Lawrence W. Cheek decided that he had to build a boat. Not just any boat, but a beautiful, wooden sailboat. "The Year of the Boat" is a memoir about what when on in that suburban garage -- a roiling process of measuring, cutting, gluing and sanding that was punctuated with supreme satisfaction, utter frustration, and plain bewilderment. From figuring out how to actually read a set of marine blueprints to learning the fine art of applying epoxy to getting the mast to stand up straight, this is a captivating adventure into the wilderness of DIY. The author touches on such topics as the invention of the retractable keel, the esteemed tradition of garage enterprises, the Platonic ideal sailboat, and more. It does not fully explain how to build a boat, but rather explores how one becomes unafraid of building a boat -- or undertaking any challenge.