Books??

[JAL1639]

I love the water and have been on rivers all my life. I have found a new interest in sailing and am thinking about making it my retirement goal. I have a couple of questions, and more later.
What are some good books that start at the VERY begining of sailing?
What types of boats are good for long trips and can be piloted by two people?
Thanks,
Jeremy

[Wahoo Sails]

Jeremy,
First read your post last evening, figured you would have a dozen replies by now .. and a little surprised you don't! I guess the problem is that most of us made the decision quite some time ago ... and don't have those references at hand anymore.
Prior to buying my boat, I looked at many books on "buying your boat" and to be honest, found them all useless, I mean, if they figure you don't know the difference between a power boat & a sailboat .. well ... that person isn't ready to buy anything.
Looking over my collection of books, some stand out as possibly usefull to you, "The Self-Sufficient Sailor" by Lin & Larry Pardey (actually ALL of their books are well worth reading!) Another book (which is curiously missing at the moment) is "Sensible Cruising". "Sail Power" by Wallace Ross is good too. One of my cherished books is "Desirable & Undesirable Characteristics of Offshore Yachts" by the Technical Committee of the Cruising Club of America ... a bit dated by todays standards, but still an absolute goldmine in my opinion.
While their are tons of books on boats out there, I would recommend starting your quest for books on navigation and weather at the same time .. if you are to ever to sail safely, the more you know about those two subjects .. the better off you will be.
Hope this helps.

L S/V Eva Luna
Bob

[Joyce GVL]

try to find the certification series by US Sailing. they are very good at step-by-step. Then find yourself someone to sail / learn with for a few months or so. It all depends on what you classify as a long trip. Two people can handle quite a wide range of sailboats once they are familiar with all that needs to be done. Hubby & I started as a team with the McGregor 26 & now can go for up to a week on the 46'. When going with two, the thought is--time to relax on the fore-deck! Who is going to drive the boat?

[sv_makai]

3 books we have onboard Makai from the beginning and still use are the "Annapolis Book of Seamanship" and "Chapman Piloting: Seamanship and Small Boat Handling" and "Boaters Bowditch" . Each book is full of usefull and relavant info for beginners to experts on a variety of boating related subjects.

[Talbot]

The Warsash Book Shop is a very good source of boaty books (just got a copy of Norries Tables from there). You really need to be a bit more specific on what it is that you are looking for, but the following may be of help:

Learning about sailing - decide if it is the sailing or the navigation , if sailing, the Glenans book is very good,
if Navigation, coastal or offshore - coastal - Nigel Calder's "How to Read a Nautical Chart: Complete Guide to the Symbols, Abbreviations and Data Displayed on Nautical Charts" is a good starting point. If Celestial then Tom Cunliffe's Celestial Navigation (2nd Edn) is the one I have.

Cruising - The Pardy books, and Bill and Laurel Cooper's Sell Up and Sail. Taking the Ulysses Option would be good starter points

Maritime Stories The sort of book to get you in the mood for sailing. I suspect that most of us have read the Pat O'Brian books from which came the Film "Master and Commander". I would also be surprised if Arthur Ransome's series "Swallows and Amazons" has not been read whilst at a younger age. Joshua Slocum's Sailing Alone around the World" is a good read, as are his other books, the same for books by Tristan Jones (sp). For somewhat more fictional reading Bernard Cornwell's Stormchild is one of my favourites.


Now this list doesnt even start to consider weather, maintenance, knots, etc, let alone pilots, almanacs, first aid, survival and all the other subjects (not least of which is how to catch your food!). But I hope that some of these will help (or even meet other peoples approval

[Talbot]

Just realised that nobody has even addressed one of your queries about the sort of boat for cruising. This is the sort of question that when 2 people gather together will end with 3 answers. Personannly I love a catamaran for this, but recognise that these are not everybodies view. I think you have to start with three questions, how much space do you need? Where will you be doing most of the cruising, how much time will you spend travelling.

The where will address depth of water and may eradicate deep draft boats, the how much time spend travelling will address the balance between sailing capability and space inside the boat. The How much space will look at the balance from a different viewpoint.

Remember that two people can manage just about any boat given the correct equipment after all Ellen MacArthur is sailing around the world (rather quickly) in a 65 ft trimaran on her own, but costs start to soar when you get above 40 ft (berthing, rigging, maintenance etc)

Best answer is to leave boat ownership initially until you have learnt to sail, and have had some holidays on different types of vessels by chartering. Dont forget that you want to be able to enjoy the world you will be entering, so look at boats that enable you to see where you are, as opposed to shutting yourself inside. Once you have the experience to start narrowing your search ask here what people think of different boats.

BTW have a good look at the PDQ, Lagoon, & Fontaine Pajot cats.

[Amgine]

The text I most prefer when teaching beginning classes is "The Complete Sailor: Learning the art of sailing" by David Seidman. The illustrations by Kelly Mulford are the best I have worked with, and students can really grasp how wind actually works after looking through the first chapter. It covers most elements of sailing from simple daysailing to cruising in a clear, direct, and engaging style without much jargon. Very strongly recommended.

The second books I encourage people to get are ones others have already mentioned: John Rousmaniere's "Annapolis Book of Seamanship" and Chapman's "Piloting, Seamanship, and Small Boat Handling". These are comprehensive texts with great detail for the novice and the experienced sailor.

Before you think about purchasing a boat, I would suggest you avoid the "how to buy the best boat for little or nothing at all" sections. You should probably get some experiences sailing OP boats (other people's) to find out what styles of sailing are interesting to you, and whether this is a life-altering obsession or merely a learning opportunity. Unless you have more money than sense, don't buy a boat until you're sure it's an obsession.

Amgine

[JAL1639]

Thanks, for the input, I will continue to ask question.
Thanks again!!