Book Storage

[rebel heart]

I can't say enough good things about my Kindle. I love it.

So much better than all the paper books. The only exception is diesel books because the only time I'm working on them my hands are filthy.

[Abaco]

Now to go with all the mono vs. multi threads we can start the IPad vs Kindle threads. Anyone want to go first? I love my IPad...

[Roaring Girl]

We'd slightly differ from some experiences here. We had a library of over 3000 books and still have about 300 or 400 on board (including manuals, pilots etc)

We have one big locker full of books. This is on the port side and helps to balance the boat against the galley and workshop weight to starboard. Our Eberspacher hot air pipe runs through this and we insulated that very thoroughly, as well as the insulation we put on the inside of the hull itself and that has always been a very dry locker - even when living aboard in UK winters.

The second locker full of books is in the aft cabin, reasonably well ventilated (including not underneath cushions/mattresses) and again the hull is insulated. Books have done well in there too. We also have shelving around the boat in places (with netting and wooden battens across. All these arrangements have enabled us to keep and enjoy a wide range of books. We differentiate between books where the physical object is not that important and those few we have where the actual book itself matters. The latter are of course looked after more carefully but have survived seven years aboard without much damage.

A bag of swap/trade books lives on the top bunk. When we share books with other cruisers we are very clear about what's boomerang and what they can keep. When we decided what to keep and what to sell, we also worked on what was replaceable (most texts are) and what had a particular significance/we'd want to reread etc. What could we not imagine crossing the Pacific without? Which turned out to be quite a self-revealing analysis as well!

So get at least one locker really well insulated, with a small internal sole, well ventilated, and enjoy having a decent library aboard.

There is a huge amount of dross circulating in the book swaps, but there are occasional gems. Besides - the dross is great sometimes too.

[rebel heart]

Originally Posted by Abaco

Now to go with all the mono vs. multi threads we can start the IPad vs Kindle threads. Anyone want to go first? I love my IPad...

They're different. If you want the best book reader on the market, you're going to buy a product with that single focus. Extremely long battery life, very light, easy on the eyes, easy to read in direct sunlight, etc.

If you want a tablect pc that be a lot of things, get a tablet.

Jack of all trades vs a master of one, imho.

[ViribusUnitis]

That encourages me.

So I just have to build a propertly set up locker. I can hanndle that!

If they hold up for a UK winter, I can't see myself doing anything worse than that! It gets WAY too cold in the UK for this warm weather fool!

[mintyspilot]

Originally Posted by ViribusUnitis

If they hold up for a UK winter, I can't see myself doing anything worse than that! It gets WAY too cold in the UK for this warm weather fool!

Cold? The UK?

Cold?????

I think the phrase you are looking for is "a touch bracing" or "fresh"

Admittedly this last winter was a bit chillier than normal, but it was a lovely spring day here with sunshine and temperatures as high as 13C. Practically summer. I shall have to change into my summer overcoat and my lighter hat.

[Therapy]

Originally Posted by mintyspilot

I'm currently working my way through the Jack Aubrey books... a good read if you don't mind archaic english.

However, there are 20 of them.....

PS... The wife loves Terry Pratchett. She's got the complete set.

I just finished the whole series (kindle) over 5000 pages I think.

What a great time I had with those. Fantastic.

Oh yea.

The Kindle is the cat's meow.

Hundreds of books in one slim package.

But then I sail a cat and we have to watch every ounce right?

PS. I did the math on what the wife was spending on books for her alone (and she used the library a lot). It will pay for itself in three months - wait - it was for Christmas - done and paid for itself already.

Plus there are other places to get books that can be cheaper and loaded on with the same "mobi" format that allows all the kindle features.

pdf shows but you can't adjust the font size so this old dud can't read them.

[SabreKai]

I would suggest storing them in zip lock bags with a silica gel pack inside. Or an sealed cabinet with the gel. You can reuse it by baking it once it changes color. Baking it will cause it to go back to the same color.

I have a huge collection of books on my Grampian when I was living aboard. They filled the side shelves up in the forward cabin from end to end. They stayed fairly dry, however I did have a couple of leaking stanchions so some did get wet. Oddly enough I still have them after more than 30 years. Getting trimmed down is going to be one of my worst tasks before I go back to living aboard. My current library is in excess of 700 books and about 3000 magazines.

Sabre

[Bash]

After a combined 14 years of grad school my wife and I had accumulated a ridiculous quantity of books. When we moved aboard we were unable to store our books in our respective offices, this despite floor-to-ceiling bookshelves in my office, so we rented an 8x10' storage locker and filled it with books.

How sad is that? For ten years I spent $120 per month to store books that were not important enough to make it to our office collections. I had been able to divest myself of all our furniture, lawn mowers, the chain saw, et cetera, but I wasn't able to part with the books.

Donate them to a library. Get an IPad. Spend $120 a month on extravagant dinners, and consider yourself ahead of the game.

[SabreKai]

Bash, I feel your pain. I am moving from a house to an apartment, and then onto Sabre Dance. I have to get rid of my books and it goes against everything I was taught. My parents taught me the value of books, and that anything you wanted to know could be found in a book. I still have a couple of books from public school. I've been collecting books on subjects that interest me since I moved out on my own.

But I have to get rid of them too. The pain!

Sabre

[osirissail]

Storing books on board a boat has two requirements - one is to provide a restraining system to keep the books from flying out across the interior of the boat during rough weather. This is easy done with a bar, teak batten, or locker doors to keep the boats in their place.
- - Second is ventilation to reduce the salt air moisture problem. A very senior cruiser showed me how she did it. She purchased the plastic grid floor material known as "Dri-dek" or something like that. Then cut it into pieces that fit underneath the books inside their storage compartment. The material is about 1/4 inch (6mm) thick with lots of air spaces in it. It allows air to circulate underneath the books to significantly reduce mildew and "wetting" of the bottoms of the books.
- - Electronic readers are all well and good for sailors who never leave or only briefly leave their land homes or home waters. But electronic devices are also attacked by salt water in the air. And when you stop in little islands in the middle of nowhere or even major cruiser gathering places there are book-swaps, and used book shelves in all the cruiser marinas and hang-outs. Cruisers leave the books they finished reading and take books that they are interested in reading. Hundreds, if not thousands, of paperbacks are available for free trading. No such system is available for the electronic readers, you must purchase each book separately from some internet source or other store.

[mintyspilot]

What about getting a dehumidifier (rather than aircon)? Most of the problems with humid climates is (surprise, surprise) the humidity. If it were a drier heat it would be more tolerable. Better for books and everything else as well.

Dehumidifers are a lot simpler than aircon. Cheaper too..

[capt_douglas]

I'm not sure I'm ready for the Kindle despite the simple fact that it'll store a lot of books in a very small space.

To me there are 4 limitations that make the 'lectronc reader a must have:
1. It's electronic and as far as I know, neither water resistant nor waterproof.
2. The number of books available is huge but many of the books I'd like on them simply aren't available (sailing directions, cruising guides, maintenance manuals, etc).
3. I don't think there's a way to upload documents to the reader that you either generate or own.
4. I can buy/swap books for far less than purchasing the electronic verson. $20 at the used book store will buy me a lot more books than I can for the electronic reader

I may be a luddite, but I like the feel of the paper, the notes in the margins, and the turned corners.

[Mariness]

Originally Posted by capt_douglas

To me there are 4 limitations that make the 'lectronc reader a must have:
1. It's electronic and as far as I know, neither water resistant nor waterproof.
2. The number of books available is huge but many of the books I'd like on them simply aren't available (sailing directions, cruising guides, maintenance manuals, etc).
3. I don't think there's a way to upload documents to the reader that you either generate or own.
4. I can buy/swap books for far less than purchasing the electronic verson. $20 at the used book store will buy me a lot more books than I can for the electronic reader

#1, 2, 4 I agree with. But #3: I believe you can upload PDFs to the Kindle, but once they're there you can't do much with them (zoom, etc).

[FrankZ]

You have a couple of options with the Kindle for user generated content. One is you can use Amazon to convert it to Kindle format. I believe there are converters you can download as well. Amazon charges (or used to) to do the conversion and delivery but it was a small fee.