American Small Sailing Craft: Their Design, Development and Construction

by Howard Irving Chapelle

From the author of Yacht Designing and Planning and Boatbuilding : the definitive history and survey of the great classic American small sailing craft. American Small Sailing Craft (originally published 1951) is considered the classic among small-boat builders and historians. In it Chapelle has documented many fast-vanishing working boats, making this the authoritative history of a passing maritime fleet. Illustrated throughout

Genres: American History, History, Maritime

363 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 1951

Reviews

[Will · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extremely informative. Shockingly so. I was expecting a boring book. How could a book about American Small Sailing Craft be gripping? I found myself saying, out loud, « really??? » and « what does that mean? ». H. I. Chapelle seriously knew his stuff and he recorded it for us for perpetuity. I had picked it up simply as perhaps a guide as to how I could build a simple Bluejacket’s Shipcrafter’s beginner’s kit skiff. But he threw me right over the deep end with American history from the 1840s to 1920s about the nature of small fishing and racing craft before the motor.
Chapelle has made my mind live another day. I will hunt down every book he wrote. And, by the way, his writing style is quite good. It might be dated, but I can only wish I could write that well.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

A classic, well illustrated.

[Kim Zinkowski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good companion to the author's Boatbuilding

[Jaap]

A fine example of how printing-on-demand makes life even more enjoyable. :) What a great book to wonder off mentally, while at the same time learn about the history of small sailing craft, both in the US and the countries the archetypes originated from.

[Bramble · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dreaming about how boats were? Dreaming about how boats ought to be? Dream on, with this volume as nourishment.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very detailed book. Chapelle includes so much detail that it can be tedious to read. But gives great insights into the development of small sailing craft in America.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very detailed, excellent research, dry style, small illustrations.