Some trial-and-error goes a long way

“The Year of the Boat: Beauty, Imperfection, and the Art of Doing it Yourself,” by Lawrence W. Cheek, ($23.95, Sasquatch Books, 2008) is the author’s exploration into the world of wooden-boat building.

Yearning for a wooden boat, Cheek decides to take on the challenge of building a 13-1/2 foot sailing dinghy.

It’s a nice plan, perhaps, for an experienced woodworker or a passionate sailor, but Cheek is neither. He stumbles through the construction the hard way, with only his own thoughts and plans to guide him — no premade pieces or assembly instructions.

The author learns a great deal about boats — and that the “classic” model he’s chosen was phased out because of the difficulties of construction — but he also learns much about himself.

Lawrence W. Cheek, the author of several travel books, lives on

Whidbey Island in Washington.

For information, see www.sasquatchbooks.com.