Recommended Reading

Understanding Boat Design
by Ted Brewer, Edward S. Brewer

The Ensign
"Brewer provides as good a basic introduction to small craft design as you could ever hope to find. If more people read this book before buying a boat, they'd likely make a much better choice and be a lot happier."

This Old Boat
by Don Casey

Southern Boating
"Casey's intelligent, practical advice covers just about everything, and his style is just what the doctor ordered for anyone daft enough to want to fix up an old boat."

Understanding Rigs and Rigging
by Richard Henderson, Ted Brewer

Soundings
"Details specific enough to guide sailboat owners in assessments of their own rigs are the strength of this survey."

Surveying Fiberglass Sailboats: A Step-by-Step Guide for Buyers and Owners by Henry C. Mustin

Practical Sailor
"... one book we'd recommend to anyone looking at used boats (or new, for that matter)... [Mustin's] book shows you what and where to look for signs of trouble."

Seaworthy Offshore Sailboat: A Guide to Essential Features, Handling, and Gear
by John Vigor

Cruising World
Here is the book that answer the sailor's fundamental question--"Can my boat take me offshore safely?"--then shows how to make it happen.

Marine Diesel Engines: Maintenance, Troubleshooting, and Repair
by Nigel Calder

Ocean Navigator
"This is one of the best-illustrated engine books ever, Calder explains basic concepts in a thoroughly enjoyable way."

Boatowner's Mechanical & Electrical Manual: How to Maintain, Repair, and Improve Your Boat's Essential Systems
by Nigel Calder

Professional Boat Builder
"Several feet of shelf space in our technical library is devoted to material published in recent years on marine systems. But the single most frequently reached for reference in this collection is this book.

Sailing Fundamentals
by Gary Jobson

The Official Learn-To-Sail Manual of the American Sailing Association and the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary This comprehensive manual helps beginners learn basic sailing and coastal cruising with step-by-step instructions for everything from hoisting the sail to docking.

Cruising Fundamentals
by Harry Munns, Hal Sutphen (Editor)

Sail
"It picks up where the beginner's book leave off... Everything needed to make the first weeklong liveaboard cruise in safety and comfort is here."

Illustrated Sail & Rig Tuning
by Ivar Dedekam

The best-illustrated manual ever on tuning the sails and rigs of a yacht or small keelboat features 152 color diagrams and a brilliantly concise text. Separate sections offer a logical approach to the topics of trimming the genoa and mainsail, trimming spinnakers and gennakers, and setting up masts and stays.

The Annapolis Book of Seamanship
by John Rousmaniere, Mark Smith (Illustrator)

Amazon.com
First launched in 1983, Annapolis remains the sailor's bible, a chapter and verse guide to all aspects of seamanship from the simplest ABC's to the most advanced skills and latest electronics. Rousmaniere still emphasizes the importance of mastering sailing's fundamentals.

Chapman Piloting : Seamanship & Boat Handling
by Elbert S. Maloney, Charles Frederic Chapman

Accessible to the beginner, Chapman Piloting is an essential reference for even the most experienced sailor - a complete curriculum of nautical knowledge, from knots to navigation, docking to distress calls, plus etiquette, protocol, and terminology for powerboaters and sailors alike.

World Cruising Routes, 4th Edition
by Jimmy Cornell

This comprehensive cruising guide to the world's oceans is a valuable reference for cruising sailors and armchair dreamers. More than 500 sailing routes are detailed. The book includes 64 pages of 2-color maps, updated GPS coordinates for navigation, and route-by-route descriptions of weather and hazards.

International Marine's Weather Predicting Simplified: How to Read Weather Charts and Satellite Images
by Michael William Carr

Weather Predicting Simplified is the first book that shows the reader, with many sample satellite photos and weather maps, how to predict the weather easily and accurately - without having to wait for hours for NOAA updates.

Fastnet, Force 10: The Deadliest Storm in the History of Modern Sailing, New Edition
by John Rousmaniere

Gary Jobson, ESPN commentator
"John Rousmaniere's gripping account of that calamitous race is a must read for anyone thinking about sailing offshore. This richly detailed account provides inspiration for all sailors to thoroughly prepare and use good sense at sea."