Absolute noob

[jcng722]

Hi all,
Complete and utter newbie to boat building. At last have a space for a woodshop and it's about time to embark on some long putoff dreams. I have some simple enough goals, I guess. My son just turned 3 and there'll be another one on the way shortly. My goal is to have a nice little sailer built by the time my oldest is 8. Yes, I figured there won't be a whole lot of time for this so I give my self 5 years.

Been searching this forum and others but it's easy to get lost so many interesting threads. So I might as well just ask. Is there a boat building/design bible? What are THE books I should read?

Thanks all for any info.

[terhohalme]

For design, sure: Larsson & Eliasson. Principles of Yact Design (III, 2007).
For building, depends on your material choise. For modern wooden boats: The Gougeon Bothers on Boat Construction.

But for a starter: Gerr: Nature of Boats and Brewer: Understanding Boat Design

[jcng722]

Thank you terhohalme.