My love of sailing guided me into building detailed ship models, and much of what I’ve learned along the way came by trial and error. My learning curve would have been much less steep if Fundamentals of Model Boat Building had been available.
John Into and Nancy Price have produced a very detailed, step-by-step guide that takes the reader from “Learning to Think Like a Model Maker” to the final product. The book centers on making a model of the Annie Buck, a Chesapeake Bay Deadrise workboat. Along the way, they discuss the research and planning that is required to produce an accurate model. They introduce the materials, methods, and techniques used to produce the model form and its intricate details. They describe the choices available for finishing the model, and they end the book with a nice photo gallery showing several examples of completed models. I looked at this book from the perspective of a fellow model boat builder and found the explanations and terminology easy to follow. With that in mind, I asked my husband, who is a sailor but not a model builder, to look it over and he told me it’s a fascinating read.
John and Nancy’s skill and their love of their art both come through in this book. Others who build models or might be interested in doing so would do well to add Fundamentals of Model Boat Building to their reference library.
