As many here may know Mr. McIntosh ( Bud ) was an amazing wood boat builder in New Hampshire and after a lot of pestering wrote a very concise easy to follow book on boat building cleverly named How To Build a Wooden Boat. He didn’t need to build boats he’d gone to MIT but that life didn’t interest Bud McIntosh his love was boats and the water. For over fifty years years Bud built lovely sail and some great powerboats almost all to his own design. In the beginning his greatest influence were the Crocker concepts built in Manchester, MA. But it didn’t take long for Bud to evolve his own lovely look that were sea-kindly, comfortable and most importantly affordable to those who wanted them. His partner Gordon ‘ Swifty’ Swift was my neighbor and he told me more than once Bud would build a boat and charge a man only what he could afford.
His philosophy was I’d rather build a good boat for nothing than work at something I didn’t love for something. He never heated his shops in the cold NE Winters as he liked the way big backbone timber worked frozen. Shop floors were dirt covered with wood chips and boats were hauled by a Model A engine and rear axle mounted on concrete supports. The transmission could be shifted 1st gear and reverse. No body, a leaky radiator as Bud never ran it long enough to heat it and didn’t want to Winterize it. The rear axle had a welded up wide wheel on it that acted as a Gypsy head winch using rope and tailing to a wood post. Painfully thrifty.
Buds Brother Ned was a well known world sailor and spent his later life between New Hampshire and a house he built on Great Guana Cay off Abaco in the Bahamas. Quite a sailor and good racer in his day but I recall a close friend of Bud’s telling about when Ned was building his own boat alongside Bud’s shop. Ned proudly tells Bud one day well she’s all planked now I’ll deck her come look. Bud apparently walks around the hull and looks her over then tells Ned “ you didn’t plank this hull you boarded it up “. I laugh every time I here this. Bud had another expression I’ll never forget that when you’re invited aboard somebody”s boat and you look around and really hate it so you just politely tell them “ she sure is roomy “ got a love it.
Rick
His philosophy was I’d rather build a good boat for nothing than work at something I didn’t love for something. He never heated his shops in the cold NE Winters as he liked the way big backbone timber worked frozen. Shop floors were dirt covered with wood chips and boats were hauled by a Model A engine and rear axle mounted on concrete supports. The transmission could be shifted 1st gear and reverse. No body, a leaky radiator as Bud never ran it long enough to heat it and didn’t want to Winterize it. The rear axle had a welded up wide wheel on it that acted as a Gypsy head winch using rope and tailing to a wood post. Painfully thrifty.
Buds Brother Ned was a well known world sailor and spent his later life between New Hampshire and a house he built on Great Guana Cay off Abaco in the Bahamas. Quite a sailor and good racer in his day but I recall a close friend of Bud’s telling about when Ned was building his own boat alongside Bud’s shop. Ned proudly tells Bud one day well she’s all planked now I’ll deck her come look. Bud apparently walks around the hull and looks her over then tells Ned “ you didn’t plank this hull you boarded it up “. I laugh every time I here this. Bud had another expression I’ll never forget that when you’re invited aboard somebody”s boat and you look around and really hate it so you just politely tell them “ she sure is roomy “ got a love it.
Rick
Last edited:
