Book Recommendation?

[SEMIJim]

I would've put this in the sticky, but that thread's gotten real long and a lot of what's being discussed is fiction and the like.

Quick background: My wife has sailing experience. I have crewing experience. We both completed ASA 101 and 103 last weekend. Both have read Sailing Fundamentals and browsed a couple other sailing books. Now looking for the next one or two books to add to the shipboard library. Instructional books that serve well as references, where it's easy too look stuff up quickly and not have to read through two pages of explanatory text to find out "what this marker means" or "what's this chart symbol" would be perfect, I think.

Here's a candidate list I put together:

From Recommended Sailing Books for Beginners

1. Chapman Piloting, Seamanship and Small Boat Handling

4-1/2 stars from 12 Amazon readers

2. The Annapolis Book of Seamanship, John Rousmaniere

5 stars from 21 Amazon readers

3. Handbook of Sailing, Bob Bond

4-1/2 stars from 11 Amazon readers

DK Complete Sailing Manual, Steve Sleight

4-1/2 stars from 10 Amazon readers
Well-reviewed here:
Book Review - DK Complete Sailing Manual

How to Read a Nautical Chart : A Complete Guide to the Symbols,
Abbreviations, and Data Displayed on Nautical Charts, Nigel Calder

4 stars from 11 Amazon readers

We have the Sleight book on loan from the library. Like it, but I'm thinkin' we're weak on charts and navaids, so I'm thinkin' the "How To Read a Nautical Chart" and the Annapolis book?

Comments?

Thanks,
Jim

[Freesail99]

I have all of the above books. A great reading list.

[knotaloud]

Anything by Nigel Calder is worth reading

[Freesail99]

Nigel Cader's work would be more on the care of a sailboat. All the books semijim listed were on how to or the sailing of the boat.

[sailingdog]

You really missed one of the better books... Dave Seidman's The Complete Sailor is an excellent resource and one you should have to read.

How to Read a Nautical Chart is a good one... but for basic sailboat handling and skills, the Seidman book is the one I recommend to most of the new sailors and new people crewing for me.

[soul searcher]

Illusrated sail trim and rig tuning by Ivar dedekam is a great refferance not a lot of words but loads of info with great pics. Our copy is always handy.
Hope this helps

[SEMIJim]

Originally Posted by sailingdog

You really missed one of the better books... Dave Seidman's The Complete Sailor is an excellent resource and one you should have to read.

Nope--didn't miss it . Took your recommendation 1st time 'round and ordered it, along with Sailing Fundamentals from Amazon, last week. The Admiral is reading it atm. I'll read it when she's done with it.

I'm looking for "the next step" books.

Originally Posted by sailingdog

How to Read a Nautical Chart is a good one...

I take it, then, it's the one, or one of the two you'd recommend from my list?

Thanks,
Jim

[sailingdog]

Personally, I wouldn't buy it, but it is a good book for people who aren't used to reading nautical charts...and explains it far better than I could...

Some of the books on your list are essentially reference books, Chapmans, and Annapolis book of sailing, aren't really books to read for most people, but should be kept around the boat/house as a reference.

I'd also recommend you pickup a copy of Chart #1, which has the complete list of chart symbols that you'll ever see on a US waters chart.

Another good book for you is Boater's Bowditch, which is a revised version of Bowditch's that was written specifically for the small craft navigator. Much easier to read than Bowditch is. It is very thourough and very easy to read.

[Sapperwhite]

Originally Posted by SEMIJim

Instructional books that serve well as references, where it's easy too look stuff up quickly and not have to read through two pages of explanatory text to find out "what this marker means" or "what's this chart symbol" would be perfect, I think.

Jim, the best book to have that tells you "what is this chart symbol" is Chart No. 1.

Office of Coast Survey - Chart No. 1


Illustrated Sail Trim and Rig Tuning by Ivar Dedekam is a really cool sail trim book. They show you a simple picture of a sail with wrinkles "here", then tell you why they are there, and how to correct your trim to get rid of them. It really boils it down for dummies. No long winded explanation fit for a physics class, just simple diagrams and few words.

Rig-Tuning-Ivar-Dedekam/dp/1898660670" target="_blank">Amazon.com: Sail and Rig Tuning: Books: Ivar Dedekam

[Freesail99]

Originally Posted by knotaloud

How to Read a Nautical Chart is by Nigel Calder, and it's worth reading, if you know how....

I have the book and also know how .....