Compiled by Stuart Wier; 1991 to 2001.
Here is some information for home boat builders about designs, plans, and building methods for larger boats, most over 25 feet long, boats useful for extended cruising. Note that practically every issue of WoodenBoat magazine has an article of some kind related to building or repair of larger boats. If you are going to restore, outfit, or build a big boat, past issues of WoodenBoat may prove very beneficial to you. Sail magazine also has numerous good articles on all matters of outfitting, improvements, and repairs.
"THE GREAT AMERICAN BOAT DESIGN COLLECTION"
The catalog and web site describe dozens of plans they sell for boats
8 to 62 feet:, including coastal cruisers (power), Wittholz catboats 29',
tugs and motor yachts, cruising sailboats 20' to
48' (sloops, cutters, ketches),
sailboats by Sam Devlin 15' to 23', multihulls, sharpies,
Weston Farmer's "Tahitiana", Wittholz's crusing sailboats
Sail Ho (32') and Departure (35'),
and a 62' schooner. And books, with advice which to use.
$7.00 catalog
Ken Hankinson Associates
P.O. Box 272
Hayden Lake, Idaho 83835
(208) 772-5547
http://www.boatdesigns.com/
George Buehler
"rugged offshore cruising boats of wood and steel" for sail or power
$10.00 for his stock plans catalog of some cruisers, most over
28 feet, and a few smaller craft and work boats.
Buehler is also author of the book "Buehler's Backyard Boatbuilding"
describing his fairly simple and inexpensive boatbuilding method. He
has a very practical and no-nonsense approach to design and building,
which is especially suitable for those on a limited budget.
George Buehler Yacht Design
Box 966, Freeland WA 98249
(360) 331-5866
http://www.georgebuehler.com/
Glen-L Marine
Over 240 plans for homebuilders. oar, paddle, sail, or power; 7 to 55 feet.
The plans are regarded by some as among the best in accuracy and detail
of those from the large commercial plans dealers.
The catalog is over 200 pages of design descriptions, $10.00;
related books and material for sale, including the book "Boat building with
Plywood" which is a good description of plywood on frame.
The web site has hundreds of pages.
9152 Rosecrans Avenue
Bellflower CA 90707
562-630-6258
http://www.glen-l.com
Bruce Roberts
Famous for "Spray" replica designs. Sail and power designs.
100 sail and power boats for steel, fiberglass, cflex, airex,
aluminum, wood; boat building books. boat kits.
"Bruce Roberts Designs" book, $5
Bruce Roberts
P.O. Box 1086
Severna Park, Maryland, 21146
410-349-2743
www.bruce-roberts.com
Benford Design Group
The Benford Design Group specializes in liveaboard designs.
Four books of study plans:
Small Ships. study plans tugs freighters ferries cruisers
304 pp.
Pocket cruisers & Tabloid Yachts. 96 pp.
complete plans for several small crusing boats from 14' to 25'
Cruising designs. 96 pp. sail and power
Canoe yawls, catboats, and Friendship sloops. 17' to 25'
Voyaging on a small income
also has a catalog of over 40 titles of boat building books
P.O. Box 447
605 Talbot Street
St. Michaels, Maryland 21663
(410) 745-3235
www.tillerbooks.com/boatdesigns.htm
Charles W. Wittholz
"The Catboat Design Booklet" 3rd. ed., boats 11 to 29 feet, $4.50.
"Motor Yachts" 29 boats, $6.50
100 Williamsburg Dr.
Silver Springs, Md. 20901
The Shellback's Library
Low cost reprint booklets of older designs reprinted from magazines and books -
over 300 designs, for $4.95 each. Mostly wood or plywood. Quite a
resource and a bargain. "Sea Bird" is one well known design.
http://www.anyboat.com/books/booklets.htm
These are intended to be used to select plans to buy, not to build from.
"Fifty Wooden Boats." from the WoodenBoat Store. 1984.
Two page descriptions of boat plans you can buy from WoodenBoat,
including drawings.
Very short descriptions of the same boats appear in the WoodenBoat Store
catalog, which also shows which book the study plan appears in.
selected designs in this book:
several crusing sail craft in range 20 to 41 feet; by John Alden and others
a small Friendship sloop
The Sea Bird Yawl 25', a famous small cruiser; the same designed for plywood
the sharpie "Egret"
The 35' "Departure" cutter by Wittholz; a very fine crusier for homebuilding
2 or 3 Concordia sloops
and an essay: "Understanding a boat plan" by Weston Farmer
This book and its plans can be ordered from
The WoodenBoat Store
P. O. Box 78
Brooklin, Maine 04616
1 - 800 - 273 - 7447
http://www.woodenboat.com/
"Thirty Wooden Boats: A Second Catalog." 1988. from the WoodenBoat Store.
selected designs in this book:
24'8" x 8'1" skipjack
and four pages of "suggested readings" about boat building
This book and its plans can be ordered from
The WoodenBoat Store
P. O. Box 78
Brooklin, Maine 04616
1 - 800 - 273 - 7447
http://www.woodenboat.com/
"Forty Wooden Boats." 1995. from the WoodenBoat Store.
several sail cruisers over 18'
This book and its plans can be ordered from
The WoodenBoat Store
P. O. Box 78
Brooklin, Maine 04616
1 - 800 - 273 - 7447
http://www.woodenboat.com/
"The Complete Guide to Boat Kits and Plans"
a book published annually by Boatbuilder magazine
Lists some 450 boat plans or kits from 7 to 70 feet
for oars, paddles, sail, or power; and a few technical how-to articles.
Also addresses for sources, so you can
get in touch with the designers and find even more plans.
Comes free with a $20 subsription to "Boatbuilder."
http://www.boatbuildermagazine.com/
"Pocket Cruisers for the Backyard Builder:
30 Small Sailboats you can build for less than $12,000".
Dave Gerr, 1991, 160 pages, 140 illus.
with addresses to order complete plans. This is much more than a description
of some boats whose plans are for sale. It is full of little essays
on boat building and design, with lots of wisdom. Boat lengths are 15 to
29 feet. Materials of almost all kinds, and several multihulls. All have
at least two berths, if nothing else in the way of accomodations.
If you are serious about a sail cruiser anywhere near this size range, you
ought to read this book.
"53 Boats You Can Build" by Richard Henderson.
19 to 47 feet long;
129 pages. 1985. Study plans; all by famous designers:
Atkins, Benford(1);
Bolger, Brewer, SS Crocker, Wm. Garden, Gillmer, Hanna, LF Herreshoff,
etc. Finding actual plans for some of these may be difficult.
Best Boats to Build or Buy, by Ferenc Mate. W. W. Norton, 1982. Some twenty very good cruising designs reviewed by one of the very best writers on boats. Mostly fiberglass hulls. Good Boats (1977) More Good Boats (1979) Still More Good Boats (1981) The Fourth Book of Good Boats (1984) Thirty Classic Boat Designs: The Best of the Good Boats (1992) all by Roger Taylor, the other top writer reviewing boat designs. A library of great designs of all types and sizes (except speedboats). Many of these are custom designs in wood, from skiffs to square-riggers. A great deal of good design is revealed by these vessels. Reading these books is an educationin sound boat design, and a pleasure. Choice Yacht Designs, by Richard Henderson, Int'l Marine, 1979 Similar to Taylor's books except has production-run fiberglass designs. Sailing Designs, by Robert Perry. 4 volumes of this title lots of detailed boat design reviews, mostly new boats from 1980s and 90s The Proper Yacht, by Arthur Beiser, 2nd edition, Int'l Marine, 1978. Up to date designs at time of publication. A few are for home builders, notably Wittholz's 34 foot "Departure."
Yacht and Small Craft Design: from Principles to Practice, Gordon Trower, 174 pages, 196 illus. 1994. "all the essential computations", "written with warmth and wit" "an introductory book for anyone with an interest in the subject" Preliminary Design of Boats and Ships. Cyrus Hamlin, 1992, 294 pages. To prepare a conceptual design for a naval architect to finish. Cruising Sailboat Kinetics, Danny Greene, Seven Seas Press, 1984. Introductory material plus reviews of 59 designs. Designed to Cruise, Roger Marshall, 286 pages. Discusses pros and cons of design features in the crusing yacht. "Highly recommended for anyone with less than a decade in a design office."
Buehler's Backyard Boatbuilding, by George Buehler. Sturdy hard-chine sail or power designs for the home builder for cruising. These building methods are about as simple as can be for large hulls. Order from George Buehler Yacht Design Box 966, Freeland WA 98249 (360) 331-5866 http://www.georgebuehler.com/ Devlin's Boat Building, by Sam Devlin, Intnl Marine 1995, 256 p. "how to make 7 to 40 foot boats from sheet plywood, wire stitches, and epoxy glue." A excellent book on the stitch and glue technique. Devlin uses plywood sheathed or encapsulated in fiberglass cloth and epoxy. Precisely-cut pieces of plywood bonded together at the edges naturally form the hull shape. No molds or frames or even keel or stem in some cases, but careful work is needed. The result is a boat built to last 20 years, and strong enough for most conditions. Good advice on tools, materials, painting, model making, and others applies to many kinds of boats. The New Cold-Molded Boatbuilding: from Lofting to Launching. by Reuel Parker, 288 pages. Cold-molding combines wood strips with epoxy resin to make a tough durable hull of almost any shape you want. "down-to-earth... an excelllent book" "for larger boats, a fast method" The Gougeon Brothers on Boat Construction, 4th ed., 328 pages, 332 illus. "an excellent reference book. It's filled with construction detail drawings, photos, strengths of materials, lofting, types of construction etc. It's worth the effort to find it." For all uses of epoxy, including cold-molding. Gougeon Brothers Inc. http://www.cris.com/~gougeon/ Steel Boatbuilding, T. E. Colvin, 1985; 1994, 480 pages said to be the "definitive reference" or "ultimate book" on building in steel from Tiller Publishing, http://www.tillerbooks.com/ See also numerous books from http://www.boatdesigns.com/ , http://www.glen-l.com, and http://www.woodenboat.com.
Even if you don't build a plank on frame hull the related information in these books can be very useful. Such as for building interiors or hatch covers etc. These are all regarded as classics.
Boatbuilding, Howard Chapelle, 624 pages, 250 illus. Traditional plank-on-frame wood construction in detail. In print for 60 years. How to Build a Wooden Boat, David C. "Bud" McIntosh, 264 pages, 1985. "Every step in plank-on-frame construction in the traditional and time-tested manner." Famous for clarity and fine illustrations. Details of Classic Boat Construction - The Hull. Larry Pardey. WW Norton 518 p. "...*the* book on traditional wooden yacht construction to be published in over five decades." [says "The Boatman," Sept 1996] Only carvel construction, and is largely about the 30-foot Lyle Hess cutter "Taliesin." "lessons and tricks for even the most experienced" caulking, frame bevels, cast bronze floors and knees, scantling rules, and on and on. Boatbuilding Manual, 4th edition, Robert Steward, 372 pages, 260 illus. 1993 Emphasis on wood but includes all other standard methods. Regarded as one of the best boatbuilding guides; a great text and reference. Also recommends: fasteners, hardware, sources of supply guide, recommends products and services, reading list. In print since 1950! New edition is up to date. "if you are a boatbuilder, you should have a copy" "the core of any serious boat-building library" "The best building manual for wooden boats there is - clear concise but inclusive, and written so the inexperienced boatbuilder can use it" - John Gardner
From a Bare Hull, by Ferenc Mate'. Revised edition. Albatross Publishing, 1983 ... 2000. How to finish the complete boat starting with a purchased bare hull. "The most complete book on the subject." The Finely Fitted Yacht. by Ferenc Mate'. 420 illustrations. Albatross Publishing House, 1979; W W Norton 1981; 1994. Useful, practical guide for outfitting and improving both the interior and exterior of any yacht, with detailed illustrated instructions for over 200 indoor and outdoor projects, including everything from the construction of dishracks and fireplaces to awnings and skylights. Shipshape: the Art of Sailboat Maintenance: the Complete, Step-By-Step Manual. by Ferenc Mate. Albatross Publishing House, 1985, 416pp. W W Norton 1996. Don Casey: several books: This Old Boat, and This Old Boat Powerboat Edition 100 Fast & Easy Boat Improvements Inspecting the Aging Sailboat Sailboat Hull & Deck Repair Sailboat Refinishing Canvas Work and Sail Repair Sailboat Electrics Simplified Boatowner's Mechanical & Electrical Manual: How to Maintain, Repair, and Improve Your Boat's Essential Systems by Nigel Calder, 1995. Marine Diesel Engines : Maintenance, Troubleshooting, and Repair by Nigel Calder, 1991. The Propeller Handbook, David Gerr. Adlard Coles London 1997.
The Troller Yacht Book A Powerboater's Guide to Crossing the Ocean without Getting Wet or Going Broke. by George Buehler. George Buehler Yacht Design, Box 966, Freeland WA 98249 (360) 331-5866 http://www.georgebuehler.com/ The Ocean Sailing Yacht. by Donald M. Street, Jr. W. W. Norton, 1973, 702 pg. Voyaging Under Sail, by Eric Hiscock. Oxford, 2nd edition, 1970. Sensible Cruising: The Thoreau Approach. Don Casey. 1990. The Compleat Cruiser, by L. F. Herreshoff. Nigel Calder's Cruising Handbook: A Compendium for Coastal and Offshore Sailors. by Nigel Calder, 2001.
Part of the old Great Encouragement to Boatwights web site