Marine Boats Reviews

An encyclopaedic covering of various tactics for surviving storms at sea, the dashews succinct writing and cogent organisation drives this hefty book forward. while powerboats are nominally covered, this book is more squarely aimed at the community of ocean going sailboats. Anyone sailing into deep blue water should read this book. A few notes: 1.the conclusions are mature: there is no single right answer, but the best strategy is to experiment with all the tactics in moderately heavy seas before you eventually get caught out in the big one. 2.active strategies (beating in and running off) shine a little brighter under the dashews' light than heaving to or sea anchors/drogues; fair enough. 3.consequently there is a nice treatment of heavy weather sails 4.the book is full of instructive black & white photos that make one sufficiently happy to be drinking tea at home. 5.numerous interviews with salty sailors make for instructive case studies, though several times key details (size of boat, location, crew experience, etc.) are left out. 6.the only weakness is that its numerous interviews and articles largely focus on experienced sailors who have been doing everything right for so long that it's difficult to get them to remember the episodes that taught them. The book is quite thin on disaster stories -which are frequently the most instructive -- and instead spends a lot of time interviewing 100,000 milers who can't remember the last time they were scared. Thus 'surviving the storm' tells you merely how to do everything right, not how to avoid doing the wrong things... for those many of us who find the fear of failing (or drowning) particularly motivating from an instructional standpoint, this is a lacuna in an otherwise fine book. Two other sailing books, "MayDay!" and Coote's "Total Loss" admirably fill this gap, but if the dashew's had hit this final nail on the head I'd petition amazon for a 6-star review. At the end of the day, it's a must-read. Rock on steve and Linda, I've got dockage in fort Lauderdale if you ever want to visit.

With the advent of popular movies about horrific storms at sea that deal more in fiction than fact it is both refreshing and gratifying to read a book written for us ocean voyagers from someone who has actually lived it!. There are few sailors and even fewer authors that have the experience and dedication of the Dashews. In Surviving the Storm they combine their extensive experience at sea (over 200,000 miles cruising offshore) and their background in boat design and building (perhaps some of the finest sailing boats made) with other experts to separate the hype and fiction from the facts.

After reading this book I had a totally different outlook on most of the major storms we've all heard about and more importantly how to prepare and deal with heavy weather when and if I get caught in it.

As with all of the Dashews' books I've read, Surviving The Storm is written in an easy to read, conversational style with lots of real-world examples and there are plenty of illustrations and photographs to help you see what is going on. No detail is left out - I found this book to be an extensive, in-depth reference of the hows and whys of storm tactics and survival. At just shy of 700 pages it contains a ton of information. I especially like the summaries and numerous side-bar references - they really help.

If sailing is your passion as it is mine I'd suggest a few other Dashew titles as well.

Mariner's Weather Handbook is a great companion to this book and covers every aspect of weather for the sailor. Let's face it - it is better to stay ahead of nasty weather than get caught in it!

The book that turned me on to the Dashews was their massive reference: Offshore Cruising Encyclopedia - it saved me from wasting thousands of dollars and an equal amount of time readying my boat for offshore. It is an incredible book covering everything a cruiser needs to know BEFORE going offshore. I've read (and studied, over and over again) these 3 books and I hardly recommend them to anyone who likes sailing - it is money very well spent!

If there is one book you should study before heading to sea it is the Dashew's Surviving the Storm. Rather than taking a dogmatic approach to storm tactics, they cover every imaginable tactic, and how it is used in a variety of boats and conditions. The book starts with a thorough analysis of the problems encountered by a variety of boats heading between the islands and new Zealand in 1998. There are some sad stories as well as successes - we learn from both. They go on to make an elaborate explanation of preparation and equipment, anmd then cover tactics in detail.

The Dashew's repeat over and over that there is no magic bullet to heavy weather. You havew to be prepared to use ansd try different tactics as conditions change.

What we liked most was the intervioew format used extensively throughout the book. There must be 70 or more of them. Half of these are with professionals and their comments are very informative. The interviews with amateurs are also worth reading. Some did things the right way, others made mistakes, from which we can all learn.

This book has received great press and while I was at first skeptical of the price and the reviews, having read the book now I can say it is the best investment I have yet made in my plans to go cruising.

Dennis Moore has really done his homework on this and it's companion book on big block performance. The kind of detailed information provided in each of his books is very hard to find, and Dennis explains the performance significance of each step of the engine's assembly. I've been a professional engine builder for many years, and I'll definitely read these one more than once! A must-have for the marine small-block owner/builder.

Since I now have my own copy, I can tell the world that this book is well underpriced!! The content of this book is so well written, easy to read, and chocked full of "experience and information", that it is easily worth more than three times what it sells for!

By having this book, I now feel that I have the confidance to build my own "hot engine", knowing I have the expertise of Dennis Moore (the author)looking over my shoulder as I build it!

Definately a must have!!

Dennis Moore has put together a clear, concise and very complete guide to building up a marine performance engine. Whether you plan to put together a very high performance motor or just make improvements to your stock motor, this book has the bases covered.

He has clear descriptions on the differences between automotive and marine engines, and details which components work best for the marine powerplant and why.

The background information he provides clears up many myths and also details how certain common practices came about and why they should or should not have a place in building up a small block.

The material is well organized and easy to navigate through.

I am currently bulding up a 350 for my boat, and this book has given me all the information I need to make the correct choices on parts and talk intelligently with the machine shops.

I bought this book for my six year old son.He and his brother have always loved Jerry Pallotta's alphabet books, so I thought we'd give this book a try! Boy, are we glad that I did! The illustrations are beautiful, and as always Mr. Pallotta gives children information in a way that they can understand - but without talking down to them. My son really loved the twist at the end of the story. He was relieved that Danny wasn't out there in the ocean all by himself!

This beauty of a book has so many quality elements! The pictures are gorgeous, first of all, and easily catch and hold readers' attentions. Perhaps some parents will raise their eyebrows at the seemingly disobedient little boy's adventures, but children will be entranced. The ending, in which it is revealed that Danny's adventures are really a bath-time story he is telling himself, far from being a cop-out, is reassuring to parents and kids alike. In between, there is much (accurate!) information, gently shared, that will prompt kids to tell their own bath-time stories.

Excellent book to walk you through the basics of rebuilding a Jet drive. It will take you through disassembly and assembly step by step. I would recommend it to anyone that is rebuilding or considering rebuilding a Jet.

This book does not cover Blueprinting just the basic rebuild and it is a little weak on tolerance information for the Berkley jet drives. But well worth having anyway.

This book is an excellent overview of the major jet drives in use today. It is somewhat technical, but nothing covered in it could not be handled by a proficient do it yourself mechanic. The book also covers basic engine troubleshooting. An exccellent resource, it offers step by step instructions.

This book was written by folks who are primarily interested in recording the history of small boats. My personal small boat reference library has 180 books in it and I have read all with careful attention to detail. More than half of them would be better reference books if the author had enjoyed the opportunity to study this book on documenting small boats. The scope of this book is such that there is truly something for all, no matter how specific your interest in small boats. I am a scale model builder. I enjoy getting each piece to look & work like the real thing. That means I need to be able to measure the real thing, draw it to scale and then reproduce it. This book defines the basic structure of a boat, gives you a working vocabulary and understanding of each part. I'm referring to parts that are there in plain view that are typically overlooked, but essential. Once you read this book (or the parts that interest you) and see the parts, you'll realize it was more difficult to write about measuring and drafting than it is to actually do it. The graphics in this book are excellent. If you own a boat, for which there are no plans and plan to build a model of it, this book is a "must-have" for the project. If you are a serious student of archaeology, you need this book. The book's index converts a book of great scope into a quick easy to use reference book. Finally, the bibliography alone is worth the price of the book. If I could only keep 5 of my books, this would definitely be on my keep list.

Boat owners will appreciate Hugh Bright's Complete Marine Radio Control Manual, a basic guide to marine radio systems and a primer which includes battery management, servos, electric motors, and all the basics essential to maintaining and operating the radio system. System outlines and black and white photos appear throughout the chapters covering radio basics.

This is like a Boy Scout Handbook for power boaters. Filled with detailed information and great illustrations, it is a must for every boater. Whether you are an occasional boater or an faithfull weekend warrior this book should be read and kept on board. The rescue techniques and boat handling methods are very important for all of us to practice when we are out on the waters. Luttrell's book should be required reading for every person who rents boats for the occasional trip to the lake.

H

This book was so great my eyes nearly popped out at the way they surrounded the whole story of these ship disasters. They made it really easy for a kid (even one younger than I) to read it.

Keita E

I've been wiring cars and motorcycles for 30 years. I also work with microcontrollers and supporting circuity and electronics in general. Somebody suggested that I get into boat electrics and maybe I could help support my cruising kitty (when the time comes) by working on other peoples sailboats. It seemed like a good idea, so I set out learning what I could and to gain some experience. The first thing I did was to buy every book I could lay my hands on on boat wiring and read them from cover to cover. Now that I've wired and repaired a few sailboats I realized that out of all the books I have, only two were refered to continuously while the rest have collected dust. This book is one of them.

First of all, it is a very easy book to read. There is not a wasted word in the whole book. All concepts are concise and easily understood. When you need a diagram to grok a concept, it is there. You can sit down and read this book like a novel it's written so well.

Second, it leaves no assumptions. Sure, I'd like to think I know all things electrical, but I don't. Sailboat electrics is as different from automotive electrics as cake is from pie. I learned about the difference between marine and automotive batteries. I learned about corrosion and zincs. I picked up the concept of sailboat characteristics in a lightning strike. These are the categories that are not covered in automotive books or even in general Electrical Engineering courses.

I think this book should be every boaters first choice in sailboat electrics. I recommend it to everyone who has an interest. If you feel you need even more detail, or equipment-specific knowledge, you can always pick up (my 2nd must-have book choice): Boatowner's Mechanical & Electrical Manual: How to Maintain, Repair, and Improve Your Boat's Essential Systems.

Between the two, you will have on hand a reference to everything you will need to know.

An outstanding book. I myself knew absolutely nothing about electricity when I first bought this book - although obviously it didn't make me an expert, it nonetheless taught me what I needed to know to start modifying my boat's electrical systems. I admit that I am biased - Don Casey is one of my favorite sailing authors - but if you are a novice and need to upgrade your boat's electrics, this is the book to get.

I have a twenty-five boat with modest electrical needs. This book gave me all the foundational material I needed to start and finish my project but more importantly presented the material in a very readable even entertaining fasion while remaining efficient. Great diagrams, great book, great sailing.