Wooden Boats for Blue Water Sailors

Fifty years ago, when fiberglass won the sailboat wars, the several thousand-year old industry of wooden boat-building died. With it died the sailor's intimacy with his craft. Sailing changed. However, from the metaphorical ashes of that death, little noticed by the public, a phoenix sprang, that is growing today into a new wood-boat building industry. Epoxy glue, begat by the same chemical industry that created fiberglass, radically changed the possibilities of wood construction. While the longevity and cheapness of fiberglass won the war against traditional wood construction, epoxy bonding is allowing wood, a superior material, to express its superiority once again.

 

But to actualize wood's inherent superiority, new structures needed to be invented to take advantage of the epoxy-bonding. Alfie Sanford is a pioneer in the effort. Wooden Boats for Blue water Sailors tells his story of applying the lessons of six decades of oceanic and coastal sailing to the development of new structures for epoxy-bonded wood boats. He gives a history of oceanic yachting, an analysis of the requirements of oceanic yachts, and study of the engineering principals involved in boat construction. Following this introduction, he presents a finely illustrated treatise how to build the beautiful, seaworthy, sea-kindly boat that will, once again, make a happy ship for the sailor.