The UK has over 2000 miles of navigable canals and rivers which are home to an estimated 35,000 licensed boats. Although canal boats can look much the same to the novice, there are some very important differences to be aware of. If you’re new to boating you have some important choices to make.

This comprehensive book examines the options available to different types of boaters. From those who choose to live aboard their boats and constant cruisers to fair-weather cruisers, hire boating and share boat syndicates – each will need a different type of boat if they are to fully enjoy their time afloat. Packed with case studies and advice from real boaters with years of experience to share, this second edition has been thoroughly updated throughout and includes new information on liveaboard costs and considerations, eco-friendly boating options, shared ownership and tax-free boat building, as well as:

– The cost of boating
– Choosing the ideal boat for your boating profile
– Buying a boat and the legalities of purchase
– Choosing suitable internal fittings and features
– Heating, lighting, toilets and hot water options
– Boat electrics and solar power
– Finding a mooring
– Boating health and safety
– Locks, swing-bridges and the boating ‘highway code’
– Boat maintenance
– Boating etiquette and best practice

‘This book tells the inspiring story of how even the least skilled of us can make something wonderful if we invest enough time and love’ The Daily Mail

‘Both the book, and place, are magical’ The Sunday Telegraph

‘When Jonathan Gornall decided to build a boat for his daughter, he had no experience and no practical skills. What followed was a very real labour of love.’ The Scotsman

One man learns the ancient skills of boat-building to connect with fatherhood.

How to Build a Boat is the story of  a thoroughly unskilled modern man who, inspired by his love of the sea and what it has taught him about life, sets out to build a traditional wooden boat as a gift for his newborn daughter. It is, he recognises, a ridiculously quixotic challenge for a man who, with a family and mortgage to support, knows little about woodworking and even less about boat-building. He isn’t even sure what type of boat he should build, what type of wood he should use, the tools he will need or, come to that, where on earth he will build it. He has much to consider, and even more to learn.

But, undaunted by his ignorance, he embarks on a voyage of rediscovery, determined to navigate his way back to a time when a man could fashion his future and leave his mark on history using only time-honoured skills and the ancient tools and materials at hand. The journey begins with a search for clues in the once bustling, but now still, creeks and backwaters of his beloved Suffolk, where men once fashioned the might of Nelson’s navy from the great oaks that shadowed the water’s edge. If all goes to plan, it will end with a great little adventure, as father and daughter cast off together for a voyage of discovery that neither will forget, and both will treasure until the end of their days.

A writer following in the bestselling footsteps of Adam Nicolson, Tim Moore and Charlie Connelly – discovering what make modern man tick through the discovery of a craft long forgotten.