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Classic Wooden Powerboats
Lake Tahoe is home to one of the world's greatest collections of classic wooden powerboats. The books listed below are beautiful in themselves and will increase your appreciation of the boats you'll see around the lake.
Cutwater
One of the most beautiful boating books ever, with text that reveals the author's deep appreciation for his subject. Includes photos of several well-known Tahoe boats.
Simple and understated in design, powerful and fast in performance, these boats were built to make people happy. Stunning photos feature more than 35 classic speedboats and motor launches built between 1900 and WWII, still in use in Canada and the U.S., to preserve the legacy of this era of boating history. 150 color photos.
Gar Wood Boats
This is more than the story of the person and the company he founded in 1930-it is a photohistory of the magnificent boats themselves, and the extraordinary design, craftsmanship, and materials that made them legendary. Special attention is given to the Baby Gar, as well as runabouts, speedsters, utilities, and express cruisers-all built in Wood's Michigan boatworks.
Lakers and launches
Sierra Maritime Publications offers two great books on Lake Tahoe's maritime history: Prewar Wood, and Lakers and Launches, both by Carol Van Etten. Printed in black and white with modest-quality photographs, they are not beautiful like Cutwater (listed above) but they illustrate a vast number of boats that once plied the Lake Tahoe waters and paint a rich picture of boating on the lake in an earlier era. These books are not available through Amazon.com, but the Sierra Maritime site includes ordering information. You can also find them at many bookstores in the Lake Tahoe area.
Prewar wood
Sierra Maritime Publications offers two great books on Lake Tahoe's maritime history: Prewar Wood, and Lakers and Launches, both by Carol Van Etten. Printed in black and white with modest-quality photographs, they are not beautiful like Cutwater (listed above) but they illustrate a vast number of boats that once plied the Lake Tahoe waters and paint a rich picture of boating on the lake in an earlier era. These books are not available through Amazon.com, but the Sierra Maritime site includes ordering information. You can also find them at many bookstores in the Lake Tahoe area.
The Guide to Wooden Power Boats
A beautiful little book with pictures and short descriptions of a wide range of wooden boats.
