Today, because of their rarity, these antique and classic wooden boats can be valued in the tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars. Properly restored, these boats can hold and improve their investment values along the same lines as antique automobiles. Plus, woodworking skills are an enjoyable hobby and such restoration crafts provide entertainment, fun, and pride in a "job well done."

"We first met Don a decade ago in Mt. Dora, Florida, where he was exhibiting his customer's large runabout that has since gone on to become one of the most award-winning classic boats in North America. Don rebuilt the big 24footer using his enhanced traditional restoration technique, which he describes in this book, the first ever to cover vintage runabout restoration.

We knew Don was on to something because his restoration retained the boat's original scantlings, yet didn't leak, even after 10 years. The original boat was only watertight for the first couple of years.

We also knew that Don had to become a contributing editor to the magazine. Before Don popularized his enhanced traditional restoration technique there were no uniform restoration standards. Everybody, whether amateur or professional, pretty much did things according to the convenience of their timeframe and capability. There evolved a lot of shortcut methods that only worked in the immediate short term.

Without any concise guidance, the do-it-yourselfers tended to gloss over the structural integrity of their boats and became "mop-and-glow" specialists, concerned with what they could control: varnish and chrome. The boats looked pretty and did well with show judges; the owners just had to hope that the batteries kept the bilge pumps running.

Don's restoration articles, which evolved into this book, empowered the amateur and even the professional with a unified common sense approach to runabout restoration, a technique that works on any make of plank-on-seam batten hull form. No longer were boat owners fiberglassing tired old bottoms or epoxying planks of wood together to keep out leaks. Don's enhanced traditional method retains the boat's original scantlings while incorporating modern flexible sealants and adhesive compounds. Now, restorations can last the life of the restorer, which has never happened before.

We often say the vintage runabout represents an era of lost craftsmanship. Yet, seasonal unemployed farmers and high school kids built most of these brand-name boats on production lines. Through repetition, they became very good at what they did, but they were not craftsmen, nor could they actually build a boat. It might be better stated that the vintage boat represents a lost "production technique."

Few of the current practicing runabout restorers have had the benefit of learning their craft from serving under shipwrights as Don has. Now in How to Restore Your Wooden Runabout, Don passes on his insights and experience to the rest of us. By following Don's examples and allowing yourself the time to learn and do good work, your classic can embody craftsmanship that it never had, or, in the least, be returned to its original construction."

8-1/2" X 11" Soft cover 240 pages profusely illustrated with color photographs plus other black & white drawings and photos.