Boat Crazy

Grayson's meticulous research, combined with his love for language, paints vivid portraits of characters and events that transport readers through time, offering glimpses of technology, personalities, and the enduring spirit of American yachting. Whether you're a seasoned sailor or simply curious about maritime history, this book is a must-read. --John Conway, president, The Catboat Preservation Group Great stuff! These twenty stories, written over the course of years, hang together as if they were planned as a book all along. Often the same people and boats turn up in different contexts--you will soon find them old friends, even if they were not familiar before beginning the book. The history of yachting and boat design are important subjects rarely given enough attention by historians. And a historian with a significant lifetime of experience in boating is not as common as you might think. Thank you, Stan Grayson, for pulling this all together! --Nathan R. Lipfert, curator emeritus of Maine Maritime Museum; author of Two Centuries of Maine Shipbuilding: A Visual History Those familiar with New England nautical history and folklore are also familiar with the work of Stan Grayson, else there's a gap in their educations. In this engaging collection of backstories on all manner of vessels, from cup racers to catboats, Grayson writes with the authority of a historian, the keen eye of an archivist, yet the congenial ease of a dockside storyteller whose aim is also to entertain. --Tom Verde, author of In a Class All Their Own: Unique and Historic Boats of New England