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Newsgroups: rec.boats,rec.answers,news.answers
Path: bloom-beacon.mit.edu!nic.hookup.net!swrinde!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!brunix!jfh
From: jfh@cs.brown.edu (John F. Hughes)
Subject: rec.boats Frequently Asked Questions (Part 3 of 4)
Message-ID: <boats-faq-3-759101010@cs.brown.edu>
Followup-To: rec.boats
Originator: jfh@euclid
Sender: news@cs.brown.edu
Reply-To: jfh@cs.brown.edu (John F. Hughes)
Organization: Brown University
References: <boats-faq-1-759101010@cs.brown.edu>
Date: Thu, 20 Jan 1994 21:24:40 GMT
Approved: news-answers-request@MIT.EDU
Expires: Fri, 20 May 1994 04:00:00 GMT
Lines: 803
Xref: bloom-beacon.mit.edu rec.boats:19230 rec.answers:3810 news.answers:14366
Posted-By: auto-faq 2.4
Archive-name: boats-faq/part3
TOTALS $3,408 $3,010 $4,976 $1,099 $3,083 $1,615 $300
ANNUAL TOTAL $17,491 AVERAGE MONTHLY $1,458
________________________________________________________________________
And for another sailboat:
We're under 1,000 a month for a 39' sailboat at the Shilshole
Bay Marina in Seattle.
And one more:
I don't have monthly totals, but the following are my yearly
totals for a 22' commercial dory with an 88 h.p. outboard ...
Licensing fees: Fish and Wildlife 450.00
NOAA Marine mammal exemption 30.00
F.C.C. Operators license 35.00
_______
total: $550.00
Maintenance and upkeep: $2884.50
total fuel consumption: 534.6 gallons $787.22
total tackle expenses $825.32
_________
Grand total: $5047.04
I fished the boat an average of three days a week (some weeks
more, others less) and I grossed 3372.06 last year. That
brought my total expenditure for eight months of fishing (and
boating on the Pacific) to about 2700. That gives me a monthly
average of about 225/month.
My insurance (for an ocean going commercial fishing vessel) was
236 for 1992. That will go up to 242 this year.
And one more:
OK, how's this for cheap: A friend of mine and I bought a used
DaySailer for somewhat less than 3000 last summer and during
the fall sailing season, we spent less than 300 total on
maintenance, which included a new battery for our trolling
motor, various rigging upgrades, a new trailer wheel, grease
for the trailer wheels, and a new anchor. We've spent 70
pre-season this year for a reef point and other than new
bearings on the trailer, we're ready to go. OK, so we don't do
blue-water sailing, but it gets us out on the water on the
weekends. :-)
Let me also add a remark from Mike Hughes: People waste time,
effort and money on all kinds of things that don't make sense
when by owning a boat one can consolidate and waste them all on
one thing.
Think about that before you ever consider owning a boat as an
investment.
5.7 Who can tell me about boat X?
Various people on the net know about their own boats and seem
to be willing to talk. Here is a list of boat types, e-mail
addresses, and names.
Alberg 30 bobp@sandr.com Bob Parkinson
Alberg 37 jfh@cs.brown.edu John Hughes
Beneteau First 235 lastra@cs.unc.edu Anselmo Lastra
C\&C 32 kell@mprgate.mpr.ca Dave Kell
Cal 20 stefan@sunrise.stanford.edu Stefan Michalowski
Catalina 27 wms@spin.ho.att.com Wayne Simpson
Catalina 25 bobp@sandr.com Bob Parkinson
Cotuit Skiff bobp@sandr.com Bob Parkinson
Coronado 15 steve@test490.pac.sc.ti.com Steve Comen
CSY-44 GERMAIN@CDHF2.GSFC.NASA.GOV Andy Germain
DN Iceboat jfh@cs.brown.edu John Hughes
Dovekie jfh@cs.brown.edu John Hughes
Drascombe Coaster lastra@cs.unc.edu Anselmo Lastra
Flying Dutchman guido@blink.att.com Guido Bertucci
Gulfstar 37 larry@pdn.paradyne.com Larry Swift
Herreschoff 12 jfh@cs.brown.edu John Hughes
HinkleyIslander bobp@sandr.com Bob Parkinson
J/24 roy@wombat.phri.nyu.edu Roy Smith
MacGregor 25 kell@mprgate.mpr.ca Dave Kell
Mercer 44 jfh@cs.brown.edu John Hughes
Olson 25 stefan@sunrise.stanford.edu Stefan Michalowski
Puddleduck pram bobp@sandr.com Bob Parkinson
Stone Horse jfh@cs.brown.edu John Hughes
Tornado jfh@cs.brown.edu John Hughes
PearsonVanguard scfisher@oasys.dt.navy.mil Steve Fisher
Sonar spencer@panix.com David Spencer
Cal 20 hchan@well.sf.ca.us Hoover Chan
Ericson 27 haggart@SSRL01.SLAC.STANFORD.EDU
Craig Haggart
5.8 What are the laws about boats...?
First and foremost, there is a US Coast Guard User Fee required
for almost all vessels (being phased out during 1993/94).
There's an 800 number you can call to find out whether your
boat needs one, and to order one by credit card (1-800
848-2100). If you want to operate a VHF radio, you need a
lense; failure to carry one can result in huge fines. The Coast
Guard now checks for that license if they board you for any
reason.
You can learn about operating procedures for your VHF radio
from Chapman's (see the bibliography). One essential rule:
Channel 16 is for commercial hailing and distress calls.
Hailing by recreational vessels is now supposed to happen on
Channel 9.
You are required to carry adequate saftey devices for your
boat. What is deemed adequate varies by size. Most marine
stores have a pretty good idea what's the minimum. Once again,
Chapman's can give you details.
There are no ``licenses'' for boating in the US---you can buy
the biggest, fastest boat on earth and do whatever you want
with it, as long as it's recreational and you do not carry
passengers or freight for hire. For those, you need a license.
Prudence dictates that you should learn how to operate your
vessel before you start out. Note that many states have begun
enforcing Boating While Intoxicated laws, and that some have
begun enforcing speed limits.
If you want to operate a marine radio from your boat, you need
a station license. Generally a license application is packaged
with each radio set, and all radio dealers carry applications.
There is a 35 application fee. If you are licensing any marine
radios, the first will be a VHF set for ``local''
communications ( <30 miles) with 2-25 watt output. Marine
radios must be ``type accepted'' which means you can not build
it yourself, or modify a CB, commercial, or ham set. Pleasure
boaters do not need a radio operator's license. (wv)
You are required to carry safety devices for your boat. What is
required varies by size and state. Most marine stores have a
pretty good idea what's the minimum. Once again, Chapman's, and
every boating safety class, can give you details. (wv)
In general, boat registration laws and fees vary from state to
state. Usually a boat dealer or the local state police
detachment is a good starting point for specifics. (wv)
There are no general licenses for driving a pleasure boat in
the US ---you can buy the biggest, fastest boat on earth and do
whatever you want with it, as long as it's recreational and you
do not carry passengers or freight for hire. On the other hand,
some STATES now require persons under the age of 18(?) to
complete a state certified boating safety course before
operating a boat. (wv)
To carry any passengers for hire you need a Coast Guard
license. Before you can even take the required written exam(s)
you need documentary evidence of a full year (365 days) of
boating experience. Licenses come in several categories. To
carry more than six passengers for hire, the boat must also be
inspected by the Coast Guard. Fines for violations are quite
high. (wv)
5.9 What's a formula for top speed?
The answer, verbatim from mp, is:
The formula yacht designers use is called Crouch's formula.
It takes into account the weight and horsepower at the
propeller, and assumes a 50\% to 60\% efficient prop.
Most props fall into this range. Note that it doesn't take
into account the boat length, as that doesn't matter with
planing boats.
Crouch's Formula
V = C/((DISP/HP)**.5)
Where V = boat speed in knots (1 knot=1.15 mph)
C = Constant (depends on boat type)
DISP = Displacement (pounds)
Note that boat manufacturers usually give
innacurate numbers for displacement,
typically on the low side
HP = Horsepower available at the propeller
For comparison sake, here are some average values of C:
150 Typical lightweight, planing cruiser
180 High Speed Runabout
200-230 Race boats, hydroplanes etc.
5.10 Accurate time source for navigation
The time of day is broadcast on radio stations WWV and WWVH,
which transmit in the shortwave bands, on 2.5, 5, 10, 15, 20
MHz. The time is announced every minute, and at other times
there is a steady beeping. Any shortwave receiver should be
able to pick up these broadcasts - the particular frequency you
can receive will vary with location and time of day.
You can also hear the NIST's WWV broadcasts via the telephone.
The number is (303) 499-7111.
5.11 Winter storage for batteries, and their state of charge
There is a ritual debate on this topic each year. The concensus
seems to be that (1) It's OK to store a battery on a cement
floor, but if you stick it on an old piece of plywood, any
drips or spills will be easier to clean up, so perhaps the old
wives tale has some value, (2) storing a battery cold in the
winter, provided it is fully charged, is an OK thing to do. The
rate of discharge is reduced by the cold environment, so less
frequent recharging is called for.
Here is an article from Finn Stafsnes, which seems to have some
hard data (fs):
The content is taken from a booklet provided by norwegian
battery manufacturer (Anker-Sonnak).
I have done some linear interpolation between tabulated values.
Therefore minor errors due to non-linear effects may be
present. I can only hope that I have not done big errors in my
calculations.
State of charge Spec.gravity Freezing pt. Spec.gravity @ +25
C,77 F deg C, F @ freez.temp. kilograms/litre kilograms/litre
Full 1.280 -68, -90 ? 75 50 25 weak 1.160 -17, + 1 1.189 0 0
If it is impractical to measure the spec. gravity an
approximate formula is given based upon voltage measurment:
Spec.gravity (@ 25 C) = (Voltage of battery/no of cells) - 0.84
(kilogr./lit.)
The voltage should be measured after the battery has been
disconnected for at least 6 hours.
A discharged battery will gradually be distroyed if stored in a
low state of charge condition due to crystal growth of PbSO4,
even if it does not freeze.
Self discharge is halved for every 10 deg C (18 F) the storage
temperature is reduced.
Conclusion: Keep the battery well charged all the time. If you
dont want to recharge during the winter, store the battery
cold.
And here is a mini-FAQ written by Alan Yelvington:
The efficiency of batteries varies with time, temperature, and
state of charge.
Batteries self-discarge over time. Lead-calcium (die-hard)
discharge faster that straight lead-acid. Their advantage is
that they typically do not need to have the water replaced.
Temperature will kill a battery over time. If a battery gets
too hot, its self-discharge rate goes up. If the battery gets
to cold, the reaction that produces electricity gets slowed
down and the full capacity cannot be ``harvested.''
The state of charge limits efficiency because of the reactions
in the battery. If a battery is left dead for too long (this
means you), the internal plates will start to accumulate
lead-sulphate on them. This insulates that portion of the plate
so that in can no longer contribue to the output of the
battery. It takes extra power in to remove the sulphation that
cannot be recouped. (EDTA will chemically remove the
sulphate....)
A typical battery in good condition will return 90 to 95 put
into it under these conditions:
DO NOT recharge at a rate of more that one tenth its capacity.
eg. A 220 amp-hour battery should not be recharged at more than
22 amps. The excess current will generate waste heat and form
lead-sulphite. The lead-sulphite is worse than the sulphate
because it cannot be removed.
DO NOT discharge a battery beyond 50
DO NOT over charge the battery. (Lead Sulphite problem again.)
DO NOT discharge the battery faster than one tenth of its
capacity. That is, don't draw more than 22 amps from a 220
amp-hour battery. You'll just make waste heat that cannot do
work.
DO use the battery and not just leave it dormant all the time.
If you must have a battery for infrequent use, NiCd or gelcells
are much better and are another story altogether. (ay)
Another reader pointed me towards a nice solar panel charge
controller the November, 1993 issue of ``73'' magazine. It's
used by a guy with 200 WATTS of solar panels on his roof.
5.12 Online information
(This section courtesy of sb)
You can FTP hourly surface analyses (one of the things you can
recieve with a weather fax receiver), in the form of .GIF files
from vmd.cs.uiuc.edu, in directory WX.
There is also hourly raw visual and infrared satellite imagery,
(from GEOS-7) which I don't know what to do with these.
The files are SA*.GIF, CI*.GIF and CV*.GIF, where the * is the
date and GMT hour of the picture.
Then, if you are on a unix system, you can use xloadimage to
display them.
There are also .DOC files which describe many other sources of
weather related information on the network.
Also,
finger weather@18.83.0.103
gets the Boston area forecast, and
telnet madlab.sprl.umich.edu 3000
gets you any forecast you like. If you enter the city ``BOSM,''
you get the forecast for Boston, PLUS the marine forecast. This
may work for other cities as well.
The racing rules updates can be found on the Ship-to-Shore BBS
(the number is listed in the Max Ebb article). Here's a list
that I got from the BBS: (hc)
Ship to Shore OIS
Marine Net for Sailors
Alameda CA 510-523-8161 Arlington VA 703-525-1458
Chicago IL 708-670-7940 New York City NY 718-430-2410
Portland OR 503-297-9073 Redwood City CA 415-365-6384
Toronto ON 416-538-2496 Vancouver BC 604-540-9596
5.13 Should we split rec.boats?
This topic arises about once a year. Each time the concensus,
with a a growing number of dissenters, is that (a) much of what
is discussed here would be crossposted to rec.boats.sail and
rec.boats.power if they both existed, (b) many topics, like
maintenance, moorings, coast guard regs, boat shows, the
grounding of the QEII, large oil spills, etc., are of (passing)
interest to almost anyone who goes out on the water, (c) we all
learn something about the folks with whom we share the water by
reading what they have to say, (d) the volume of postings
although rapidly increasing, is not too large, and the rapidly
increasing speeds of modems and newsreader makes simply
skipping over articles of no interest a small burden, and (e)
the annoyance of trying to indicate, in the header, which
*sort* of boating your message might apply to outweighs the
advantages of doing so.
Of course, with regard to item ``c'', it is possible that what
we learn reinforces the stereotypes, or that it leads to
greater understanding. One can hope for the latter.
Think carefully about what's been said above before posting a
suggestion that we split rec.boats. Unless you have something
truly novel to propose, you will almost certainly generate lots
of postings with the same end result that I've seen five times
now (I think): no split. I did, for a while, as an attempt at
conciliation, begun to prefix my postings with ``S'' for sail,
``P'' for power, and ``A'' for all. No one else, even the
advocates of splitting, did so, so I abandoned the effort.
(jfh)
Further information: for Unix users, the newsreaders ``rn'' and
``nn'' (and others, I'm sure) support the notion of killing all
articles containing some phrase in the body or the title. I
believe the same is true of gnus, and probably is the case with
many other newsreaders on non-unix machines. Perhaps this is
worth investigating.
One more piece of information: I will record the recurrence of
the should-we-split discussion. 10/15/93 is most recent.
5.14 What sextant should I buy to learn with?
Good sextants are expensive (about 3000US is not unusual), and
the inexpensive plastic ones (Davis make the best-known) are
far cheaper. For learning, or even for real navigation, the
Davis models are fine, but require more careful and frequent
adjustment, and often seem to give less accurate results.
They will give a result accurate to within about 2 minutes of
arc, which should get your position right within about 3 miles
or so. Errors made by beginners are usually computational or
mistakes of understanding, and tend to be far greater than
this. So a plastic sextant makes a fine tool for learning. Buy
one, and if you like it, keep it as a spare when you go
offshore.
Hints: to keep the readings accurate, beware of temperature
fluctuations, which warp the sextant (temporarily). In winter,
wear gloves. In summer, watch out for having part of the
sextant in sun and part in shade. And last but not least,
always approach your reading from the same side (i.e., always
increase the angle until the sun is on the horizon---don't
increase and then decrease and then increase, etc.) This
prevents backlash from screwing up your readings. (jfh)
5.15 Boat pictures, and ftp sites for boat info
I (sb2) run the rec.boats FTP server(if you can use a listserv,
you too can have them) for pictures. Some from my personal
collection, some from the America's Cup, others from Whitbread,
etc.
dell1.dell.com in the anonymous FTP directory/donate/boats
I believe that Steve also maintains an ftp-able version of the
FAQ. So do I (jfh) on the machine wilma.cs.brown.edu, in the
pub directory with the name rec.boats_FAQ.Z. The file POWER.UU
that's there is also of interest to some rec.boaters---it's a
PC program for something to do with surface-piercing drives,
submitted by Paul Kamen.
5.16 Propellor selection
GENERAL RULE OF PROP SELECTION: On a properly trimmed boat a
prop of the correct pitch and diameter will permit the motor to
attain it's maximum rated RPMs but NO MORE.
HOW TO BUY THE CORRECT PROP: The best method of prop selection
that I know of is to find a dealer that will let you try
several props with the understanding that you will buy the one
that performs as above. Of course it is also understood that if
you ding a test prop you will buy it.
Contributed by hl.
5.17 Binocular selection
Contributed by (pe).
The quality of binoculars shows up in several important areas.
this is certainly one product area that the quality can range
from junk to excellent, and you get what you pay for. The areas
of prime concern are as follows:
1) Eye relief: This is the distance back from the eye piece
that the image is formed. Most binoculars have a rubber eye
piece that positions your eyes in the proper place. This rubber
piece can then be folded out of the way for people who wear
glasses. A longer eye relief is more forgiving to those who
wear glasses.
2) EXIT PUPIL: Generally tied closely to eye relief, this is
the diameter of the image comming out of the eye piece. The
larger this is, the less sensitive it will be to having your
eye is in the exact right spot. Generally speaking, larger is
better. But to make it larger, the overall size of the
binoculars increases.
3) Light Transmission: The percentage of light that enters the
front lens that makes it out the eye piece. For daylight use,
this is not too critical. For nightime use, a few percent
improvement in the amount of light making it through can make a
hugh difference. The type of optics (glass versus plastic), the
coatings on the lens elements, and the overall quality of teh
lenses make the difference. Large, GLASS, coated optics give
much better performance than plastic, uncoated optics. Of
course, large glass elements start to get heavy.
4) Depth of Field: As a side effect of the above three items is
an improved depth of field. This is the distance that an object
remains in focus. The really good units don't even have a focus
knob, as the depth of feild is so large that it isn't
necessary.
5) GAS FILLED: The better units are sealed, and purged with dry
nitrogen. This keeps moisture out, keeps the lenses from
fogging, and helps improve the overall optical qualities.
6) THE CASE: A rubber armored, rugged case will help prevent
damage. Lens caps that stay with the unit keep them from
getting lost, and make it much more likely that you will put
them back on to protect the lenses.
You may want to check out the West Marine catalog. They have a
chart listing all the important characteristics of the
binoculars that they sell. Compare it against the specs of a
unit you are considering. Decide if you might ever need to read
the number on a channel marker at night.
My advice is to go with the best that you can afford. Properly
treated, they will last forever and you will not be sorry.
Chapter 6
List of Contributors
Here is a list of the people who contributed to the information
above. The list is widly incomplete, because I started
collecting the information (for myself) long before I planned
to make the FAQ, and didn't attach names to lots of things
people told me. My apologizes to those whose names I've
omitted. I'll gladly add them if you tell me to.
ab bowers@tifosi.dfrf.nasa.gov Al Bowers
ag GERMAIN@CDHF2.GSFC.NASA.GOV Andy Germain
al lastra@cs.unc.edu Anselmo Lastra
ay alany@tekig5.pen.tek.com Alan Yelvington
bj wtjones@sr.hp.com Bill Jones
bp billp@voyager.chm.clarkson.edu Bill Plunkett
bm cfwpm@ux1.cts.eiu.edu Bill McGown
bs bsmith@hplvec.LVLD.HP.COM Brian Smith
cr crossle1@cc.swarthmore.edu Cindy Rossley
da davea@hpscit.sc.hp.com Dave Angelini
dk1 kinzer@prcamfg.sps.mot.com Dave Kinzer
dk2 kell@mprgate.mpr.ca Dave Kell
dz zielke@fozzie.nrl.navy.mil David Zielke
eb boebert@SCTC.COM Earl Boebert
em murphy@phri.nyu.edu Ellen Murphy
fm francis@oas.Stanford.EDU Francis Muir
fs Finn.Stafsnes@tf.tele.no Finn Stafsnes
gb1 Greg Bullough
gb2 Gerard Bras
gf gregf@ptidsun18.pen.tek.com Greg (Fox?)
hc hchan@well.sf.ca.us Hoover Chan
hl Hal@cache.declab.usu.edu Hal Lynch
jb bloxham@geophysics.harvard.edu Jeremy Bloxham
jfh jfh@cs.brown.edu John Hughes
jz zeeff@b-tech.ann-arbor.mi.us Jon Zeeff
la lance@lancea.actrix.gen.nz Lance Andrewes
mb burati@APOLLO.HP.COM Mike Burati
mp phred!mattp@data-io.com Matt Pedersen
mt markt@tekig1.PEN.COM Mark Tilden
pe Peter_Engels@star9gate.mitre.org Peter Engels
ph lotus!lotatg. lotus.com!phil@uunet.UU.NET
Phil Somebody
pk fishmeal@netcom.com Paul Kamen
ps Paul.Saltzman@f764.n153.z1.ship.wimsey.bc.ca
Paul Salzman
rs roy@wombat.phri.nyu.edu Roy Smith
rs2 rstepno@eagle.wesleyan.edu Bob Stepno
rs3 spady@bcstec.ca.boeing.com Robyn Spady
sb steph@candide.uchicago.edu Stephen Bailey
sb2 sblair@upurbmw.dell.com Steve Blair
sc steve@test490.pac.sc.ti.com Steve Comen
sm stefan@sunrise.stanford.edu Stefan Michalowski
srb Scott.Richard.Berg@p4910.f349.n109.z1.fidonet.org
Scott Richard Berg
tc chatzi@beauty.asd.sgi.com Tony Chatzigianis
wh whoward@lamont.ldgo.columbia.edu Will Howard
wms wms@spin.att.com Wayne Simpson
wo woodruff@s34.es.llnl.gov Someone Woodruff
wv VENABLE@faculty.coe.wvu.wvnet.edu Wallace Venable
Chapter 7
Bibliography
7.1 Magazines
AMERICAN SAILOR, none, This one is for members of USYRU. Almost
exclusively for racing. Dave Perry has a short but interesting
``rules corner''.
ASH BREEZE, none, P. O. Box 350, Mystic, CT 06355, 15/year (4
issues). The journal of the Traditional Small Craft
Association. Member-contributed articles about design,
construction, and history of traditional boats. Members also
receive discounts on books published by International
Marine.(al).
BOAT DESIGN QUARTERLY, none, P.O. Box 98, Brooklin, ME, 24/year
(only 4 issues). Each issue contains six to eight reviews of
boat designs. This magazine is mostly the effort of Mike
O'Brien (who also writes for WoodenBoat magazine). Only worth
it for those truly obsessed with boat designs.(al).
BOATBUILDER, none, P.O. Box 420235, Palm Coast, FL 32142-0235
800-786-3459. Primarily amatuer construction. Monthly articles
by notable Dave Gerr (lots of his latest book "The Nature of
Boats" was first published in Boatbuilder). Includes instant
boat construction, origami steel boats, etc.(mp).
COASTAL CRUISING, none, The Magazine of Achievable Dreams. This
rag was formerly called "Carolina Cruising" and probably still
should be. Concentrates on the ICW around and about its
Beufort, NC home base. A harbor profile in each issue with a
color arial photograch as a centerspread. Quirky columns
written by people who are really into bringing the spoken
accent to the written page. Printed on cheap newsprint paper
and comes out 6 times a year. Unless you live or cruise in the
Carolinas, save your money. (wms).
CRUISING WORLD, none, Good articles, wonderful reader service
called ``Another Opinion'', which will tell you about other
readers who own the same boat that you do (or that you are
thinking of buying), and who might be interested in telling you
about it, Extensive brokerage and charter listing. -jfh-.
GREAT LAKES SAILOR, none, Tends to focus on the sailing scene
in the midwest.
LATITUDE 38, none, The SF Bay sailing rag. Cheap paper,
irreverant staff. Far more honest than any other sailing rag.
Latitude 38,P.O. Box 1678,Sausalito CA 94966,USA. Phone: 415
383 8200 ; 415 383 5816 (fax). First class postage
subscription: 45/year. Third class postage subscription:
20/year. ``We regret that we cannot accept foreign
subscriptions, nor do we bill for subscriptions. Check or money
order must accompany subscription orders.'' (However, Canadians
may order the First Class subscription.).
MESSING ABOUT IN BOATS, none, Appears to fill the niche left by
Small Boat Journal when they changed. Costs 20 buck per year.
29 Burley St., Wenham, MA 01984. ``This is a great little
magazine filled with reader-contributed articles and good
classifieds (especially for readers in New England). Very
entertaining, and you can't beat the price.'' (al).
MULTIHULLS, none, 421 Hancock St., N. Quincy, MA 02171, (800)
333-6858, 21/year (6 issues). As the name states, this magazine
deals exclusively with multihulls. Coverage is divided about
evenly between cruising, design, building, and racing. They
also sell books, videos, and posters.(al).
NATIONAL FISHERMAN, none, The working seaman's magazine.
Printed on newsprint, filled with editorials about why the
fisherman cannot make it in the modern USA, and articles about
how well EPIRBs *really* work, etc. A *great* mag. Wonderful
classifieds.
OCEAN NAVIGATOR, none, Informative article; passagemaking
information, info on nav hardware and tools. The letters are
worth the price of admission. Nav problems at the end of each
issue that include piloting and offshore celestial problems,
with answers. Only magainze that I read cover to cover. Some
articles about electrics tend to be slightly screwy--Nigel
Calder can't distinguish amps from amp-hours.
OFFSHORE, none, Covers the Northeast coast from New Jersey to
Maine. Good coverage of the area with plenty of local interest
stories, marina profiles, safe boating, navigation and area
history. Slightly skewed toward powerboats but plenty of
interest to sailboaters, too. Regular columns on local boating
news and Coast Guard Search and Rescue summary. Series by Dave
Gerr on understanding Yacht Design contains many of the
articles on which his book "The Nature of Boats" is based.
Excellent classified section with a unique "renewable
guarantee" that will keep your ad in until sold for a one time
fee of 25.00 (wms).
PRACTICAL BOAT OWNER, none, published in Poole, Dorset,
England. Practical Boat Owner Subscription, Quadrant
Subscription Services, Perrymount Road, Hayward Heath, W.
Sussex, RH16 3DH, United Kingdom. Another reader notes that
``The current Practical Boat Owner gives the following address
for overseas subscriptions: Practical Boat Owner, PO Box 272,
Haywards Heath, W Sussex, RH16 3FS, UK. Tel: 0444 44555.''
P.B.O. is great for boat tests (yachts any size, motor boats
mostly small) and simply excellent for how-to-do-its.
Editorials reflect the British scene since it's a British
magazine. The editor, George Taylor, answers queries in person
by return of post.
PRACTICAL SAILOR, none, These folks test out products and do
sailboat reviews and compare products made by different people.
They also answer questions. They have no adverts, so that their
information is nominally unbiased. <As I learn more and more, I
respect them less and less. They often test products in ways
that aren't all that reasonable. Their test of rope, for
example, was based solely on abrasion resistance. Fine for your
mooring pennant, but not the whole story. Their test of other
products has not impressed me either. And, last but not least,
they have wacky ideas about galvanic corrosion---I would not
trust anything these guys said about electricity. It helps to
be an educated reader.
SAIL, none, Informative articles, usually pretty basic. Good
charter listings. Good brokerage listing.
SAILING, none, Published in Port Washington, Wisconsin. It's
large format (11 x 14) can have some pretty striking pictures.
They're a general interest sailing magazine. Their design
editor is Robert Perry. There's a ``boat focus'' column on one
particular boat each month written by an owner... usually nice
family cruisers.
SAILING WORLD, none, Mostly about sailboat racing. Very good on
that topic.
SMALL BOAT JOURNAL, none, now ``Boat Journal.'' <Never look at
a copy of this printed after 1990, especially if you are a
sailor. Early issues are real treasures---circa 1978-1980, they
were the best, most honest, best produced, small sailing mag
around.
SOUNDINGS, none, Good articles on all aspects of boats; great
classified section. 18.95 FOR 12 MONTHS. 35 PRATT STREET/
ESSEX,CT 06426. 203 767-3200; 203 767-1048 FAX. UPDATE...A
BETTER PRICE.... 14.95 PER YEAR VISA, MASTER CHARGE 800
341-1522 24 HOURS.
THE COMMODORE'S BULLETIN OF THE SEVEN SEAS CRUISING
ASSOCIATION, none, If you dream of sailing into the sunset
someday, this will feed your fantasies. Full membership in this
organisation is exclusive, but anyone can join as an
``associate'' member and get the Bulletin. It is just reprinted
letters from members cruising all over the world. 25/year.
Address is: SSCA// 521 S. Andrews Ave.// Ste. 10// Fort
Lauderdale, FL 33301 USA.
WEST MARINE'S ANNUAL CATALOG, none, For pure information per
dollar, this has got to be the best buy around. True, it's a
once-a-year journal, but their West Advisor sections on how to
best run marine plumbing, what kind of wire is best, etc., is
really worth reading. Slightly biased towards promoting the
purchase of expensive items, though.
WOODEN BOAT, none, Lovely pictures, informative articles, and
they pay attention to *new* woodworking as well as old. They
have a love affair with Maynard Bray and Phil Bolger, though,
and you have to watch out for this bias -jfh-.
YACHTING, none, The very rich person's boat magazine. Most
boats over 60 feet.
YACHTING QUARTERLY, none, A ``video format'' magazine; about
100 per year for four videotapes. These tapes include a fair
number of how-to segments, and are supposed to get you an idea
of how-they-hoist-the-chute-on-the-winning-J40, and such
things.
7.2 Nonfiction about sailing trips
SHRIMPY AND SHRIMPY SAILS AGAIN, Shane Acton, This is an
amazing story of a guy who spent eight years sailing the world
in a caprice class 18ft boat. None of the other books I have
read on the subject come close to this achievment. A none
sailor, his own money, very very limited funds. This guy is my
hero.
MAIDEN VOYAGE, Tania Aebi, 1988 Excellent. An 18-year-old
girl/woman circumnavigating westward in a Contessa 26.
117 DAYS ADRIFT, Bailey.
SECOND CHANCE: VOYAGE TO PATAGONIA, Baileys, Interesting
contrast with Slocum's earlier account.
GYPSY MOTH CIRCLES THE WORLD, Sir Francis Chichester, 1968
Another classic, of a solo cicumnavigation in a fast but
vicious boat, best read together with The Lonely Sea and the
Sky.
THE LONELY SEA AND THE SKY, Sir Francis Chichester, 1964
Excellent auto-biography of the great adventurer. Includes
transatlantic voyages, and his pioneering first flight (NOT
non-stop!) across the Tasman Sea.
TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST, Richard Henry Dana, Harvard boy goes
to sea, and writes eloquently about the details of sea life.
COME HELL OR HIGH WATER, Clare Francis, A very small woman
racing single-handed across the Atlantic.
COME WIND OR WEATHER, Clare Francis, 1979 She skippers a Swan
65 in the Whitbread.
MATE IN SAIL, James Gaby, Reminiscences of a lifetime in