"Dorothy Elizabeth": Building a Traditional Wooden Schooner Book

At age eighty, Roger Duncan decides it is time to build a new yacht. His methods are as surprising as his timing. This is the story of why to build a 28-foot schooner, not how to build one. It is the story of why, particularly, to build a wooden sailing vessel that relies on age-old methods and materials, yet also embraces newfangled technologies. But mostly it is the story of the people--the score of craftsmen and craftswomen, friends, and family--who give their skill, advice, support, and time to turn Dorothy Elizabeth from an idea into a graceful, seaworthy reality. You will meet Ralph Stanley of Southwest Harbor, Maine, one of the world's great designers and builders of traditional wooden boats. You will meet Mary Chandler Duncan, a poet and the author's wife, soul mate, and first mate. You will meet Nat Wilson, sail maker, who took time out from building topsails for the USS Constitution to build sails for Dorothy Elizabeth. You will meet Frank Luke, neighbor, boatyard owner, all-around helper, and the man who launched Dorothy Elizabeth. And you will meet many other singular people drawn together by the building of a boat.Read More