[.ca] Catboat Summers (ISBN 1574091719)

Sailing a Classic Catboat in New England Waters:
"In the winter of 1993 our family did something impetuously reckless by purchasing BUCKRAMMER, an almost 100-year old,leak- rust-plagued,repair-hungry wooden boat.What were we thinking?" John Conway and his family bought an old 24 foot wooden catboat with one enormous gaff sail, and sailed and repaired, and explored, and cruised buzzard Bay, Cape Cod waters, Long Island Sound, islands, coves, and estuaries. This book is just delightful. It's for anyone who sails, or who would like to sail, or who just likes reading good sailing stories. The star of the boat is an old Crosby Catboat first launched in 1908, and first used as a fishing boat, later converted to yacht use and owned by a succession of owners culminating in the Conway family. Incidentally, the cover pisture is of a Beetle Cat, a 12 foot wooden catboat that John Conway bought used and rebuilt before they bought the big Crosby catboat. This is a fun book and a good read. I enjoyed it and certainly recomend it.

Catboat Dreaming:
John Conway has masterfully strung together several tales of wooden-boat ownership. He takes us along through the joys and frustrations of several summers on his wooden catboat. This book, perfect for that cold winter night dreaming of summer, or passing the time on a summer porch listening to the peepers, is worth every penny.

A GEM:
John Conway has captured the essence of family sailing ... This book is a joy to read. As a wooden boat owner myself you can't help but relate to the stories, the woes, and the satisfaction of owning a classic "woodpile". I must read for any boat owner, wooden or otherwise.