BoatU.S. - January/February 2010

bookreviews

Classic Budget

refit send the Sea he inside on.” st legs,

Have you despaired of ever being able to a;ord a boat as big as your sailing dreams? Despair no more. By some estimates there are forty used fiberglass boats out there for each new one, and while a new 40-foot cruising sailboat can cost more than $400,000–sometimes much more–you can buy a used one for less than 20 percent of that–perhaps much less. If a jaunty 26-foot weekend cruiser is your cup of tea, you can find one tomorrow for less than $7,000. And if you’re afraid you don’t have the knowledge or skills to refit and upgrade an older boat, Don Casey is here to help. Since its first publication eighteen years ago, ;is Old Boat has been the preeminent guide for upgrading used boats—sailboats mainly, but powerboats too. Now this new edition b rings the book up to date with respect to electrical systems (which have been subject to major developments since the first edition was published), diesel engines, refrigeration, resins, plumbing, and more. But what has not changed–and what made the first edition such a success–is Don Casey’s unique blend of authority with clarity, precise detail with confidence-building reassurance, and wisdom with humor. No matter your skill level, Casey will help you develop a logical, orderly plan for bringing your old boat up to snu;, and he’ll show you how to make the needed repairs and enhancements—starting with the tools and materials you’ll need and how to use them.

Casey assumes you know nothing, leading you methodically and good-naturedly through every step of turning a cast-o; boat into a real show-stopper. Step-by-step drawings guide you through

$49.95 USA £ 22.99 UK

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Cozy Up With A Good Read This Winter

This Old Boat: Completely Revised
and Expanded Edition

By Don Casey (McGraw-Hill)

If, over the years, you dreamed of owning a bigger boat but felt intimidated, BoatU.S. “Ask The Expert’” columnist Don Casey was always there to help. When his considerable tome, This Old Boat, first came out 18 years ago, it became an instant bible for the DIY boat enthusiast with big dreams and a sparse wallet.

Now, in its second edition, the revered hardback is brought up to date with advice on modern electrical systems, diesel engines, refrigeration, resins, plumbing, etc., without losing any of the great hints and tips that made it such a success first time around.

The author’s style is to assume you know nothing, and then tell you how to do everything. With a teacher’s gift for imparting knowledge and a clear and precise delivery, readers will be left with the confidence to try their hand at almost anything in a vessel that needs repairing, renovating, or a complete rehab.

Regardless of whether you’ve rescued a boat from the salvage yard or you’re fitting out a mega-yacht, this book will guide you on everything, from buying the right boat to charting an achievable and affordable renovation plan, all the way through to making your own sail covers, and even sails — or at least knowing how it should be done. As living proof that an old boat can be taught plenty of new tricks, Don and his wife Olga abandoned their landlubbers’ life in 2002 for an extended cruise aboard Seawind, their 40-year-old (yes, 40-year-old!) Allied.

Check out Casey’s “How To” archive library: www.BoatUS.com/boattech.

— Ann Dermody

Sustainable Sailing

By Dieter Loibner

(Sheridan House)

As boaters, we enjoy an intimate relationship with the rivers, bays, and oceans that ebb and flow through our lives, and want our waterways and planet to be healthy. Sustainable Sailing by Soundings writer Dieter Loibner comprehensively examines the impact of our boating lifestyle on the world around us, examining how engineers, scientists, lawyers, designers, and builders are working on ways to make boating greener, and sharing their challenges and solutions. Innovations in the areas of fuels, boats, batteries, solar panels, and wind- and wave-energy generators are showing great promise in reducing the impact of boating activities.

construction, and operation, such as the use of lightweight building materials, low VOC finishes, and new technology including towable energy generators. It makes suggestions on how to turn boating into a more sustainable activity, from specific ways to modify personal behavior, such as reducing the amount of disposable plastics taken aboard, to commissioning a carbon-neutral custom yacht, and everything in between. (For every book purchased by a BoatU.S. member, the publisher will donate $5 to the BoatU.S. Foundation for Boating Safety and Clean Water. To order your copy go call 1-888-SHERIBK (1-888-743-7425). (Be sure to mention you’re a member.)

— Susan Shingledecker

Here are some of the sea-
son’s best how-to books,
and one that gets us thinking
about the world around us

Loibner highlights educational organizations, including the BoatU.S. Foundation, which are making a difference educating boaters about caring for our waterways. Sustainable Sailing examines the environmental impacts not only of sailing and the boating industry but of our boating culture. For instance, boaters know better than most the importance of energy and water conservation and waste management; the impact of high fuel prices and how efficiency measures can really pay off; the impacts of increased storm intensity on marinas.

This book offers insight in boat design,

The Ultimate Guide
To America’s Weather

By Jack Williams

(University of Chicago Press)

To say boaters are closet weather “junkies” might actually understate our fascination with meteorology. It determines when and how we boat, fish, cruise, race, or vacation, as boating is so weather-dependent. This new guide to everything you wanted to know about the U.S.’s wide range of weather from a science journalist and the former weather editor for USA Today packs it all into 368 pages and 140 color illustrations and stunning photos, all of them fascinating to study.

From the array of satellites tracking the weather to how Doppler radar works, or why the Santa Ana winds blow, this book covers all that and more, co-published with the American Meteorology Society (AMS). Twelve chapters go from the global patterns such as El Niño, global warming, and ocean circulation patterns, down to the local level such as why you see haloes around the sun and how to read cloud formations.

One chapter is devoted to thunderstorms and another to tropical cyclones — two events that probably impact mariners the most. Dissecting hurricanes and showing all the factors that determine their formation, strength and path give us new respect for how far hurricane forecasting has come. Whether you want to better understand the weather in your boating area or are hooked on The Weather Channel, this book is an eye-catching and very complete reference.