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| Books Review |
| Review Date: Jul 2009
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Source: Classic Boat |
Ian Oughtred: A life in wooden boats By Nic Compton
For many of us, the Oughtred name conjures up visions of double-ended dinghies, clinker ply construction, and the Scottish/Scandinavian tradition of small craft design. As Compton explains in this story of his life and work, Oughtred has also been something of a democratiser, putting traditional design within the budgets of many who might not otherwise
have considered it or as he would have put it, beautiful boats for the masses.
Oughtreds principal idea, to combine good performance with bold, traditional lines and modern wooden construction, caught on with hundreds of builders, and today, you can hardly walk around a boat
show without meeting someone building an Oughtred design a rowing tender perhaps, or a Viking-style faering.
But what do we know of the man behind these boats? Compton has always known how to weave a tale engagingly, placing events in the context of the world they happened in: so we have Oughtreds childhood in Australia Oughtred the hippy in 60s London, riding a Lambretta
and most importantly, the young Australians discovery of Scotland and its
maritime heritage, that was to have such a great influence on the work of the young designer, and become his adopted home.
The story of Oughtred, as a man and as a designer or artist even, as Compton suggests is the story, primarily, of the evolution of the ply epoxy method: planks of plywood glued with the then-radical new epoxy glue, a method pioneered by Iain for small-boat use in the early 1980s.
The book comes complete with photographs past and present, a list of all 107 designs, and a good lot of technical drawings. SHMH
Verdict: A must for any builder or enthusiast of small boat design and build.
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| Overall Rating: |
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| Guide Price: |
£22
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