the authority on traditional small craft in America."--Down East "Required reading for anyone who thinks of building a small boat."--National Fisherman

"John Gardner's work has engaged and inspired more individuals connected with traditional small craft than will ever be counted." -WoodenBoat magazine; "Deserves an honored place on the library shelf." -National Fisherman; "Poses clear and impassioned means to go from the armchair to the open water via your own boatshop." -Sea History

The late John Gardner was for many years the Associate Curator of Small Craft at Mystic Seaport Museum and Technical Editor for National Fisherman magazine, which began publishing his boatbuilding articles in 1951. A one-time school teacher, he received his bachelor's and master's degrees from Columbia University before turning to boatbuilding in 1940. As that most rare of people, a superb craftsman who could also write well, he became the single most influential proponent of the art of wooden boatbuilding, and is credited with the renaissance of the craft in the 1970's.

"Gardner's work has engaged and inspired more individuals connected with traditional small craft than will ever be counted."-- WoodenBoat "Ought to be considered the Bible on the subject."-- Cruising World As Associate Curator of Small Craft at Mystic Seaport Museum from 1969 to 1995, John Gardner sought out the best examples of classic wooden boats and then measured them, drew them, and researched their histories. Building Classic Small Craft offers his meticulous plans and clear and complete instructions for building 47 beautiful, functional wooden boats for oar, motor, and sail, including dories, peapods, Sea Bright skiffs, wherries, Rangeley boats, and many others--a lifetime's worth of admirable projects that any amateur builder can tackle successfully. John Gardner was the acknowledged "dean of small craft," and Building Classic Small Craft is an enduring expression of his philosophy, his knowledge, and his work. All the information you need to build these boats is here; no other plans are necessary. "Worth your attention whether you seriously fancy to build boats yourself or just enjoy reading about them."-- Sailing "Another must for the boatbuilder's library from John Gardner, the authority on traditional small craft in America."-- Down East "Required reading for anyone who thinks of building a small boat."-- National Fisherman

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