Ready About

Ready About; or, Sailing the Boat is the final adventure in Oliver Optic's Boat-Builder Series, where boating skill, friendship, and moral purpose are tested on Lake Champlain. Dory Dornwood, Matt Randolph, and their companions must navigate not only storms and rival clubs, but burglars, a reckless "Nautifelers Club," and the temptations of bad company. Matt, now a disciplined student at Beech Hill Industrial School, refuses Spickles's lure of beer, freedom, and summer mischief, standing as a sharp contrast to the wealthy boy's mockery and self-destruction. When Spickles's swaggering crew crosses paths with Captain Gildrock, their insolence leads to arrest, followed by an explosion that throws the school into alarm and action. From there, Dory and Mr. Jepson use quick thinking and disguise to capture the burglars aboard the La Motte. Amid the suspense, the story blends lively sailing scenes, practical seamanship, humor, and lessons in self-control, teamwork, and character. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.