Re: Looking for Feedback
Hi again.
Thank you all for the feedback. I'll try to address your issues in the order they were made...
Cadwelder,
Originally, the text was written for enthusiasts of the first fiberglass runabouts in the mid to late fifties. 35 years ago was the mid seventies and, while not the best era for clothing, great leaps forward had been made in the fiberglass industry. I'm not arguing with you about the workmanship of Norris Yachts, I'm sure they were a good as you said. But in the early days of fiberglass fabrication, the mindset of most production builders wasn't very far removed from wooden boat building. Regardless of the accuracy of the "Rusty with a sanding block" sentence, I was trying to convey imagery.
Mostly I was looking for feedback about the user friendliness of the site and how I can make it easier to read and navigate. Not so much for advice about how to work with fiberglass. I'm sorry if that wasn't clear. My bad.
Fishbone,
You're right. The white on black is too contrasty. I changed the text to a more neutral gray and I think it reads a lot easier now.
As for the "shameless plug", I have to respectfully disagree. I'm not selling anything on the site and I'm not asking anything from anyone. It's purely for informational purposes because. As many of you already know, it's sometimes hard to separate the chaff from the wheat. I wrote every word because I've been restoring boats for more than 20 years and I wanted to pass on what I've learned along the way. Not for self aggrandizement, but because I lost four good friends at sea two years ago because of shoddy workmanship.
I tried to not only explain how I do things, but also tried to explain why? Sections may seem unnecessarily bogged down with information, but I figure it's better to have it all and discard what you don't want rather than omit information that the reader might not know.
YD
Thank you for the compliment. I am the first to admit that I don't know everything. If you've found information that is incorrect, by all means, please tell me. The last thing I want to do is steer someone the wrong direction.
You can email me through GCB or through iBoats, or simply post it here. Also, if you think there are areas than haven't been covered or need more (or different) info, I would welcome your input.
Again, thank you all for your input. I'm still working out the kinks in the site. Your comments and suggestions will only improve it.
Just two last things:
All of the tutorials were written as one continuous book. I broke it up into bite sized chunks to make it easier to find specific information. The downside to that is sometimes important info that was mentioned earlier in the book isn't necessarily where you'd need it. An example is a discussion about sanding blocks which is hidden away in the "prepping for paint" section. I'm on the hunt for these slippery topics and will rectify them when I see them.
The second thing is, YD (and others), you are obviously a professional. I would love to see the site grow into a resource with more than just my own voice.
Jamil
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