What We’re Listening To
Jeff Spira’s
Beyond plans and drawings, Spira shares his hands-on knowledge through the Spotify podcast “Spira Boat Building.” The show is a rich resource for anyone interested in boat design and DIY boatbuilding. Episodes focus on practical topics such as displacement and loading, choosing and working with boatbuilding materials, modifying plans for local conditions, selecting and mounting outboard motors, and the right marine fasteners for different jobs. The podcast balances technical guidance with builder-friendly tips, making it valuable both to newcomers taking on their first project and to experienced hands looking for tested approaches or fresh perspectives.
If you’re searching for inspiration for a home-built workboat, a reliable day boat, or a simple fishing skiff, Spira’s plans and podcast are strong places to start. The combination of clear, economical designs and straightforward advice is tailored to people who want to get a safe, seaworthy vessel on the water without unnecessary expense or complexity.
More salty reads
High-Seas Adventure
Fans of Patrick O’Brian’s nautical fiction will likely appreciate the tone and sweep of J.H. Gelertner’s Hold Fast. Set during the early 19th century, the novel places readers in a world dominated by Napoleonic-era maneuvering and maritime conflict. The story follows Thomas Grey, a seasoned British intelligence agent who resigns after his wife’s untimely death and attempts to start a new life as a lumber merchant in Boston. Grey’s plans are interrupted when French intelligence operatives discover him and try to recruit him as an informer, exposing a threat to British intelligence that he cannot ignore. Gelertner weaves espionage, sea travel and personal loss into a narrative that explores loyalty and duty against a backdrop of international intrigue. (Retail price listed: $26, W.W. Norton & Company)
Pass It On
Slop Chest by Dominic Zachorne is written as a practical, affectionate repository of traditional seamanship and onboard craft knowledge. The author set out to preserve “the old ways” of sailing by collecting the techniques and stories that have been handed down aboard many kinds of vessels, from small rowboats to schooners over 150 feet. Zachorne’s guide is meant for future crews, bosun’s mates and skippers, and he writes with the confident authority of someone who has learned by doing.
The book covers an array of skills and daily routines: setting sail from anchor, bending and stowing a gaff topsail, working with classic deck gear, and marlinspike seamanship. Interspersed with hands-on instructions are short anecdotes — such as the chapter titled “The Cook’s Soup” — that keep the tone warm and readable rather than overly technical. The result is both a practical manual and a collection of maritime lore designed to be passed down. (Retail price listed: $20, Stillwater River Publications)
What We’re Watching
Deep Dive
Last Breath is a gripping documentary available on Netflix and other streaming platforms that recounts a dramatic commercial-diving accident. The film reconstructs the 2012 incident in which diver Chris Lemons’ umbilical cable was severed, leaving him stranded more than 300 feet below the surface in total darkness with only a reserve tank containing a trace of breathable gas and no heat. Directors Richard da Costa and Alex Parkinson build the narrative using the raw audio and video captured on the divers’ radios and cameras, delivering a tense, precise retelling of the event and the rescue effort that followed.
The documentary’s strength lies in its firsthand materials and its clear focus on the technical and human elements of deep commercial diving. Viewers will find the film both a study in crisis response and a reminder of the risks faced by professional divers. At 86 minutes, it’s a compact, harrowing watch that will resonate with anyone interested in maritime professions, survival stories and documentaries rooted in real-life footage. (Runtime: 86 minutes, distributor: Dogwoof)