Canvaswork and Sail Repair [Hardcover]

Don Casey (Author)

Book Description

Series: IM Sailboat Library | Publication Date: June 1, 1996

The skills required for top-notch canvaswork are astonishingly few, and canvas's potential to protect your boat and enhance your enjoyment of it is practically limitless. Here is all you need to tackle virtually any canvaswork project: sails and sailcovers, flags, dodgers, ditty bags, cushion covers, and awnings--including Biminis. It's clean, safe, and risk-free--and you'll save a bunch of money and get exactly what you want in the process.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Don Casey credits the around-the-world voyage of Robin Lee Graham, featured in National Geographic in the late 1960s, with opening his eyes to the world beyond the shoreline. After graduation from the University of Texas he moved to south Florida, where he began to spend virtually all his leisure time messing about in boats.

In 1983 he abandoned a career in banking to devote more time to cruising and writing. His work combining these two passions soon began to appear in many popular sailing and boating magazines. In 1986 he co-authored Sensible Cruising: The Thoreau Approach, an immediate best-seller and the book responsible for pushing many would-be cruisers over the horizon. He is also author of This Old Boat, a universally praised guide that has led thousands of boatowners through the process of turning a rundown production boat into a first-class yacht, and of Sailboat Refinishing, Sailboat Hull & Deck Repair, Canvaswork & Sail Repair, and Inspecting the Aging Sailboat, all part of the International Marine Sailboat Library. He continues to evaluate old and new products and methods, often trying them on his own 30-year-old, much-modified, Allied Seawind.

When not writing or off cruising, he can be found sailing on Florida's Biscayne Bay.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: International Marine/Ragged Mountain Press; 1 edition (June 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0070133913
• ISBN-13: 978-0070133914
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #725,548 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Learn canvaswork and sail repair through stepped projects, November 26, 2008

By 

Stenn (Maryland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Canvaswork and Sail Repair (Hardcover)

Let me try to be a bit more balanced than "Deke." What Deke leaves out is that, right at the outset of this well-written and well-illustrated book, Casey states that the book is laid out as a graduated set of projects...starting from easy, "broadsheet" projects, which includes a bimini, stepping through more and more detailed projects...a well thought-out presentation that will overcome a laymen's anxieties about learning these new skills, and overcoming our own "Nay-saying." I've talked to a number of sailors that do their own canvas work, and they all say the biggest hurdle is telling ourselves we dont know how and we can't do it. This book breaks that nay-sayer's ice...start small, get used to the machine by doing things like duffle bags and winch and bumper covers...and graduate to bigger and more involved projects. Any skill like this comes from hands-on DOING, so I really don't get what Deke's expecting out of a book...you're not going to end up a Journeyman canvas-worker from a book...just get a machine (FS-288Z...a clone of the LSZ-1!)...and dig in.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Very Basic Introduction, June 1, 2007

By 

Call Me Ishmael "Deke" (USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Canvaswork and Sail Repair (Hardcover)

This book is okay as a basic intro to sewing, but is 90% about small canvas craft items you can make for your boat - and doesn't really get into sail repair at all.
I picked up a few pointers from the book, but overall would recommend something more in-depth if you're serious about sail repair.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great for people who are just beginning to build small canvas for their boats, March 22, 2009

By 

Sailorgirl1 "Sailorgirl1" (Seattle) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Canvaswork and Sail Repair (Hardcover)

This is a good book for understanding the basics of small DIY canvas projects. For those that have not sewn much, or don't know where to begin, it has great basic info. I consider it a good starter book, and one that is easily read. If you are a more experienced seams-man, this book is vague in insider tips, or tricks of the trade, and I found the pics are lacking in sufficient detail. If you think you will become a master canvas fabricator from one book, you will have a rude awakening taking on the world of canvas construction. But go ahead and start here, and keep working your way up. This is a good book for starters, to expect it to be more you will be disappointed. You don't go to the hardware store looking to buy milk. Keep it in perspective, it is a starter book.