Tasmanians hold a special empathy with the sea and, in particular, their vintage and veteran boats. This book profiles over 460 vintage or veteran recreational vessels built prior to 1970 that are of significance to Australia's small island state across a wide range of types, sizes and locations and in various stages of condition. Categories include steam yachts, yachts, motor boats and launches, as well as small pleasure craft and racing dinghies. The book encompasses craft that are well loved with a secure future to those that are in peril.

The large number of vessels highlighted herein is a far cry from the 150 craft profiled in the first edition of Those That Survive, published in 1996, and is indicative of not only the interest that these boats and ships now generate, but also the increased awareness of a specific vessel's history, singularly and as a collective amongst its cohort. In fact, the number of vintage and veteran craft still in existence of relevance to Tasmania has meant that the vessels have been split across two volumes. While this volume purely concerns recreational craft, a companion volume focusses on commercial and government vessels, itself profiling over 300 vessels. Overall, the outcome is a robust summary of craft significant to Tasmania's maritime history.