Keeping the Cutting Edge

Book excerpt: Harold H. "Dynamite" Payson is a professional boatbuilder who specializes in light plywood construction, though in the past he build traditional plank-on-frame craft. Most of his boats-among them the famed Gloucester Light Dory and the Instant Boat series-are from the board of Philip C. Bolger. Many of the prototypes of Bolger's small boats have been built by Payson as part of their continuing association. Dynamite is a retired lobster fisherman, a saw sharpener, and the proprietor of H.H.Payson & Co., which offers boatbuilding plans for sale to the average boatbuilder. He is the author of Instant Boats, How to Build the Gloucester Light Dory, Go Build Your Own Boat!, Build the New Instant Boats, and a number of magazine articles. He lives and works in South Thomaston, Maine.