Instant Boatbuilding with Dynamite Payson: 15 Instant Boats for Power, Sail, Oar, and Paddle Paperback – Illustrated, April 30, 2007

The sequel to Build the New Instant Boats which was the sequel to Instant Boats (no longer in print but sporadically available), this book runs the reader through stitch and glue boatbuilding step by step. In Harold "Dynamite" Payson's inimitable style, he again takes the readers hand from a pile of plywood to a full scale boat.Paysons "Just Do It" philosophy has started many on the way of boatbuilding. Either this book or Build the New Instant Boats is a "must have" for anyone interested in S&G boatbuilding. This book contains full plans for 15 boats not included in either of the earlier books. Study sheets for the designs in each book may be found on the authors website. This book is very similar to its predecessor, although the boats are somewhat different. For the price at which they sell, it is worth buying both books just to get access to the full plans for study purposes.The reader should be aware that the plans in the book are NOT any particular scale and small at that, so anyone intending to build is advised to purchase proper scale plans from the author, although the information in the book is amply sufficient for an experienced builder to build from.

I bought this because I thoroughly enjoyed his book "Build The New Instant Boats" from back in the 1980's. Once again, he did not fail to entertain and educate me. I build ply boats in my garage and sell them to friends at cost, making it more of a hobby than anything, and I built three of the designs from the book I mentioned above.I don't understand what the other reviewers mean when they say the measurements on the plans are too small to build from. I could see all the numbers clearly. While small, they're not microscopic. I could make them out with my reading glasses off.This book has plans for a wide variety of boats, and I can't wait to build a couple of them already. I have my eye on the 18' Clam Skiff, which would be great for crabbing here in the Pacific Northwest. I would love to build the Chebacco, but that thing is way too big to fit in my garage.This is a great book loaded with plans and information, and considering the prices of plans alone, it's a heck of a deal.

Although I enjoy so much woodworking, my mayor motivation to buy a boatbuilder's book was to go sailing in a budget. This is not my first try, but it is the most down to earth for a curious do-it-yourselfer. Others told me to use mahogany plywood, full epoxy and fiberglass covering to obtain a 10 footer with just $700. I can buy a fine second hand boat for less than that!Payson says hat I can build a boat that I can be proud of with some reasonably cheap plywood and polyesther and go sailing for a reasonable $200 or even less. And he's right! I am halfway to my boat in just 20 hours or so and can not be more satisfied.I strongly recommend this book to anyone who wants to try his skills at woodworking and go sailing in a budget. The only reason I don't give it five stars is that the plans are too small and I had to put some working to scale then properly. But the results pretty much are worth the effort.

I bought this book with the hope of finding some easy do it yourself stitch and glue plywood boat to be driven by an outboard of more or less 20hp. I hoped to find clear blue prints to enlarge (to scale) but I did not find what I want even because I was thinking of something more modern in shape. By this I am not saying that this book is not worth its price because there are many valuable methods and tricks of the trade in boat building and although I built several plywood and fiber glass boats,I still learned several things. thanks.

The book's common sense style and instructions are very well done, but there are a few things you need to know before you purchase. For starters, there are only fully detailed plans for a small number of the 15 boats - for all the others, you'll only get very scaled down images of the plans (The author advocates that you go purchase the full plans online from his website). I thought that was a bit of bad advertisement in regard to the book's title and blurb, but with what content and plans it does have, I wouldn't have hesitated buying it anyway. Payson is fairly easy to understand and explains most things thoroughly; I believe this book will get you started on the journey of building your own boats, but you should look for other resources if you're really serious about getting into it in depth - that's not to say you shouldn't buy this book because it's great, but know the book really only covers basics as far as tools & their use, useful tips, and materials.

Not to be mean : i originally gave it 4 stars as i am not a huge fan of flat bottomed boats before realizing that that was me and not the book!If you intend to build a dory, this is straight down the line, well written and useful.Is it informative, practical and interesting - you bet.Is it a five star text book on amateur boat building for boats of this kind? Hell yes.Audience : first or second time builders.'Authors Voice': friendly, approachable (think - knowledgeable neighbor/local character who you would invite around for a couple of beers and a bbq on a lazy Sunday)Did I learn something useful that I will apply to my next build – yes.Did i read it cover to cover like the novel? (not that it was meant to be one) – yep and enjoyed it too.So – even if you (like me) are not planning on building one of these, but are into it is still an enjoyable read / textbook for any amateur boat-builder.