Synopses & Reviews
"The indispensable crew. No boat should sail without Calder aboard."--Paul Gelder,
Yachting Monthly
This handbook shows you not only how to select and equip a boat for coastal and offshore cruising, but also how to sail and navigate it. Covering all this in one volume is a monumental task, one not attempted since the pioneers of blue-water voyaging wrote the first generation of cruising bibles decades ago. Since that simpler, more spartan era, the typical cruising sailboat has become faster and more comfortable, but also more complex. Even as they've made distant horizons more reachable, the marvels of modern technology have paradoxically raised the ante on the entry-level skills required for cruising. Small wonder then that books about boat handling and seamanship have little to say about the special demands of cruising, while books about cruising presuppose a mastery of the fundamentals of seamanship and navigation.
Nigel Calder's Cruising Handbookpresupposes nothing. It sifts through, organizes, and makes sense of the hundred disciplines of the cruising avocation. It will help you through your first coastal hop or your umpteenth offshore passage. Here you will find
Comprehensive coverage of cruising sailboat design
The elements of a comfortable interior and a workable deck presented in depth
The background you need to decide which of today's technological advancements may detract from rather than add to your cruising enjoyment
Thorough coverage of cruising skills, from boat handling to transoceanic voyaging
Fresh wrinkles for even the most experienced sailors
Compiling in one volume all the knowledge needed for successful cruising under sail, Nigel Calder's Cruising Handbook provides an inestimable service for sailors. There is nothing else like it.
"If you were shipwrecked on a desert island and could choose only one book to help get you off, this is the book."--Patience Wales, Editor, SAIL
Synopsis
The most comprehensive and helpful guide ever written for selecting and equipping a cruising sailboat
Whether youre a coastal or offshore cruiser, youll find your most pressing concerns treated with the know-how that makes for skillful, confident cruising in Nigel Calders Cruising Handbook. The author -- one of the most respected marine how-to authors on either side of the Atlantic, and author of the universally admired Boatowner's Mechanical and Electrical Manual, -- walks you through all key technical and practical aspects of modern cruising systems and equipment, providing you with a summary of the skills necessary for safe, enjoyable sailing.
The first half of the book includes an easy-to-use tabular method for evaluating a boat's suitability for cruising; ideas for workable deck and interior lay-outs and organization; how to choose and configure suitable boat systems for cruising; and how to install gear for trouble free operation.
The book's second half teaches you boat handling skills; core navigational expertise; anchoring techniques; weather understanding; heavy weather expertise; and specific skills for long-term and long-distance cruising.
About the Author
Nigel Calder is the author of Marine Diesel Engines (1987, 1991) and Boatowner's Mechanical and Electrical Manual (1989, 1995), the success of which has made him the most sought-after marine how-to writer in the U.S. and U.K. He has published more than 800 magazine articles in SAIL, Cruising World, Ocean Navigator, Yachting World, etc., and lectures on cruising to sell-out crowds. He is also the author of The Cruising Guide to The Northwest Caribbean (IM, 1991) and Cuba: A Cruising Guide (Imray, 1996). He will be testing his newest ideas with his family during a six-month cruise to the Caribbean and South America this winter.
Table of Contents
Front Matter
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Part One: The Boat
Chapter 1. A Boat for Cruising
Basic Design Parameters
Length-Beam Ratio; Keel Types; Displacement Calculations; Ballast Ratio; Displacement-Length Ratio; Overhangs; Waterplanes and Immersion; Comfort Factor; Sail Area-Displacement Ratio; Stability Curves and Ratio; Capsize Screening Value and STIX Number; Maintaining Control; Speed-Length Ratio; Buttocks, Diagonals, and Aft Sections; Speed versus Comfort
Getting Down to Details
Construction Materials; Cored Hulls and Decks; Hull-to-Deck Joints; Structural Reinforcements; Keels; Rudders and Skegs; Skegs and Propellers; Bilge Water and Tankage
Conclusion
Chapter 2. On Deck
Rigs and Rigging
Rig Options; Masts, Spreaders, and Shroud Angles; Holding Up the Mast; Roller-Reefing Foresails; Mainsail; Odds and Ends
Cockpits and Deck Layout
Center or Aft Cockpit; Basic Parameters and the Comfort Factor; Steering; Dodgers and Biminis; Cockpit Flooding; Deck Design and Layout; Stowage
Dealing with Ground Tackle
Bow Platform; Deck Layout; Anchor Wells; Chain Locker; Windlasses
Addendum: Carbon Fiber Masts
Lightning and Other Survival Issues
Chapter 3. Cruising Accommodations: Fusing Functionality at Sea with Comfort on the Hook
General Considerations
Minimizing Motion; Keeping Things in Place; Insulation; Ventilation; Air Conditioning and Heating
Specific Spaces
Navigation Station; Wet Locker; Galley; Saloon; Forecabins, Quarter Berths, and Aft Cabins; Head Compartment
Conclusion
Addendum: Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
Carbon Monoxide Alarms
Chapter 4. Electrical Systems
A Balanced System
Keeping the Load Down; The Supply Side; Supplementary Sources of Power; Defining the Limits; Miscellaneous DC Systems Issues
DC to AC Inverters
Sizing an Inverter; DC and AC Installations
Over-Current Protection and High-Current Circuits
What Size Fuse or Circuit Breaker?; High-Current Circuits; Check Your Own Boat
Low-Energy Refrigeration
Efficiency; Versatility; Insulate, Insulate, Insulate; Enhancing Performance; Effective Refrigeration
Low-Energy Lighting
Fluorescent Lights; LED Lighting; Halogen Lights
AC Systems
Safety; Corrosion; Miscellaneous AC Systems Comments
Bonding, Zinc Anodes, and Lightning Protection
Stray-Current Corrosion and Bonding; Lightning Protection
Conclusion
Chapter 5. The Rest of the Systems
The Engine and Propeller
How Big an Engine?; Propeller Sizing; Propeller Matters; Peripheral Systems; Living with an Engine
Fuel and Water Tanks
Metal Tanks; Plastic Tanks; Freshwater Systems; Watermakers
Bilge Pumps
Flooding Rates and Pumping Capacities; Improving Performance: Hoses and Check Valves; Improving Performance: Electrical Considerations; Float Switches; Keeping Dry Below Decks
Through-Hulls, Seacocks, and Hoses
Quality Through-Hulls and Seacocks; Hoses
Propane Installations
The Problem of Refills When Cruising
Making Equipment Choices
What Spares to Carry?
Chapter 6. Acquisition Strategies
Defining Priorities
What Size Boat?; To Build or Not to Build; Commissioning Costs
Used-Boat Market
Refurbishing an Older Sailboat; Old Racing Boats; A Survey; Go Sailing as Soon as Possible!
Cruising-Boat Questionnaire and Checklist of Desirable Features
Part Two: Cruising Skills
Chapter 7. Boat Handling under Power and Sail
Maneuvering under Power
Close Quarters Maneuvering under Power; Docking (Mooring) Lines; Docking Situations; The Mediterranean Moor; Getting in and out of Slips; Picking up and Leaving a Mooring
Sailing Skills
A Little Theory (of Sorts!); Going to Windward; Using Telltales; Adjusting Draft; Tacking; Reaching; Running before the Wind; Double Headsails; Spinnakers; Cruising Spinnakers; Weather Helm and Lee Helm; Motor Sailing
Tuning a Rig
Preparatory Measurements; Static Tuning; Dynamic Tuning at Sea
Chapter 8. Piloting, Navigation, and the Rules of the Road
Paper Charts
Chart Construction; Chart Terminology and Symbols; Chart Corrections; Other Nautical Publications
Buoyage Systems and Lighthouses
Lateral and Cardinal Marks; Lighthouses; Picking out Navigation Marks
Compasses and Plotting
Compass Basics; Compass Installation and Adjustment; Transferring Bearings to and from a Chart; Plotting Positions
Basic Piloting
Dead Reckoning; Estimated Positions, and Set and Drift; Fixes; Plotting Conventions; Tides, Tidal Currents, and Currents; Keeping a Logbook; Expanding the Piloting Repertoire; Complex Situations, Fog, and Coral
Electronic Navigation
Chart and GPS Datums; Electronic Charting; Radar Navigation
Rules of the Road
Basic Rules; Sound (and Light) Signals; Navigation Lights
In Perspective
Addendum: One Person's Ellipsoid Is Another Person's Shipwreck
Newton versus the Cassini Family; From Sphere to Ellipsoid; From Ellipsoid to Geoid; A New Age; Nautical Peculiarities; Avoiding Reefs
Chapter 9. Anchoring, Running Aground, and Kedging Off
Ground Tackle
Calculating the Load; Matching the Components; Chain Rodes; Rope Rodes; How Much Rode?; Anchor Choices
Anchoring
Anchoring Routine; Setting and Retrieving an Anchor under Sail; Setting More than One Anchor; Retrieving (Weighing) an Anchor
Running Aground and Kedging Off
Running Aground under Sail; Running Aground on a Rising Tide; Running Aground on a Falling Tide; Running Aground in Tideless Waters; Towing and Salvage
Chapter 10. The Ditty Bag
Modern Ropes
A Look at Construction; Caring for Ropes
Marlinespike Seamanship
Knots; Eye Splices; Seizings and Whippings; Ratlines
Sails
Materials and Construction; Maintenance and Repairs
Dinghies
Hard versus Inflatable; Inflatable Options; Getting a Dinghy on and off a Boat; Miscellaneous Dinghy Thoughts
Foul-Weather Gear
Features; Layering and the Extremities
Safety-Related Equipment
Life Jackets and Harnesses; Crew Overboard Maneuvers; Fire Extinguishers
Chapter 11. Weather Predictions and Heavy-Weather Sailing
Basic Theory
Adding Wind and Putting a Spin on These Processes; Pressure Changes, Isobars, and Wind Direction; Relative Humidity, Air Masses, Stability, and Instability; Frontal Systems; The Jet Stream and the 500-Millibar Chart; The Big Picture
Coastal Cruising: Putting Theory to Use
Onshore and Offshore Winds; Thunderstorms; Fog
Offshore Cruising: Putting Theory to Use
Things to Monitor; Signs of Change; Ocean Currents
Extreme Weather Situations
Hurricanes and Typhoons; Rapidly Intensifying Lows (Meteorological Bombs); Microbursts
Heavy-Weather Sailing
Being Prepared; Heaving-To; Lying Ahull; Running Off; Sea Anchors; Dealing with Flooding; Abandoning Ship
Conclusion
Chapter 12. Extended Cruising and Staying in Touch
Logistical Considerations
Provisioning; Ensuring Safe Water; Environmental Issues; Finding Crew; Financial Matters and Insurance; Bureaucracy; Children Onboard
Staying Healthy
Seasickness; Good Health in Tropical Climates; Diarrhea; Childhood Infections and Infestations; Avoiding Mosquito-Borne and Other Transmittable Diseases; Cuts, Scratches, Insect Bites, and Marine Hazards
Staying in Touch
Big Ship Developments; VHF Radio; Marine SSB and Ham SSB Radio; Inmarsat; Satellite and Cell (Mobile) Phones; E-Mail; Making Decisions; Snail Mail
Postscript
Bibliography
Metric Conversions and Trademarks
Index