A comprehensive history of yacht design in New Zealand as seen by one of the country's leading designers. 298 pages in full colour with plans and drawings. This book covers a unique period in the history of yachting and boating in New Zealand that happened to coincide with Jim Young's life as a boatbuilder/ designer/ yachtsman. It was an era that saw dramatic advances in design and construction technology from what was an ancient craft, steeped in tradition, unchanged for centuries, to a time when boat builders have had to relearn the trade completely as wood has been steadily replaced by synthetics. This book lays out Jim Young's boat building career from his boyhood canoe made of roofing iron and tar to some of the most successful boat designs in New Zealand maritime history.