Iain Oughtred: A Life in Wooden Boats

This book is a biography of Iain and I couldn't put it down. I have just finished building my first wooden boat- a Wee Rob. Maybe I have a particular affinity formed by the long hours in the shed at night placing my trust in Iain's plans. For me this book was a great way to cap off my project. I found the small study plans useful to understand Iain's other boat designs, and also his naming system.I have heard said of this book " it's not just the ply that's tortured" and that, I'm afraid is the essence of Iain.

A magnificent book for anyone who appreciates Iain Oughtred's designs, this book provides one with great insight to the man, his life's work and the boats he has created. Highly recommended

My husband has purchased plans to build one of Mr. Oughtred's boats. This book added personality to the endeavor and a bit of magic.

If you like rowing, or sailing, or messing about in (or just plain dreaming about) small open boats you will enjoy this book. Iain has done all of the above, probably at the same time, and has over the course of his life designed some of the most appealing small boats to grace the seas. Most are designed to be built by amateur boatbuilders, and the detail of his designs reflect that. You'll like this book.

This is a biography of one of the most influential boat designers in Britain today. Iain Oughtred's designs have won him world renown as a designer that produces beautiful boats with traditional roots that may be made by amateurs using modern techniques. It outlines his early life in Australia, his move to England, his experiences in the USA, finding his spiritual roots in Scotland, and, despite being one of the most successful designers of modern times, living a somewhat lonely life in what almost amounts to apparent squalor and poverty. It is an interesting life, but the biographer teases us into wanting a little more. Oughtred appears to be a private character and through the narrative there is the feeling that there is more to know, although some of the questions are resolved in the final epilogue.The book contains two extensive appendices.The first is a simple list of Oughtred's designs: name, length, type of craft, and a few notes eg. whether built and who commissioned it.Appendix 2 is an selection of his designs with examples of plans. It is organised into prams (2); canoes, rowing and riverboats (5); traditional dinghies (4); sailing dinghies (3); dories (2); double enders (5); faerings (2); and cruising yachts (4). Unfortunately, although the plans give a general idea of the boats, they are printed at too small a scale to be examined in detail. There are also few pictures of the boats except as they may occur to accompany the biography section. This is a major failing. However some of the photos that do occur are very well executed and evocative of place.There are also many photos of Iain's life, but it would have been so nice to have a more compehensive pictoral overview of his designs and their evolution.This is a good informative read for those interested in modern wooden boatbuilding and the man behind the designs, but fails to make it to five stars because of the poor reproduction of the plans, lack of a comprehensive photo record of the boat designs, and a somewhat unengaged biographical style.

You really need to be almost as obsessed about wooden boats as Oughtred himself to get the full benefit of the book, but if you are it's well worth buying.For myself, there's a little too much about the man and not enough examples of his designs. After all, those reading the book are mostly doing so because they've seen his designs, and the boats built from them in various magazines, so it's the boats that are the main interest.Let's leave the modern obsession with celebrities to the women's magazines.The book arrived in good nick, and delivery was a little quicker than I expected.

Great insight into a facinating and talented man. Beautifully researched and writen by Nic Compton.A delight to have on the bookshelf.