The Well-Managed Sailboat : Equipping, Organizing and Maintaining Your Cruising Boat Book

The exhilaration of sailing across an open expanse of water is a magical experience that yields tremendous pleasure for the serious sailor. But owning and operating a sailboat is a very complicated endeavor, and a sailboat runs only as smoothly as its many parts working in harmony will allow. These components include the boat's rigging, steering system, navigational gear, and, most important, its crew. The Well-Managed Sailboat explains how sailors can harness the wind and transform a sailboat into a highly efficient machine designed to glide through both the smoothest waters and the roughest seas, while at the same time serving as a comfortable home for those aboard. George Day brings his extensive cruising experience to this book, and provides practical, innovative solutions to the many questions that arise in the course of owning a sailboat. From the invaluable tips on purchasing the sailboat that's right for you, to maintenance and repair, to eventually selling your craft, The Well-Managed Sailboat provides a wealth of information and advice that can be relied on time and again as boaters encounter different situations and questions. The Well-Managed Sailboat is laced with anecdotes drawn from the author's extensive firsthand sailing experience, which spans some twenty-five years and over forty thousand cruising miles. Using his current boat, a Mason 43 named Clover, George Day has tried and tested many of the on-board components he writes about, including anchors and tackle; windlasses; GPS, SatNav, Loran, RDF, and radar; single-sideband radio; standing and running rigs; mainsail systems; and winches. For both the coastal cruiser and the long-distance adventurer, sections on deck layouts, storage, energy systems, autopilots, advanced electronic equipment, heads and showers, refrigeration, and diesel engines will prove indispensable. More than seventy-five detailed illustrations clearly show a variety of schemes for setting up and equipping a cruising sailb