I have this strange, long held love of classic wooden boats. From the beautiful mahogany speedboats of the 1930’s to the classic racing yachts of the late 1800s, I think they’re all just wonderful.
Buehler’s Backyard Boatbuilding is a bible of sorts to the men who build classic boats in their garages and backyards, it’s engagingly written, often humorous and covers everything from buying suitable wood, to selecting epoxy, to choosing the right fastenings and everything inbetween.
It also includes plans for boats ranging from a 28-foot sailboat to a 55-foot power cruiser although it’d probably be a great idea to pick up some full scale drafting plans from Classic Wooden Boat Plans before undertaking a project.
I picked up a copy of the book a couple of months ago and have been reading it with rapt attention since, if you’d like to pick up a copy you’ll find it on Amazon here for $16.27.
Ben Branch has had his work featured on CNN, Popular Mechanics, the official Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with millions of readers around the world and hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
This Porsche writing desk was handcrafted from American walnut and fitted with 100% original Arctic Silver Porsche body panels. The desk is the work of 3 GJB 17, a boutique French company that specializes in turning vintage car parts into the kind of modern furniture that industrial designers lust after. Only 3 of these desks were…
This B-17 Wright R-1820 Cyclone radial engine table is built from a decommissioned R-1820 engine – this is the motor that powered every wartime example of the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress and Douglas SBD Dauntless bombers as well as countless other aircraft, armored vehicles, and tanks including the M4A6 Sherman and the M6 Heavy Tank….
The Super Veloce Porsche Flat Six is an espresso machine designed to evoke the look of the engine used in the Porsche 993 GT2 Cup car from the mid-1990s. It’s a fully functioning coffee and espresso maker designed for office or home use that uses mess-free coffee capsules and push button simplicity.
This four-cylinder Windhoff was one of the most advanced motorcycles of its time thanks largely to its engine, which doubles as the motorcycle frame, and features oil-cooling, an overhead camshaft, and an engine block that acts as a giant radiator. Windhoff Motorcycles Windhoff Motorcycles, officially Windhoff Motorradenbau GmbH, began producing motorcycles in 1924 but the company…
No Ghosts is a somewhat unusually named 1935 film about Chevrolet chassis design. The title of the film makes sense once you’ve seen it, but you have to watch through the first two minutes or so while the scene is set for the rest of the film. 1935 was a time when almost every motor…
This 16-cylinder stirling engine is a fully-functioning model capable of speeds of almost 2,000 rpm. It’s powered by burning butane (lighter gas), there’s a small clear cylinder at the rear of the engine that feeds gas through copper pipes up to the 8 bases of the rear “hot” cylinders. Stirling Engines Stirling engines are remarkably simple,…
