Books and Magazines
Lodestar Books do a range of new prints of mostly old titles, many written when language was nicer and sailing was simpler. There are many I have yet to read, but I can commend several.
- Sea-Country -- Tony Smith (contemporary)
- The Lugworm Chronicles -- Ken Duxbury (originally 1973 to 1976)
- Under The Cabin Lamp -- H Alker Tripp (originally 1950)
- Swin, Swale and Swatchway -- H. Lewis Jones (originally 1892)
- Sea-Boats, Oars and Sails -- Connor O'Brian (Originally 1941)
- Catalan Castaway -- A sail-and-oar adventure in our own boat, one having the inevitable beauty of a form which accurately meets function – this is the dream of many of us. But Ben Crawshaw shows us that the dream is nearer to our grasp than we may think.
The Sharpie Book these archetypal American boats are really practical, simple and economic. Also available from Amazon and others. They can look very pretty, too!
Boats and Designers
Jordan Boats -- precut ply parts and moulds for many and varied designs. (Selway Fisher, iain Oughterd, Francois Vivier, Dudley Dix, Andrew Wolsetenholm. and 'historic replicas'.) Kits include only sheet materials, not timber, glue, fixtures and so on. If they don't have the kit you want, often they can set up for you, for just an estimated 50% deposit. I used their pre-cut ply kits to build my own Iain Oughtred designed Puffin tender "Ακις (Akis)"
Classic Marine boat plans from several designers. (Hmm, their suggested hardware kits tend to be bronze, so not cheap. There is lower cost hardware available if you're not looking for a 'posh classic'.)
In The Boatshed -- Gavin Atkin's sailing blog has links to some really good, free, designs and How-Tos.
Duckworks Boat Builder's Supply, and their sister site Duckworks Magazine - Blog
WoodenBoat Magazine A huge catalogue from all sorts of designers and for all sorts of uses.
Selway Fisher Design. A UK designer with a nice eye and many relatively easily built designs.
Dudley Dix --
Butler Projects Plans for amateur and first-time builders.
Iain Oughtred Boats -- Australian site that sells Iain's designs, kits and so on. I'm not sure if they actually represent Iain, whom I think still lives in Scotland. Useful photos at the least.
Conrad Natzio --boats tend to favour practical and pragmatic over beauty, but often that's a better choice. This blog post is worth a read: Affordable Boating Around The World.
Phil Bolger (on Wikipedia) -- Was in a class of his own. Hundreds of designs, some really very pretty, some downright ugly, all highly practical in some way. There really is something for everyone. His designs are everywhere, but you have to seek them out. Have a look here: Bolger Boats on the Web for some ideas, but sadly a lot of broken links. There's a bibliography on the Wikipedia page
H H Payson Instant Boats -- Including some of the Phil Bolger plans.
Storer Boat Plans in wood and plywood. And their page on rigging lug sails well
John Welsford boat designs. A range of easy self-build designs that are sweet and capable.
John Owles' designs.
Sailing Clubs.
I can't possibly cover every option here ... there are just too many options, so I'll include a few highlights and helpers. A Web search will find very many. Here are some I know and like.
The Royal Yachting Association (RYA) in a UK organisation supporting all things boat and yacht: "The RYA's Purpose is to Promote and Protect Safe, Successful and Rewarding British Boating."
RYA -- Push The Boat Out (taster days)
Sea Change Sailing Trust "Making a real impact on the lives of disabled, disadvantaged and socially excluded young people"
Hunter's Yard (Norfolk Broads)
Don't forget other types of boating
Windsurfing, Kite Surfing, narrow-boats, Dutch Barges.