Boats with an Open Mind: Seventy-Five Unconventional Designs

by Philip C. Bolger

Here are 75 novel and wonderful boats--some strange, some beautiful, all of them paragons of Philip Bolger's form-follows-function design philosophy. A planing microtrawler; a glass-galleried, beachable birdwatching boat; a fully enclosed ocean-cruising rowboat; cruising sailboats that take the ground at low tide; power, sail, and rowing boats from 6 to 95 feet--these are boats as only Bolger's unfettered imagination does them. This is the first collection of Bolger's work in almost 15 years. It is long overdue.

"Bolger is an eloquent writer and his comments run the gamut from hilarious to profound."--"The Ensign"

"Bolger brings a kind of youthful feeling to yacht design--he would rather make precedent than follow it."--"WoodenBoat"

"Bolger has a way of seducing even the lay reader into thinking about and beginning to understand boat design."--"Cruising World"

"Boat lovers who are used to designers who conceive the same boat over and over, camouflaged with a face-lifting here and there, will be amazed at Phil Bolger's diversity."--"Boatbuilder"

432 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1994

Reviews

[Charlie Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

If, like Dr. Johnson, your view of life afloat is “like being in prison with the chance of being drowned” then this is not your book. On the other hand, if you ever have spent some time trying to understand the complex behavior of a sail boat or a power boat then this is a five-star treat. In recognition of the narrow audience, I give it four stars. But make no mistake, this is good book.

The late Philip Bolger may be best known for the design of the Rose, the 115-foot full-rigged ship featured in the film “Master and Commander.” In this book, he presents designs that vary from very small (Breakdown Punt, 5’ 6”) to rather large (Sir Joseph Banks, 95’), from the sublime (Racing Schooner, 39’) to the ridiculous (Superbrick, a 20’ shanty-houseboat). In between he presents a design for a representation of a Missouri River keelboat, a representation of a Viking longship based on the Oseberg ship, and a dazzling variety of other sailing and power vessels characterized by his original thought.

Bolger received a conventional and traditional training in boat design from people like L.F. Herreshoff and Howard Chapelle. In his distinguished career he designed over 600 boats. In this book (and in his other books) he presents designs with flaws as well as those that proved to be superb. In each case he seeks to draw the lesson(s) from each design effort. His writing is lively and his insights about boat design are well-presented and deep. Have you ever wondered about the pros and cons of leeboards? See page 205 for a deep analysis. What about water ballast for sailing boats? See page 244 for some thoughts. There are many powerboat designs in this book; scattered through the narratives are many pearls of wisdom about propeller selection, power, speed, and hull form.

A good example of vintage Bolger is his discussion of the Viking longship design: “The Vikings admired weapon-skill, good luck, and self-respect. Among them were craftsmen who produced some of the greatest art in history, and their vessels were the most highly perfected wooden structures ever created.
The perfection was not due to genius. It was the culmination of a thousand years or more of minute improvements. The Vikings were very patient: The Oseberg ship, from which much of this design is derived, was the yacht of a lady who in her youth had been kidnapped and raped, and her father and brothers killed, by a neighboring warlord. She lived with the killer for 16 years, until her son was old enough to inherit the chieftainship. Then that warlord was speared by her bodyguard…The construction is laid out to have no wood rigidly attached across the grain. Where the planking bears cross-grained against the frames, it is secured with resilient rawhide lashings…this structure could shrink in the boathouse and swell in the sea without stressing itself.”

[Charles Rouse · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you care about boats, and care about design, get this book. I'm not saying you'll want one of these designs, I will say you will become acquainted with an original mind and innovative boat designer, and that can't be bad. And indeed it is not. Like them or loathe them, Bolger's boats are originals and Bolger is an original.
Mr Bolger is no longer with us and the world of boat lovers has sustained a real loss.

[Pierce · Rating 4 out of 5]

The thing that really makes this book is not so much Bolger's wonderfully inventive designs, but his insightful commentary on the design process and the purposes of boats.