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Rating:  -
I was pawing through a Port Townsend bookstore the other day and saw the title and more importantly the sub-title of this book. And I instantly had one of those epiphany moments where a major element of the rest of my life fell into place. I've wanted to have the means to explore the world by ocean for a very long time but haven't had any good ideas on how to make progress. I bought Mr. Buehler's book and now I do.
I may not end up building to any of Mr. Buehler's plans (although the 48' Diesel Duck looks awfully appealing) but I'm certainly going to put together a boat based on these ideas or die trying. No doubt what got me started down this line of thinking was reading the Patrick O'Brian novels a couple times.
If you relate to my perspective at all then I'll expand on this for a moment. The book opens up, extensively, a frame of mind that answers the extended set of questions sitting in my land-lubber's brain. Here are the summary questions and answers, unabashed advertising for TTYB.
How big does a boat need to be to safely cross an ocean? (Answer: about 40 feet does it. 50 feet seems a nice compromise between 'more is better' and 'more is too much'.)
Should one move about on the ocean by sailing? (Answer: No! But a mast ought to be built into a power boat so sails can be used at sea in the event of engine failure.)
Do big boats need commensurately big engines? (Answer: No! Not if you travel in displacement hulls at modest speed. This means you can travel along under tens of horsepower burning a gallon or two of diesel per hour; what a concept!)
What sort of range can one get on the ocean on a single tank of gas? (Answer: A narrow hull and a small engine get you a quarter of the way around the planet on 800 gallons of fuel.)
And to reiterate/summarize: What is the basic idea for ocean-crossing adventures on a middle-class income? ((To be fair Mr. Buehler phrases this question in his book better than I had formed it in my head) The answer: Build a compact narrow boat with a modest superstructure to cut down wind resistance, travel at 8 knots or so, and keep all of your critical systems simple and thereby reliable.)
As the man says in his book, the design concept is based on very seaworthy salmon trollers rather than wide-bottom trawlers. (So any review of this book that uses the term 'trawler' must be written by someone who didn't actually read it.)
And as another man says (in Young Frankenstein): To the lumber yard!!
Rating:  -
This book is primarily for folks who are thinking of buying, building, or having built a trawler and to take it on long cruises. This is not a book for those who already own a trawler and are trying to find ways to improve them and preparing them for cruising.
Rating: -
This book was about Econo-Yachts, Snailboats, World cruisers, motorboats with displacement hulls that are faster than sailboats but slower than plaining boats.
This book sparked my interest in long range cruising with power boats that compare favorably with sailboats. Unfortunately there aren't many around.
The closest category is pilot house boats with small diesel engines that travel at hull speed [1.34 times the square root of the waterline]and aux sails.
This book introduces the possibility of going around the world for the price of a set of sailboat sails at faster than sailboat speed.
The book includes too small to read plans and building recomendations for this kind of boat.
I highly recommend this book for those interested in this kind of travel. This book is about the boat not the travel itself. Delbert Jolly
Rating: -
Should be mandatory reading for anyone considering living aboard or cruising as a lifestyle.
This book is an excellent primer explaining, in easy to understand terms, why certain boat designs may be more suitable for those of us with "realistic" budgets, custom vs. production boats, powering, design, construction materials, etc.
Reading this book has completely re-oriented our focus away from production boats to begin the process of design selection and having our own custom live-aboard built! Thanks, George.
Rating: -
Mr. Buehler's book is an excellent read, and an extremely handy guide for those of us interested in its subject matter but without the bottomless pockets required to enjoy today's production boats. Can you build a boat using just this book? No. Can you plan your round-the-world cruise using just this book? Again, no. However, with chapters on the concept of a proper cruising design, affordability, safety, construction, outfitting and other relevant items, the book is an excellent primer on the concept of safe, affordable cruising for the everyday Joe who loves boats and the water.
Mr. Snell may not have found what he was looking for; personally, I suspect he was offended by Mr. Buehler's attitude toward production yachts and their inadequacies.
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