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When you finish reading this book, you?ll understand just what you need to do to build a terrific boat. A boat that is lightweight, forever appealing to the eye, a boat that doesn?t leak and doesn?t require much in the way of upkeep. And, because the book is clearly written and heavily illustrated with hundreds of drawings and hundreds of photographs, this lovely boat will look as though your stock in trade is indeed that of ?boatbuilder?. How is this truly possible? The devil is in the details. Boat carpenter John Brooks is a picky guy--a trait you want in your teacher: he's a builder who abhors bits of epoxy messing-up a nice long clean planking line. He's going to show you so many techniques for ?getting it right? your head will almost spin. From his unique building jig and clamping system to his masking techniques, you?re on your way to the land of craftsmanship. Several years from now when your out for your thousandth row and you lean forward on the oars pausing to just look at the boat, we?ll bet you?ll still smile at the sight. John knows your attention to detail in the building stage will pay-off in spades for years and years to come, and that line-up of planks, the way it all fits makes the difference. Read the book, use the index to quickly find all those bits of information, and sharpen your tools because you?ve just sharpened your mind. John Brooks spends his summers teaching boatbuilding, and his winters building boats. Co-authoring the book is John's wife Ruth Ann Hill, who when not helping to build boats, is plying her writer trade. You'll benefit from her ability to clearly and concisely convert the physical building processes into words.