What's new—and old—at Brooks Boats Designs
Glued-lapstrake wooden boats
designed by John Brooks
Glued-lapstrake wooden boats
designed by John Brooks
Welcome. We are John Brooks and Ruth Hill. John designed and built his first glued-lapstrake boat (a light, fast rowboat) in 1987, and we have been designing and building glued-lapstrake boats together since 1990. For more than a decade, we ran our own custom shop building our designs. During that time, we published plans for two of our boats, the 12' Ellen sailing dinghy and the 18' Peregrine fast picnic rowboat. Over the years, we have had many requests for plans for more of our designs. They are coming. We will be publishing new plans each year.
New designs.If you saw our Somes Sound 12 1/2 (above) in WoodenBoat magazine recently and wondered if you could build her yourself, you can! We will be working on them in the coming year and publishing them as soon as they are ready. We are also finishing up plans for our 8' 8" Compass Harbor Pram, a fun and useful little boat that is a superb first project.
Ellen and Peregrine plans. We sell full sets of plans for our very popular, capable and fun 12' Ellen daysailer and 18' Peregrine fast light rowboat. Each detailed set includes many full-sized patterns; no lofting is required.
The Book. If you would like a copy of our book, How to Build Glued-Lapstrake Wooden Boats, you can order one from us. We would be happy to sign it for you. Just let us know exactly what you would like when you order.
New direction, new shop, new site. We are shifting our main focus from custom building to design, writing, and teaching. In 2003, we closed shop and moved from Mount Desert Island to West Brooklin, Maine; we are now building a new office/design studio and shop here. Our new web site is also a work in progress, and we'll be adding new pages, a storefront, and new information.
New blog. John has piles of notebooks and rolls of drawings full of boat designs and ideas. These will be making their way into his blog, along with more details and discussions on our published designs and useful techniques for building our boats. Here's the link: www.brooksboatsdesigns.blogspot.com.
Family business. John Zhong Hill Brooks (Zhong Zhong), aged three, joined us in November, 2006. His sister Leigh, the baby who stayed little forever on our old site, is seven. Our office hours are somewhat, er, flexible at the moment. Please call before 6 p.m., however. Thank you.
And a new son! TieTie is seven, and joined us at the end of June. Life is busy around here, but we update the family blog when we can: www.brookshill.blogspot.com.
New designs.If you saw our Somes Sound 12 1/2 (above) in WoodenBoat magazine recently and wondered if you could build her yourself, you can! We will be working on them in the coming year and publishing them as soon as they are ready. We are also finishing up plans for our 8' 8" Compass Harbor Pram, a fun and useful little boat that is a superb first project.
Ellen and Peregrine plans. We sell full sets of plans for our very popular, capable and fun 12' Ellen daysailer and 18' Peregrine fast light rowboat. Each detailed set includes many full-sized patterns; no lofting is required.
The Book. If you would like a copy of our book, How to Build Glued-Lapstrake Wooden Boats, you can order one from us. We would be happy to sign it for you. Just let us know exactly what you would like when you order.
New direction, new shop, new site. We are shifting our main focus from custom building to design, writing, and teaching. In 2003, we closed shop and moved from Mount Desert Island to West Brooklin, Maine; we are now building a new office/design studio and shop here. Our new web site is also a work in progress, and we'll be adding new pages, a storefront, and new information.
New blog. John has piles of notebooks and rolls of drawings full of boat designs and ideas. These will be making their way into his blog, along with more details and discussions on our published designs and useful techniques for building our boats. Here's the link: www.brooksboatsdesigns.blogspot.com.
Family business. John Zhong Hill Brooks (Zhong Zhong), aged three, joined us in November, 2006. His sister Leigh, the baby who stayed little forever on our old site, is seven. Our office hours are somewhat, er, flexible at the moment. Please call before 6 p.m., however. Thank you.
And a new son! TieTie is seven, and joined us at the end of June. Life is busy around here, but we update the family blog when we can: www.brookshill.blogspot.com.
Brooks Boats Designs
831 Reach Road
West Brooklin, ME 04616
207-359-2491
brooksboatsdesigns@gmail.com
BBD Online Store
COMING SOON
For now, please call or email
to order plans or books.
Thank you!
John's Boat Notebook
John's blog on design,
building, and more.
831 Reach Road
West Brooklin, ME 04616
207-359-2491
brooksboatsdesigns@gmail.com
COMING SOON
For now, please call or email
to order plans or books.
Thank you!
John's Boat Notebook
John's blog on design,
building, and more.
Want to build your own beautiful wooden boat?
You can! We're here to help.
You can! We're here to help.
