Build Your Own Sailboat[BBS]

This book is written for those who are still undecided as to which boatbuilding
method and or material they would use to build their next boat. The word
ΓΓé¼╦£buildΓΓé¼Γäó is meant to cover a boat you totally or partially build yourself or have
totally or partially professionally built by others.
My own exposure to custom boatbuilding began in the early 1960s when,
after purchasing a boatyard as an investment. I decided through choice and
circumstances, to take a more ΓΓé¼╦£hands onΓΓé¼Γäó approach to protect my
investment.The latter involved serving a five year informal apprentership (after
all I was the boss) under three great boatbuilders: George Love, a wonderful
old time boatbuilder, Barry Long, who had served a long apprentership & had
considerable experience in all aspects of his craft, and finally Len Freestone,
a pioneering fibreglass boatbuilder who had immigrated from the UK to
Australia and brought his considerable skills with him.
My next step was to enroll on the US-based Westlawn Yacht Design course.
As with many things in life, my decision to study further was caused by a trick
of fate when a so-called ΓΓé¼╦£expertΓΓé¼Γäó we hired to design a boat for our yard made
a mess of the job, so I decided some in-house expertise was needed.Thus
began my yacht design career over all those years ago.
Experience in plywood and timber boat construction using the cold moulding
technique was soon followed by the introduction of fibreglass boatbuilding
methods. During the early 1970s when the oil crisis at the time made the
supply of fibreglass resins doubtful at best,
I explored steel construction methods by visiting Holland and spending
considerable time in the local boatyards. Fortunately the Dutch are very
forthcoming when it comes to sharing their knowledge and I was able to
quickly grasp the finer points of this boatbuilding technique. Now, over 30
odd years and 35,000 boats later, I am pleased to share my boatbuilding
knowledge with you.
Bruce Roberts