Boating Books

Dan is the expert in boat know-how. This guide is great for all sailors as it includes project ideas and tips from simple to complex things that are on your boat.

I have read just about every one of Dan's book and this is the BEST. I have many sailor friends whom also live and die by this book.

A MUST HAVE

The first chapter starts out with a very readable but detailed discussion on the tradeoffs of the different types of cruising vessels. The rest of the book provides similiar commentaries for all of the different components and systems of cruising boats, with the voice of "been there done that" but a nice blend of personal preference toned by a sense of objectivity. While comprehensive, the technical jargon is well introduced, and never overbearing. Lots of illustrations, pictures and anecdotes make for enjoyable reading on it's own right. A must read for anyone seriously contemplating purchasing a cruising sailboat.

Some books that you read just come across with the ring of truth. This one does. I think that this is best explained by referring to one short example. On page 60 he reports that he noticed rust stains on the rudder of his boat. Upon finding out that the rudder had a mild steel web in the middle he decided to rebuild it. After all, you really don't want the rudder coming apart half way across the ocean.

He spends the next couple of pages showing what he did in rebuilding the rudder. After it was finished a friend came by and showed him a rudder that was much easier to make from scratch rather than go through this whole process.

This says to me that first he knows what he is doing in repairing the rudder, and second that he is not ashamed to admit that sometimes he can still learn things.

This kind of attitude is carried throughout the book. Instead of a lot of publicity photographs supplied by manufacturers, he has taken most of the pictures himself. It is clear from the variety of the pictures, that he has 'been there, done that.'

I also liked his comments on what he calls 'Good Old Boats.' Most of us can't afford the prices of new boats, and his comments about some of the older boats he considers suitable for offshore sailing.

All in all, don't plan a long trip without reading this book first.

How did I ever get through life without the information this little book gives?I really wish this could be obligatory reading and learning for everybody, specially kids,or anyone who gets into any type of marine craft. Done in bright easy to read laminated plastic, it is so well set out, easy to handle and understand.The authors should be proud.Highly recommended by all my family and coveted by sailing friends!!

Surviving the Deep Blue Sea explains everything from the rules of the road to light recognition, to understanding weather, to what to do in emergency situations. I particularly found the section on how to use your marine VHF radio most helpful. I only had to look at the illustrations once to understand what to do! This is definitely one of the best books available on the topic.

I highly recommend this book to everyone no matter what their skill level is. THIS BOOK BELONGS ON EVERY BOAT!

You should not be out on the water without this book! It is the most important safety item you can own. Everything you need to know about safe boating is here. And it is WATERPROOF TOO! You don't have to worry about getting it wet which makes it perfect on our 20 foot sailboat. I love the flip chart format. It makes finding the info you need a snap. This is a must have on every boat. Its the perfect gift for your husband!

Three Men in a Boat: (To Say Nothing of the Dog) (Dover Value Editions)
Three rather peculiar young Englishmen swan their holiday punting up the Thames. Their colorful adventures are in a soft and humorous key. It is partly a touring guide and partly a humorous introduction to the history of the villages and towns in their path, and partly about the foibles of the participants and their involvement with punting. Little lectures, little lesson, little family fictions all go to making this funny slim volume from 1889 a complete reading pleasure.

Imagine Bertie Wooster and two of his idiot friends out on a boat... with no Jeeves. That about describes "Three Men in a Boat : To Say Nothing of the Dog," Jerome K. Jerome's enchanting comic novel about three young men (to say nothing of the dog) who discover the "joys" of roughing it.

The three men are George, Harris and the narrator, who are all massive hypochiandriacs -- they find that they have symptoms of every disease in existance (except housemaid's knee). To prop up their failing health, they decide to take a cruise down the Thames in a rented boat, camping and enjoying nature's bounty.

Along with Monty -- an angelic-looking, devilish terrier -- the three friends set off down the river. But they find that not everything is as easy as they expected. They get lost in hedge mazes, end up going downstream without a paddle, encounter monstrous cats and vicious swans, have picnics navigate locks, offend German professors, and generally get into every kind of trouble they possibly can...

Even though it was published more than a century ago, "Three Men in a Boat" remains as freshly humorous as when it was first published. While editor/playwright/author Jerome K. Jerome wrote a lot of other books, this book remains his most famous. And once you've read it, you'll see why.

Jerome's real talent is in finding humor in everyday things, like trying to erect a tent in the woods, getting seasick, or questioning whether it's safe to drink river water. Written in Jerome's dry, goofy prose, these little occurrances become immensely funny. One of the funniest parts of the book is when the boys listen to a fishermen telling of his prowess, only to accidently knock down his record-breaking stuffed fish.... and discover it's made out of plaster. Oops.

But Jerome takes a break from the humor near the end, when the boys find a drowned woman floating in the river. And here he becomes solemn and quietly compassionate: "She had sinned - some of us do now and then - and her family and friends, naturally shocked and indignant, had closed their doors against her."

But back on the funny stuff. The capstone on all this humor is the "three men." These guys are basically pampered Victorian aristocrats, who have a romantic yearning for the great outdoors. You'll be laughing at them and with them, as they struggle through the basics of boating and camping.

It's worth noting that the Digireads edition of this book is very good, with a flexible cover, extremely strong binding, and a nice reproduction with rather small print. Think "Dover Thrift," but of higher quality.

Funny, wacky and creepily true to life, "Three Men in a Boat" is an enduring comic classic in the vein of PG Wodehouse. Not to mention the dog!

Jerome K. Jerome originally meant to write a real travelogue of a trip up the Thames. He writes in his memoirs: "I did not intend to write a funny book, at first. The book was to have concentrated on the river's scenery and history with passages of humorous relief. Somehow it would not come. It seemed to be all humorous relief. By grim determination I succeeded... in writing a dozen or so slabs of history and working them in, one to each chapter." His editor deleted most but not all of the seriousness. (the dead body at Goring in chapter 16 is based on the suicide in July 1887 of a Gaiety Girl named Alicia Douglas.)

The editor's decision greatly strengthens this amusing book. It's remarkable how fresh and funny the jokes seem to a modern reader. In the preface, Jerome writes that he recorded 'events that really happened. All that has been done is to colour them; and, for this, no extra charge has been made.'

The three human characters were really three friends -- George Wingrave, Carl Hentschel and Jerome himself. The three made scores of trips on the Thames over the years. They also cycled together across Europe to the Black Forest. (Their cycling led to Jerome's Three Men on the Bummel, a less funny but still interesting journal of a trip to the Black Forest.)

Montmorency never existed: "Montmorency I evolved out of my inner consciousness. Dog friends that I came to know later have told me it was true to life." Montmorency does ring true to life; "fox-terriers are born with about four times as much original sin in them as other dogs are." Montmorency almost fights with a tom cat, he does fight with a tea kettle and loses, and at Oxford he gets into 25 fights.

George was a bank clerk (who "goes to sleep at a bank from ten to four each day, except Saturdays, when they wake him up and put him outside at two.") He must have been awake enough to have some banker sensibility: "We must not think of the things we could do with, but only of the things that we can't do without." (I must remember that great advice before my next hiking trip.)

There are inside jokes. Harris is based on Hentschel, and Harris/Hentschel is fond of a drink. Jerome makes a point of the small number of pubs in the country which Harris has not visited. In fact, Hentschel/Harris was the only teetotaller.

Boating on the Thames became a craze. In 1888, the year in which Jerome wrote Three Men in a Boat, there were 8,000 registered boats on the river; by the following year there were 12,000. "At first we would have the river almost to ourselves... and sometimes would fix up a trip of three or four days or a week, doing the thing in style and camping out."

The book has a historical interest. Unlike much of the literature of the Victorian Age, it was based on ordinary people having an adventure near their homes. As Jerome wrote in The Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow: "What readers ask now-a-days in a book is that it should improve, instruct and elevate. This book wouldn't elevate a cow."

Three Men in a Boat instructs but more than that delivers a view of the era that is revealing and very very funny.

...So, you go to a restaurant, the grocery or "Buzz's Crab Stand" & order seafood. Easy to do. This book tells the story of just how difficult it is to give you that opportunity. It is a "take me with you" type of story & the author is good enough to make you feel you are really there. The stories are true, exciting, dangerously so & it is a hard life. "Fishermen tend to be quiet about what happens out there, & when a friend or ship goes under they will generally tell you about it in ten words or less." This book held my attention from beginning to end. The author & her brother can be proud of their work.

What a great book. I live only an hour away from Noyo Harbor and my wife and I vist there often. I loved reading Jeanne's book. The story really came to life for me. It was cool to learn what goes on in a fishermans mind. I see their jobs as being thrilling and hard work. I've watched the changes over the years that goes on in the fishermens world. Most of the changes seem not to favor the fishermen. I have high regards for them and what they do. Thanks...

Jeanne Duncan has given us a great story about a young man who becomes a fisherman - but that is just the begining. The terrors and good times of his life at sea comes through in this charming at times true life tale.

The author's narrative style draws us a very visual image of the life for these fisherman. It is well written and makes for an easy and entertaining reading experiecne. You will come away with a real appreciation for the life styles of those who go off to sea to earn their living.

There is as much research and nautical information as there is narrative in this story. For someone who knows nothing about sailing, it made for a fun and easy read. Made me wish I was along for the journey. I would love to know what happened next; perhaps a sequel is in the making...?

Two in a Boat is very easy reading and anyone that has ever sailed with their spouse can relate to every chapter in her book. It is interesting that everyone seems to have very similar experiences. Love to sail, read this book!

Every sailing couple will benefit from Gwyneth Lewis's Two in a Boat. The joys, sorrows, ecstacy, and anger that inevitably emerge and are shared by sailing couples are traced in elegant prose and with deep sensitivity. And, in the process, you've got one superb account of sailing from the U.K. to Gibraltar. A book not to miss.

I gave this book to a friend who has a wooden boat and he couldn't have been more thirlled. This truly makes a great gift!!!

Aage Nielsen was one of the premier yacht designers of the 20th century and at last we have a book that sets forth both his personal life and professional career in full detail. All of his significant designs are placed in historical context and described in his own exquisite drawings and photographs. Anyone interested in yacht design will enjoy this book thoroughly.

An excellent summary of life and times of one of the great naval architects of this century.

My interest in the shape of a hull and the configuration of the rigging is a growing one, but is often stymied by the immensity of the topic. Perry's book is a clear and inspiring entry into a complex topic. He is straight forward and personal too. I love reading this book.

Bob Perry has written an interesting and entertaining book about his long experience as a yacht designer. He interspaces specific experiences with some of his well known designs with a summary of the theory of yacht design. Perry's style makes for an easy and informative read.

It was interesting to read about the different approaches some of his clients have used in working with him and helps to explain the challenge that a yacht designer faces when doing a custom design.

I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn more about the art of yacht design and about Perry's designs in particular.

I have a large collection of yacht design books (all of which I have read) and can say this one was worth reading and will now be added to my collection.

In a note of full disclosure I have met Bob a number of times and have alway enjoyed his company and wit. I am delighted that he took the time to put some of his thoughts and experiences into a book.

If you enjoyed Bill Garden's books and L. Francis Herreshoff's books on this subject, I believe you will enjoy Bob's new book. KB

Kim above provided an excellent synopsis..I can only echo her comments.

Mr. Perry does a great job of explaining the technical challenges associated with modern yacht design, along with the technical terms, what they mean and how they intertwine in the total package of a performance cruiser. He is witty, candid in his discussion and humble enough to note things he could improve in his own designs.

I had intended to add this to my coffee table collection and slowly browse through it, but after opening the package and beginning to read, I have almost completed it in just a few days!

Absolutely fantastic! HB

A very nice book on an astonishing collection of maritime paintings, well reproduced and carefully explained. There should be many other publications on such a matter made like this one. It is rich of information, clear in the description and bright in the illustration. My compliments to the publisher and to Amazon!

Some books are simply picture books. Not this. I want to applaud the quality of writing as well as the quality of the prints. Each painting in this book is accompanied by a super description of what is going on in the painting and why the painting is important and why the artist might have chosen the subject. These are not just paintings of ships, these are the moments in maritime history that shaped how we see ships, and ourselves. The authors did a great job.

My favorite book in this category is "A Maritime Album: 100 Photographs and Their Stories" and so when I saw "The Yachtsman's Eye" I was struck by the similarity.

A successful stock trader, Glen S. Foster was also a champion yacht racer and for many years a major collector of maritime paintings. Most of his paintings were of yachts as opposed to military or other subjects.

As might be expected the various America's Cup boats are prominent in this collection. Mr. Foster was a member of the New York Yacht Club so his interest in the America's Cup boats was not just incidental. As a yachtsman himself, he had frequented the waters where the race had been held and could recognize a true rendition of the race.

This book contains 95 color plates. Each plate has a history and description written by Alan Granby. Dr. Granby is the owner of Hyland Granby Antiques which specializes in maritime antiquities and marine art. He was sponsored as a member of the New York Yacht Club by Glen Foster, and served with him on the Fine Arts Committee.

The collection of paintings represented by this book was sold at auction after Mr. Foster's death so can no longer be seen as a collection anywhere but in this book.

I am not someone you would normally find reading a book on high sea adventure but for other reasons I purchased this book and I was hooked. It is a wonderful story full of humour, adventure and suspense. The characters become alive, paticularly Captain John C. Voss and you feel you are making the journey with him. The story is compelling and the reader finds it difficult to put the book down. The book actually contains two stories but the one that captured my attention was the journey on the Tilikum with Norman Luxton. The story awoke an interest in me to the point where I continued to research the characters and the vessel and the story of what happened to the Tilikum after she reached Margate, England. The Tilikum just celebrated her 100th anniversary of her departure from Oak Bay (Victoria, B.C.) where they have erected a plaque. She has been fully restored complete with new rigging and is now on display at the Maritime Museum in Victoria. For a book to interest a reader to the point where she will track down the vessel in order to see her means you have a very powerful and well written story.

Voss is more than just an expert sailor. He is cunning and has a genius for understanding the sea in all of its moods. The story is every bit as good as any other sea tale including Slocum's and Chichester's stories. Voss describes, in a matter of fact way, conditions that would frighten even the saltiest of sailors. To imagine being in those situations in a modified canoe is all the more incredible. Yet he survives and describes in great detail his recommendations for small boats in large breaking seas. And swears that a small boat can be comfortable in such conditions if handled properly and if the equipment is up to it. Although obviously dated in many respects his love of the sea and his understanding of how to survive the worst of it are timeless. I have read several of the great sea tales over the years; I don't know how I missed this one. It was a joy to read. He uses some very old nautical terms ("We made a board to shore." I think was one of his statements) but a good dictionary usually put me back on course.

South Central Alaska holds most of the population and recieves many of the visitors to Alaska. It also includes those parts of the Alaskan wilderness most accessible to the average hiker. This guidebook is designed to provide both residents and visitors with a selection of hiking possibilities spread across the Anchorage Bowl, the Kenai Peninsula, the Matanuska Valley on the way to Denali, and the Copper River Basin on the way to the port of Valdez. The hikes range in challenge from those suitable for the merely fit to those intended for the extremely fit.

The book is broken down first by general geographic area and then further into a description of each hike. Information provided includes distances, estimated travel time, elevation change and a difficulty rating. Descriptions include how to get to the appropriate trailhead and sketch maps for the actual route. The book has a good selection of photographs that provide a sense of scale for the terrain. An introductory chapter discusses the hazards of hiking in Alaska, including the weather and the wildlife.

This guidebook is highly recommended to the resident and to the visitor for an informed choice on where to hike in South Central Alaska.

This is a MUST HAVE book for any visitor or Alaska resident who wants to get out and about and enjoy the outdoors in this part of Alaska. Those of us who have lived in Alaska for many years still use this book every summer for our day trip or weekend adventure planning, as well as for longer trips. I give this book as a gift to both summer visitors and people who have just moved here. It is accurate, clearly written, has good maps, easy directions to the trail heads and has the necessary safety information for folks not used to things like mosquitos, bears, and stream crossings. I get the latest edition every time it comes out to check out the most up to date trail information.