Now in paperback, Daniel Robb’s Sloop proves he “is a craftsman… with words as well as with a hammer, as he constructs a charming tale that both details the technical nature of boatbuilding and captures the essence of the past, present, and future of a New England maritime community” (Publishers Weekly). • Interest in the environment and ecology: Daniel robb decided to restore his family’s well-worn wooden sailboat in appreciation for its craftsmanship and out of respect for the environment for which it was intended. Sloop’s tribute to the simple life and one’s environment will resonate with sailing enthusiasts and anyone who appreciates fine craftsmanship. • Timeless values: robb voices an ethic in which things are valued and appreciated, especially well-designed objects that still have years of useful life in them. While die-hard sailors or woodworking fanatics will love this book, robb’s skill as a writer also makes this a fascinating read for anyone. His humorous account of his on-the-job learning experience and of the eccentric characters who share his values and helped him will delight readers. “Robb writes of his painstaking restoration of a rotted 12½- foot herreshoff that had floated on memory and emotion, and finally again on water.…a gem.” —David Mehegan, The Boston Globe “Whether you’re an old-time boat builder, a wooden boat enthusiast, or simply someone who appreciates words woven together masterfully, you’ll enjoy Sloop.” —Kathleen Szmit, Barnstable Patriot Author of Crossing the Water, Daniel Robb has been an editor of academic journals, a teacher, a political consultant on a congressional campaign, and a proprietor of a literary services business. He has also worked at sea on schooners, taught sailing, and raced in national competitions. Robb lives in Pelham, Massachusetts.

This is the first study in depth of the Royal Navy's vital, but largely ignored small craft. In the age of sail they were built in huge numbers and in far greater variety than the more regulated major warships, so they present a particular challenge to any historian attempting a coherent design history. However, for the first time this book charts the development of the ancillary types, variously described in the 17th century as sloops, ketches, brigantines, advice boats and even yachts, as they coalesce into the single 18th-century category of Sloop of War. In this era they were generally two-masted, although they set a bewildering variety of sail plans from them. The author traces their origins to open boats, like those carried by Basque whalers, shows how developments in Europe influenced English craft, and homes in on the relationship between rigs, hull-form and the duties they were designed to undertake. ??Visual documentation is scanty, but this book draws together a unique collection of rare and unseen images, coupled with the author's own reconstructions in line drawings and watercolour sketches to provide the most convincing depictions of the appearance of these vessels. By tackling some of the most obscure questions about the early history of small-boat rigs, the book adds a dimension that will be of interest to historians of coastal sail and practical yachtsman, as well as warship enthusiasts.

Two cake-baking brothers learn whether fancy and formal, or simple and friendly, lead to a better happier bakery.

Admiral Nelson's most frequent cry was for more frigates. Though not ships of the line these fast and powerful warships were the 'eyes of the fleet'. They enabled admirals to find where the enemy lay and his likely intentions, as well as patrolling vital trade routes and providing information from far-flung colonies. Together with their smaller cousins, the sloops and brigs of the Royal Navy, they performed a vital function.Generally commanded by ambitious young men, these were the ships that could capture enemy prizes and earn their officers and men enough prize-money to set them up for life. The fictional characters Horatio Hornblower and Jack Aubrey hardly surpassed some of the extraordinary deeds of derring-do and tragedy described in these pages.Originally published in two volumes, this book is a bargain for all who want the factual low-down on the Brylcreem Boys of Nelson's navy.

Thanks to the efforts of Roger Williams and the Rev. John Clarke Rhode Island was the first secular state of its time. There was religious freedom and no effective control by Britain over the colony. In this environment a free running economy developed based on international trading. During the time before the Revolution Newport was one of the biggest ports on the eastern seaboard. The British shut the port down for three years during the Revolution but the town recovered thanks to the French who arrived in 1780 with money. The economy recovered but Newport was again depressed during the War of 1812. There was an industrial revolution in Rhode Island in the 19th century that started with Slater Mill which put the Providence based merchants in a position to compete effectively with the Newport merchants. Newport shifted to a tourist and manufacturing economy.