How to Build a Boat

March 1, 2019
Freelance journalist Gornall (Microwave Man, 2006) goes to hull and back in his quest to create a boat of simple, timeless beauty.Armed with chutzpah, memories of nautical failures past, and a grasp of few hand tools beyond a computer keyboard, the author embarked on building one of the most exacting small wooden boats imaginable. It was a daunting task yoked to a seemingly preposterous one-year deadline. Gornall, from England's Shotley Peninsula, scoured the coast for the lumber, plans, and expert guidance he needed to make it happen. A father for the second time in his late 50s, he was determined to build the boat for his 3-year-old daughter. Dismissing "approval from the dull bureaucracy of sound judgment," he persevered; suffering no small amount of angst, abrasions, and contusions, the author presented her with a splendid clinker-built (overlapping plank) craft in the traditional Nordic style. Gornall christened the boat Swift, hoping his daughter would treasure it one day as much as he. The author's rivet-by-rivet account is both engrossing and occasionally confusing. Featuring a lexicon of terms that may be arcane to the uninitiated, the highly detailed narrative can become a slog. Still, it's an admirable effort at narrating a complex project usually reserved for artisanal boat builders of long experience. Gornall lends depth to the story with engaging bits of boat history, recollections of his two aborted attempts to row across the Atlantic Ocean, and a surprisingly compassionate account of growing up with an emotionally distant, alcoholic single mother. But the most touching emotions are the author's fervent, overriding love for his daughter (with the boat as its embodiment) and his regret that he had not been more of a father to his now-grown son. "This was a thing of simple, ancient beauty," he writes, "derived from the bounty of aged trees and the sweat of good, honest toil--my toil."At its best, Gornall's prose is buoyant and watertight and his book shipshape.

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March 1, 2019
At the age of 58, Gornall embarked on an unexpected life journey: becoming a father to a daughter for the first time. Even more unlikely was his decision, a couple of years later, to build a boat for her. A journalist by trade, more accustomed to typing than woodworking, Gornall decided not only to build the vessel on his own, but also to build it in the classic "clinker" style that hearkens back to the Vikings. This meant no fiberglass hull, no prefabricated pieces to fit together, but rather a painstaking process of bending and fitting wood in place. Oh, and he wanted to finish it in a year. With delightful self-deprecating wit and the enthusiasm of a devotee, Gornall recalls his massive undertaking, celebrating the kindred spirits who signed on to help him on his way, the history of traditional boatbuilding, and even the mercurial attention his daughter pays to the project. With all the pitfalls and setbacks Gornall experiences along the way, his commitment to his one-of-a-kind gift makes for an inspiring journey.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)