Getting afloat need not be difficult or expensive if you were to build your own boat. Most of the boats described here are suitable for beginners, and are small and light enough to be carried on a car roof rack. They can be taken to the sea, river, canal or lake; they are cheap and easy to build.

In this revised edition of a classic manual, Ian Nicolson provides clear and useful advice on how to effectively build a boat from scratch. You will find different choices, including a simple child's boat (which is well able to carry an adult), a fast racing dinghy, or a general purpose rowing boat which will take an outboard motor or basic sail (and is suitable for estuary fishing).

Ian Nicolson is one of the most prolific yachting writers, being a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Naval Architects, a previous partner in A. Mylne & Co. and the founder of Nicolson-Hughes Sails. Vastly experienced and well respected in the field, the author guides would-be boatbuilders through the different processes with his well-known, authoritative and easy to follow drawings.

So why not build yourself a dinghy for less than the cost of a second-hand one?