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Price: $50.72 as of 11/22/2009 11:56 EST
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 623.822
EAN: 9780070419988
Edition: 1
ISBN: 0070419981
Label: International Marine/Ragged Mountain Press
Manufacturer: International Marine/Ragged Mountain Press
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 214
Publication Date: April 30, 1999
Publisher: International Marine/Ragged Mountain Press
Studio: International Marine/Ragged Mountain Press
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Editorial Review:
Product Description:
Do you hear the siren song of the sea? Prepare for your dream voyage--by finding your perfect sailboat. It's not as hard as you think . . . when you have a master naval architect at your side.
In this one-of-a-kind book, leading boat designer Roger Marshall walks you through the process of choosing the perfect boat for your sailing lifestyle. Along the way, you will acquire a deep understanding of the many factors that go into a boat's performance, comfort, and seaworthiness, and learn how to choose among them to meet your requirements and preferences.
Marshall takes you step-by-step as he conceives and develops five prototype sailboats with widely varying design objectives: a Weekender, a Cruiser, a Voyager, a Single-Hander, and a Cruiser/Racer. The 200 illustrations "take you aboard," showing you clearly how the choices and compromises of boat design are made and what they mean to performance.
You'll learn about the features that make for a good cruising sailboat, from the basic choices (inshore or offshore), weekend or long-term cruising, occasional racing or nonracing) all the way to the finer points of hull shape and sail plan. And you'll gain a solid understanding of your sailboat-to-be: what it will do . . . what it won't do . . . and why. Seakindliness, performance, handling characteristics of different rigs, comfort on passages or weekends--it's all here, in clear language.
Beyond the basics, you will learn how to judge any sailboat, new or used, including - How to pick the best keel shape for your sailing area
- What the subtle and not-so-subtle signs of comfort are
- What makes a cockpit pleasant and functional
- When a pilothouse makes sense, and when it doesn't
- How to estimate the total cost of buying a boat (not the cost the salesperson gives you)
- Why some boats sail better under almost all conditions than other boats, and why that may not be important
Plus, you'll learn how to determine in advance how much blood, toil, tears, and sweat your dream boat will cost you in maintenance (so small thing).
Best of all, you'll find Marshall's 12-page comparison table of production sailboats from all over the world, packed with information about 130 boats--length, beam, draft, displacement, ballast, sail area, fuel and water capacities, performance ratios, capsize and comfort ratios, and more, all tabulated for convenient and revealing comparisons.
With this book's help, you will board your own "ideal" vessel, satisfied that you're familiar with your boat from the masthead down and certain that it will bring you years of sailing pleasure.
Average Rating: 
Rating:  -
I eagerly added this book to my wish list based on it's title and found that what was inside the book was less about selecting your ideal cruising sailboat than it was about selecting a custom design, or perhaps directing the construction of your custom dream boat.
Those who have owned sailboats in the past would be less likely to choose this book than people like me, just getting started and looking for some informed help. Unfortunately, those needing this help most - people with the ... Read More
Rating: -
I was looking for a book that would help me select a cruising sailboat, as the title suggested. This is really a book about sailboat design and design features that must be considered for different types of cruising. The book was very interesting in terms of boat design, as it lays out the "design thinking" and use-specific features in the design of five different boat types. Because we already know exactly what sort of cruising we intend to do, this book didn't get us very much further down the "choosing ... Read More
Rating: -
My review is simply that this book was mis-titled. It should have read Designing a Cruising Sailboat not Choosing. It speaks less of real boats and more about 4-5 mythical boats of which the author walks you through the design process of. If you've got lots of cash and want to see your custom design come to life this book may be for you. The author even goes so far as to say that proper boat maintenance starts when you visit your boat builder while your boat is being built and blah blah...at this point I ... Read More
Rating:  -
I eagerly dove into this book when it arrived, but... While Roger Marshall's book has some good general information about choosing a cruising sailboat, even that information is better addressed in Nigel Calder's "Cruising Handbook," or for serious interest in offshore cruising, John Vigor's "The Seaworthy Offshore Sailboat." Marshall's book will be a dissapointing read for anyone that aspires to acquire a cruising sailboat with reasonable offshore capabilities at a cost that's affordable. Of course if you're ... Read More
Rating:  -
Naval architect Roger Marshall provides a substantive guide for the cruising sailor who chooses his boats based on their suitability to his purposes. In plain language and with clear supporting diagrams, Marshall explains the fundamental principles of seaworthiness, the elements of good design, and the ever challenging balancing act between speed, comfort and cost.
I disagree with the reviews that say this book is only for cruising sailors with a large budget. I think this book is for sailors of any ... Read More
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