The Spray: Building and Sailing a Replica of Joshua Slocum's Famous Vessel

by R.D. Culler

"I describe what it was like to build and use my copy of Slocum's craft. I often hear from builders, the would-be builders, and those who are still just thinking about becoming builders. What I put down here is much of what I tell them. I hope it will be of interest and help to those about to build and sail a SPRAY, or more likely, those who will alwlays just dream of doing it. Despite the changes wrought by the 48 years since I built my SPRAY, I would still consider building my boat of wood, iron, and canvas, using the methods always used to build wooden boats."

132 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1978

Reviews

[KennyO · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read Sailing Alone Around the World by Joshua Slocum in the 1970s when I was learning to sail. My sailing lessons and (scant) experience gave me appreciation for what Slocum undertook. He did a wonderful job of telling his own story and it holds up well, even a century-plus down the road.

R.D. Culler in 1978 published this book on his building and sailing a replica of Slocum’s Spray. He has said that the book serves as a collection of the information and advice he offers those who ask him for guidance. There’s a lot of good information on boat building in here but the writing left me a little unenlightened with respect to what one would want to know in the course of building a boat specifically similar to Spray.

It’s a short (132 pp) book so even if you are less than enthralled by it, I assure you that, given an interest in wooden boats, it’s not going to be a waste of your time.