Archive for July 2013

How NOT to Build a Boat is finally available!

It’s finally happened! First there was the delay in finishing the illustrations – of which there are more than 100. Then there was the delay with the final editing. And then there was the delay with the final final editing… After that came the delay over where to send the proofs (bearing in mind that we’re on the move), and when the proofs came there was a delay when we found that the photos were not up to scratch. Delays,…

How to knock up a mast from a lamp post

The first extruded aluminium mast was made in 1953, in England. Throughout the preceding centuries masts were made of wood or, latterly, of steel; and yet nowadays a wooden mast is considered suitable only for a traditional, gaff-rigged anachronism, and as for steel… Why would anybody build their masts of steel? Then again – why wouldn’t they?