 The present publication, whole content of which was developed by one of the most respected experts in the field of ocean boating and yachting, was released with the ultimate intention to provide all lovers of boating with a single reference volume, describing in detail the most effective ways of planning and executing long cruises – first of all, of course, they must apply the experience gathered by those who had undertaken such voyages before.
Their opinions will for sure be differing, but that is the very idea of this title – to collect and work on the information provided by the4 best sailors, covering the most important aspects and problems of the modern ocean sailing. We can say that virtually every single problem found its reflection in the pages of this brilliant book, from technical to psychological sort of thing.
That is why this is definitely a highly recommended reading for all people preparing for their ocean voyages. The information is presented in a very readable and practical way, making the application easy.
 The publication tells an interesting story of the family voyage undertaken by Caspar and Nichola years ago. They sailed around the world and took their children on board! Of course, most of the people would consider this family crazy, however now, after more than a decade, they are happy to recall every single moment of their voyage. It had taken them more than five years to carefully plan the intended voyage, as there were so many things to deal with.
All their efforts eventually resulted in two years of brilliantly spent time, sometimes scary and difficult, but magical. It definitely was a great experience for the family. The story told by the author is a story of a great adventure, but there is something even more important than that – in this book he shares his inspiration, he makes reader believe than it is possible and it is not something that can only be done by others, and everyone can do that, turning their dreams into reality.
People planning their voyage with kids will find lots of useful and practical information in this volume, and, moreover, the will feel inspired and motivated – this is also very important for success of any intended voyage. Note that there are many valuable resources provided in the appendix.
 Absolutely uncomplicated and really reader-friendly, this title is a great one for those engaged in the RYA Day Skipper course. It shall definitely be treated as the top major reference source since it provides readers with the good insights and updates on the very latest developments and also covers both theoretical part of the course and all necessary practical areas.
The information and explanations provided in the pages of this volume, supplemented with the numerous data diagrams and images, will be of great practical use if you are on your way to obtaining the RYA certificate. Moreover, it is a great training and reference tool for the yachters planning their passages, owing to the amount of the information it gives not only on the navigation and pilotage, but also addressing the boatwork in general.
The safety equipment is paid due attention and dealt with in a separate section, same equally applies to the collision prevention at sea, and other aspects. It will also be good when used to refresh the knowledge of what one has studies some time ago to make sure that the knowledge can be put into practice again. The readers say that this is a must-read one before the course so you are encouraged to go through all its chapters attentively.
 Although there are many titles available today on the subject of marine inspections, the one presented to your attention is actually the only book directly linked to the practical work of ship surveying. The content is absolutely practical and full of images and detailed procedures which, when used together with the check sheets provided by the author, will make this volume an excellent and perfectly handy tool for the yacht and boat owners willing to find out the actual condition of their craft without asking someone else for assistance.
You will get to know how to assess the defects commonly found on board vessels of smaller size; understand their severity and possible consequences. The volume will guide you step by step through the entire process of surveying, covering everything – hull and machinery items, rigging, outfitting etc.
It is a very valuable study and reference source for the students and even qualified inspectors, owing to the concise and methodical approach making the book very readable and instructions so easy to follow. Note that even the report writing techniques have been covered, meaning that you can do the yacht survey as the third-party specialist and provide the owners with the professionally looking report.
 This perfectly handy and practical reference source is a real treasure for all owners of the powerboats and sailing boats who are in need of the compact and informative how-to guide covering the important aspects of both inland and coastal cruising. Written by a team of the sailing professionals, who also released the famous Good Boatkeeping, the title will tell you about virtually all situations that you can get in during your voyage.
Just read the book attentively and you may consider yourself ready to start. Among the topics covered by the authors there are reading the nautical charts and understanding them, making a plot of your course, knowing how to anchor and dock your craft in the safest possible way, how to negotiate traffic and communicate with the shore as well as with the other boats around, etc. the due attention was given to the hazards one can encounter, and how to avoid them.
Apart from the theoretical part, there are so many practical tips and hints, and we dare say that they made it much easier to get the answers to the most important questions that the beginner boat sailors traditionally have. In short, this is definitely one of the more accessible and practically useful guides of all those available today for the boaters.
 According to one of the most popular reviews for the subject book, the most interesting thing about it is the fact that it will take only a couple of hours for the attentive reader to assemble his or her own Uqbar boat and get her prepared to be glued – of course, provided that all instructions given by the author, have been duly followed.
Actually, one can get armed with a pencil and drill plus just some very basic tools, to be able to start making a boat. Apart from the valuable instructions and practical tips, the publication is full of the informative images and explanations of the various construction methods to the beginner boatbuilder’s benefit.
Another interesting thing is that the author managed to prove the effectiveness of the stitch-and-glue technique when applied to the construction of this particular boat type, and the Uqbar is definitely among the popular ones. These boats have been in wide use by the people for a long time, either as the yacht tenders or even primary craft.
All the basic steps have been details and made easy to follow even for the newcomers, so one can start reading the book in the morning and commence his own boat building project same evening. Make a try and you will succeed.
 For any lover of sea and sailing there can be nothing better and more pleasant on a nice and sunny summer day to sit watching the sailing boats passing by. This always creates a sort of enthusiasm in such people, making them feel engaged and even willing to undertake a voyage on a sailboat.
The author of this volume adopted a perfectly understandable and detailed step-by-step approach to presenting the material in order to make same easier to follow by the readers. Go through the contents of the publication carefully and you will get to know everything you need to know about the essential principles of sailing, and note that the material covers all types and sizes of boats.
Virtually all important aspects of boat sailing have been addressed including the rigging and mooring the boat, how to launch you boat, how to handle the spinnaker. Some necessary information about the buoyage system has been provided. The narrative part is richly supplemented with the data diagrams all prepared by the well experienced master, and they are presented in such a simple manner that understanding will not be a problem for any boater. We do recommend this title to all boat sailors not matter where the future voyages are planned to take place.
 This volume would be recommended to the people with deep interest in designing yachts and boats. It should not actually be looked at as the technical manual or textbook. The publication rather contains the nautical autobiography written by the very experienced and professional designer of the yachts.
It is a sort of easy reading for the people whose life is somehow connected with the design of the ships, boats, and yachts. They will definitely appreciate the content of this volume since it provides not only the technical details and information that can be found in the other similar titles, but also the personal experience shared by the author, and this is something very difficult to find. The practical experience of the author covers different kinds of cruising boats.
He also addresses the main reasons for selecting the particular boat design and gives numerous valuable suggestions and tips that would be interesting to both the beginner and the professional ship and boat designer. Moreover, there are so many informative sketches and photographs which, together with the other technical information, will make this title a perfect choice for all those following the traditional design of the yachts.
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