2012 Reprint of 1955 Edition. Exact facsimile of the original edition, not reproduced with Optical Recognition Software. This book, the first of its kind, makes clear the difference between "boat carpentry" and "house carpentry." On a boat there is hardly a straight line, in a house almost all the lines must be straight. Many tools used by the boat carpenter are almost unknown to the house carpenter. Amply illustrated, this remains a classic book on the subject. Few twentieth-century writers could equal Hervey Garrett Smith's works on the traditional arts of the sailor; none could surpass them. His descriptions of knotting, splicing, fancy work, canvas work, and the practice of marlinspike seamanship are clear, concise, and evocative. So, too, are his drawings, which are technically accurate, easy to follow, and a joy to behold.