A unique combination of artistry and technical virtuosity -- the simplest and clearest guide yet to building curvaceous boats from wood.

Since the late 1950s, when the first plastic sailboat shocked the New York Boat Show, fiberglass boatbuilding has gone through classic growing pains. Longtime yacht broker and marine surveyor Henry Mustin has seen it all: the slow acceptance of those early, heavy boats; the market boom of the lighter boats of the 1970s; the boat pox scare of the 1980s; and the continued lack of industry standards that makes buying and owning a fiberglass boat an adventure. In Surveying Fiberglass Sailboats Mustin explains what to watch for in a used sailboat from each era, and how to ferret out the hidden defects in any boat. He shows how to estimate the cost of repairs and the value of a boat. And he addresses the question: When is a fiberglass boat too used up to save?

Mustins part-by-part look at hull, deck, rig, and machinery is both a minicourse for transforming used-boat shopping from a game of craps to a science, and the first step in a holistic boat maintenance program. His discussion of the significance of cracks found in aging hulls and decks is the most thorough in print. He is not shy in assessing the lack of regulation of professional surveyors, nor does he shrink from pointing a finger at shoddy building practices.

Having a used boat surveyed is a critical prelude to buying it. Yet a professional survey is expensive--several hundred dollars. Surveying Fiberglass Sailboats will enable you to conduct your own surveys while narrowing the field, then monitor a professional surveyors performance when selecting your target boat.

The voyage of the 'coffin ship' Ajax, from Dublin to Grosse Ile, the Canadian quarantine station as described in the contemporary diary of one of the passengers, Robert Whyte. Whyte was a Protestant gentleman of education and position, as well as being a professional writer who intended to publish his diary. The diary appeared in 1848. It is signed in the author's own handwriting and features vivid descriptions of the spectacular scenery along the way and the striking delineations of the passengers, the crew and the suffering travellers.

One of the finest, most colorful and definitive studies of whaling ever published. Describes whaling trade, rigging, gear and handicrafts; construction and outfitting of ships, with fascinating details and anecdotes about whales and whaling waters, whaling men, methods of attack, crafts and routines, much more. Richly illustrated with 133 halftones, 17 line illustrations. Introduction by Robert Cushman Murphy. Bibliography.

Youve just spent a day on the water under a sweltering sun. You sit back, enjoying the seclusion of a remote anchorage, lulled by the rattle of ice in your cold drink. A pretty picture, but a rare one aboard cruising boats.

A house is never without its utility umbrella, but when you pull your boats shore-power plug youre on your own. Even good refrigeration systems use a lot of energy. And bad ones? Erase those ice cubes from your tropical fantasy.

Refrigeration for Pleasureboats explains how the cruising sailor can acquire the amenities--even the necessities--of an efficient onboard refrigeration system. Whether youre off for two days or two years, you must balance the highest possible cooling capacity with the lowest possible energy consumption. Calder explains clearly and logically how and why refrigeration components work, how to keep them working efficiently and economically, and what to look for when something goes wrong.

Boat refrigeration systems are phenomenally expensive. A modest refrigerator/freezer system, professionally built and installed, can cost more than $4,000. Yet these units can still have unpleasant side effects--such as killing the boats batteries. Refrigeration for Pleasureboats provides all the step-by-step information an amateur needs to design and build a custom refrigeration unit that will cost far less than half the price of an off-the-shelf unit and will likely run better with far less drain on the batteries. With Calders maintenance and troubleshooting tips, youll be able to keep it running for years to come and keep those ice cubes tinkling in that frosted glass.

This first book to make a detailed exploration of the system of riverboat traffic of the Delta region, "Steamboats and the Cotton Economy" is also the first balanced study showing how steamboats in the early years of the republic performed essentially the same role that railroads would later perform in revolutionizing the interior of the nation. Today, the mention of steamboats conjures up romantic visions of cotton landings and mythological river traders. Some of the steamboats plying the Mississippi-Yazoo Delta waterways give form to the myth. Others call forth the true work-a-day world of steamers loaded with passengers, freight, and sacks of cotton seed. Such ubiquitous trade boats, cotton, gin boats, sawmills boats, as well as ice and mail boats, not only helped to build the Cotton Kingdom but also added rich texture and color to the history of the Delta. In discovering the role of steamboats in the everyday life of the Mississippi Delta, this book reveals the vital economic function of river transportation in the development of the region. With this as a major theme, Harry P. Owens shows how entrepreneurs developed and maintained this transportation system. He focuses on the biography of one of these businessmen, Sherman H. Parisot, and gives a case study of his steamboat company, the P. Line.

This history of the steamboat era in the region covers a century, from the 1820s when itinerate steamers of the Mississippi River mosquito fleet rushed into the Delta for cargoes and passengers, until 1920 when Mississippi River towboats and their barges entered the Delta waterways. Between these decades, young men who came of age along the Yazoo River gained control of their waterways in the late antebellum period and tried to hold them for the Confederacy during the war years. Re-establishing their control in the postbellum Cotton Kingdom, Captain Parisot and his associates fought a futile battle against the business giants of New Orleans. During the final days of the era, when they were confined to the Delta waterways, Yazoo steamboatmen faced the new challenge of the railroads. By 1900, the locomotive supplanted the steamboat for most interregional shipping, but steamers continued to transport large quantities of freight and thousands of passengers each year. After more than a century, steamboats, which had played such a vital role in the building of the Mississippi-Yazoo Delta, yielded to the internal combustion engine and the era ended.

In view of the sky-high purchase and ownership costs of today's large yachts, more and more people are opting to cruise in smaller boats, ranging downward in size from 30 feet to as small as 15 feet. In a boat with limited space, forethought and good design are particularly important for both safety and comfort -- but all too often these are precisely the areas shortchanged in fiberglass production sailboats. Upgrading Your Small Sailboat for Cruising is intended to bridge that gap, with dozens of projects to make a daysailer suitable for cruising, or a pocket cruiser more suitable. The book offers improvements in every area: masts and rigging, flotation, strengthening fiberglass hulls, bow rollers, enclosed cockpits, stowage tanks, water systems, seating and sleeping arrangements, lockers, bulkheads, canvaswork, hatches, and ventilation. These and many other details, taken together, can make the difference between pleasure and misery when cruising in small sailboats.

Published in hardcover in 1965 and long out of print, this lively and accurate adventure tale is now available in paperback for the first time. As a fictionalized account of life on the Chesapeake Bay at the turn of the century, "Run to the Lee" has the same appeal to all ages as Gilbert Byron's own beloved novel, "The Lord's Oysters."

Extract from Foreword by John F. Millican, Director, Warsash Maritime Academy, Southampton, UK...Dr. Solly has very cleverly woven together a social history of seafaring in the post-war years...you discover just how well the author ...has captured the experience of being at sea ...a wonderfully evocative read, and an important contribution to the history of the period. This story continues the adventures of Jonathan Caridia, the narrator in "Mariner's Launch", and shows his continued professional and social growth.Written in an eminently readable style which encourages empathy with the narrator, the reader shares Jonathan's pride at leaving behind his cadetship and experiences his uncertainties when he joins his first vessel as Third Navigating Officer. Jonathan impresses as a very real person encountering new challenges and some dramatic situations, which he handles responsibly and with increasing confidence. The reader learns how he confronts new challenges and handles his responsibilities, often conveying a laconic, dry sense of humour.Seafaring then was more leisurely than today, yet "Mariner's Voyage" is not only for veterans but is also a must for younger readers and all who enjoy rattling a good read. Seafarer's expectations today may have changed a little, although computerisation requires different skills, but going to sea will always be exciting. The sea remains a demanding and challenging taskmaster for those navigating vessels and does not suffer fools gladly. This true-to-life adventure story of a young man's development in his maritime career will ring true with many seafarers, being appreciated by veteran and young sailors alike. It also gives a detailed and enjoyable picture of the 'golden age of shipping' and will be of great appeal to all maritime enthusiasts and armchair sailors.

Were the Austronesians hapless travelers on fragile craft, drifted at the mercy of the waves to the far-flung islands of the Pacific? Or were they intrepid seafarers whose exploratory voyages covered much of the great ocean on seaworthy canoes capable of being sailed against the wind? This book addresses these questions in one of the most thorough discussions of Austronesian sailing canoes ever attempted.
The canoes themselves are described in detail, and similarities and differences in hull configuration, sails, and sailing techniques are noted. A review of earlier writings on the canoes repeats the earlier understanding of their origins: that the earliest canoes were the double-outrigger type and that single-outrigger canoes came later, followed by the double canoes in which the great voyages from Central Polynesia to such extremities as Hawaii and New Zealand were made. Another chapter summarizes the great advances of recent years in anthropological and archaeological studies of the Pacific.
At the heart of the book is a thorough examination of canoe seaworthiness. Doran's conclusions are that Austronesian canoes were amply seaworthy and fully capable of intentional voyages of discovery, and that previous views on the ages of canoe types are just the opposite of the probable sequence. Double canoes seem to be the oldest type; single-outrigger canoes probably were devised somewhat later; and much later, possibly only about 2,500 years ago, double outriggers were developed. Maps showing the distribution of canoe types, sail types, sailing techniques, and the like, illustrate these ideas.

Amid peaceful countryside, past historic towns and through the heart of London, the River Thames flows in an easterly direction for some 346 kilometres from its source in Gloucestershire until entering the North Sea. Over many centuries civilisations have traversed the ancient river by way of fords and early ferries, stone-built bridges, by locks, tunnels and railway lines and, most recently, by motorway crossings. Building methods and designs have changed dramatically over time yet, even now, bridges dating from medieval times still span the river, virtually unaltered since when they were built. Within London, bridges and tunnels, old and new, convey the capital's rail systems, road traffic and pedestrians across the Thames. The Thames and its crossings are ever changing and Geoff Lunn, as he travels downriver from source to sea, navigates the reader through their history and right up to the present day.

On the morning of December 12, 1862, the Union gunboat Cairo, nosing her way up the Yazoo River north of Vicksburg, Mississippi, triggered two Confederate demijohn mines. Within minutes the 512-ton ironclad had sunk six fathoms to the muddy bottom with no loss of life -- the first armored war vessel ever downed by an electronically activated mine. A whole new era of naval warfare had begun.

In Hardluck Ironclad Edwin Bearss tells how he and two other Civil War historians discovered the Cairo almost a century later -- still intact at the bottom of the Yazoo, her big guns loaded and ready to fire, much of the gear aboard just as it was that December morning when the crew abandoned her -- and how, almost miraculously, she was later salvaged and restored.

The enthralling story of the HMS Queen Elizabeth, the Royal Navy's largest ever warship 'Fascinating, often funny and sometimes moving . . . Terrill takes us deep into the bowels of Britain's biggest warship . . . Exhilarating' THE TIMES ________ 65,000 tons. 280 metres long. A flight deck the size of sixty tennis courts. A giant piece of Sovereign British territory that's home to up to 50 Aircraft. HMS Queen Elizabeth is the biggest ship in the Royal Navy's history and one of the most ambitious and exacting engineering projects ever undertaken in the UK. But it's her ship's company of 700, alongside an air group of 900 air and ground crew that are Big Lizzie's beating heart. And How to Build an Aircraft Carrier tells their story. From before the first steel of her hull was cut, Chris Terrill has enjoyed unprecedented access to Queen Elizabeth and the men and women who have brought her to life. From Jerry Kyd, the ship's inspirational Captain to Lt Cdr Nathan Grey, the first pilot to land Britain's new stealth jet fighter on her deck, Terrill has won the trust and confidence of the ship's people. How to Build an Aircraft Carrier tells the story of Britain at its best: innovative, confident, outward-looking and world beating. ________ 'A detailed account of the challenges, trials and triumphs on the ship's progression . . . and a portrait of the men and women who made it happen. [Terrill] writes with affection, humour and understanding' TELEGRAPH

We have been cruising and exploring polar waters since the nineteenth century, but very little has been written about them. Drawing on expert research, Of Penguins and Polar Bears seeks to rectify this, and looks at activity in both the Antarctic and Arctic waters - the homes of the penguins and the polar bears - to provide insight into how the passenger trades developed in these regions. With over a hundred stunning pictures, this is a must-have gazetteer for anyone thinking about cruising the Earth's 'last frontier'. From William Bradford's cruise to Greenland in a seal-hunting boat in 1869 to the newest builds of the twenty-first century, let Arctic expert Christopher Wright take you on a journey through lands less travelled.

Lost Sounds visits a number of lighthouses at different times over the last 130 years to reveal the philanthropic, scientific and romantic story of the fog signal - how it came about, how the machinery worked and, for the mariner and the keeper, what it sounded like! The development of fog signals complemented the expansion of lighthouse construction worldwide from the last quarter of the 19th century and represented the attempt to provide a vital navigation aid to mariners when the beam of light from the lighthouses lens was obscured by fog. Lost Sounds reveals the practical development of sound signals from the early percussion instruments to the later succession of compressed-air sirens and diaphones through to the last remaining electric emitters. However, it is much more than that - it is a record of another part of maritime history.

Lusitania was an engineering marvel, at one time the largest, fastest and most opulent vessel in the world. When she was sunk by a German submarine on 7 May 1915, with the loss of about 1,200 lives, it sent shockwaves around the world. The iconic passenger liner immediately became a weapon in the Allied propaganda war, helping to shift American public opinion against Germany and influencing the USA's eventual entry into the First World War. Her many achievements and successes were largely forgotten. This volume tells Lusitania's story from construction to the aftermath of her sinking in remarkable contemporary postcards.

Boats are expensive and they are complicated - unless you are going to pay a professional to carry out a survey (at yet more expense) it is invaluable to be able to: - quickly assess a potential purchase for signs of trouble without paying for lengthy reports - carry out a detailed check on your own boat the end of the season - identify problems and get them dealt with before they get serious - get to know your boat in a lot more detail, so if a problem develops at sea you will be more able to cope Organised into chapters covering: Tools of the trade (basic tools, moisture meters, fingers and feel, smell, mirrors, sources of information); Checking the hull (including wood construction and rot, GRP laminates, osmosis, metal construction, keels, anodes); RIBs and inflatables; Engine and systems; Stern gear; Plumbing; Mast and rigging; Electrical systems; Interiors; Safety equipment. At the end of the book there's a handy guide to carrying out a five minute survey - invaluable when making a quick assessment of a potential purchase. Highly illustrated, with anecdotes and hands-on advice throughout, this practical book gives readers the tools to do much of the work on their own, and know when to call in the experts.

The intensifying competition on the North Atlantic in the early years of the twentieth century led the White Star Line to order three huge liners. While their British rival, the Cunard Line, focused on speed, White Star concentrated on size and luxury. Orders were placed for Olympic and Titanic to be built at Harland & Wolff 's yard in Belfast, while the third sister ship, Britannic, would follow at a later date. Each ship was subtly different. Lessons learned from the service of Olympic were put into practice for Titanic, as other shipping lines immediately began to plan their response. Following Titanic's loss on her maiden voyage, radical improvements were made to the third sister ship, improving the watertight subdivision. These changes, however, did not prevent Britannic sinking in less than an hour in the Aegean in 1916, while serving as a hospital ship for the war effort. Illustrated with many rare images of all three ships, including a brand new colour section, this revised and expanded edition brings the story up to date, providing a comprehensive history in one volume.