When I started this project I would be the first to admit that I knew absolutely nothing about how to build a wooden boat. I had no concept of how different hull styles would behave in the water or even how the planks could be made watertight. It was obvious that a good book and a fine set of plans were in order.
I ended up buying two books: Boatbuilding Manual by Robert M. Steward and The Boatbuilder's Apprentice by Greg Rossel, both purchased from Lee Valley for about $35.00 a piece. Amongst other things, I learned that boatbuilders speak their own unique dialect unrelated to the woodworking trade as I know it thus far. To confuse things further it seems that styles and terminology and indeed even construction vary greatly dependant on the location, for example the East Coast of America vs the North West Coast. The style of boat I decided to build is called a Wherry, their history in America involves use in the Gulf of Maine as fishing boats in the Atlantic Salmon fishery. It should be stable, lightweight, and efficient to row. I purchased a full set of plans including a full size lofting (1:1 scale drawing) from Walter Simmons at Duck Trap Woodworking.
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