[TSOJOURNER]

A gentleman has asked me for a little help. He is looking for a book that has information in it about sailboats. I know there is such a book for Powerboats and Multihulls..some where I have them both....but I think there is also one that covers Monohull Sailboats. It would be a book that has a picture of every commercially built sailboat, in particular American built boats, but also European ones as well. I have completely been seized by "CRS" on this one and gone blank!

Do you know the name of this book if it exists? Or do you know the names of any books that would fill the bill? This gentleman is considering purchasing a sailboat and wants to see what kind of a range of boats there are.

Thanks in avance for your time and considerations.

Rob

 

[JeffH]

There used to be a "Sailboat Buyers and Owners Guide" published every year. It had listing for whomever chose to advertise. I have not seen one in years. Even it was light on Photos and information. A company called Royce I think used to publish a ''Field guide'' to yacht types that was organized like a ornothilogical guide. It was not especially helpful for thekind of thing you want to do. I really don''t have any idea what to tell you at this point.

Jeff

 

[TSOJOURNER]

Jeff..Thanks for your response. I''m starting to think that the book I''m looking for doesn''t exist...at least as far as monohulls.

But the two that you suggested might provide a start. I also ran across a bunch of old "Practical Sailors" I''ve had in storage and there is an ad in there for "Practical Boat Buying" that has quite a few boats in it - rated and reviewed.

At least its a start! Thanks again!

Rob

 

[TSOJOURNER]

Opinion''s differ, but I have found the book "Practical Boat Buying", from he Practical Sailor, to be helpful. They tend to favor the heavy, solid glass boats that I like (and other''s may not). Their opinions on boats can be at odds with many other''s (they love the C&C Landfall 38 and cannot come to many conclusions about Endeavour and Irwin), so I think most people would advise taking the opinions with a grain of salt.

Their opinions aside, I find that it is the only compendium where I can find objective data on boats, such as hull construction, hull to deck joint construction, price trending, layouts etc. Its available at Amazon.

I don''t think its the last word on boats, but I do think its a good place to start and a good reference... if you use it as a reference and ignore the editorial comments (not all but some). I am glad that I have the latest 2 vol set.

Just my personal opinion.

best of luck.

 

[TSOJOURNER]

JohnD.....Thanks for your post. I haven''t personally seen the book...but its good to hear from someone who has. I will suggest this fellow get the book....and I will also suggest that he take the editorial comments "with the proverbial grain of salt".

Thanks again!

Rob

 

[TSOJOURNER]

Rob,

I also have Practical Sailor''s "Practical Boat Buying" - a two volume set from 1999. While I can''t attest to the accuracy of the reviews I find it very useful to get someone''s opinion of a particular boat and its history, and entertaining as I do my own boat research. Hardly a couple of days go by that I don''t refer to it. It is also highly recommended by Chuck Gustafson who has a book "How to Buy the Best Sailboat" that I also like.

Another reference is Mauch''s Sailboat Guide. I have no personal experience with it other than to look at its web site - www.mauchs.com - where you can check out a sample page and the table of contents. It consists of three supplemental volumes that can be purchases individually. I think it is more into specifications than reviews.

Hope this is helpful.

Jim Seguin

 

[TSOJOURNER]

Jim.....Thanks for the heads-up on "Mauch''s".
I do believe thats the one I was looking for.
I went and looked at the website and checked out the table of contents.....that book must have about every sailboat ever built listed in it.

Thanks again!!

Rob

 

[TSOJOURNER]

Thank you. I went to the Mauch''s site and just ordered all 3 vol''s. Looked like they would be a nice addition to my library and a good basic reference.

Now maybe we can get Jeff to write a guide?

I would voluteer to edit one. Would be interesting to have a compilation written by marine architects and surveyors, each with direct experience with the vessal they are writing about.