Complete Book of Yacht Care [Hardcover]

Michael Verney (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 11, 1998

This single, highly illustrated volume contains everything that the owner of a new or traditional boat will need to maintain her in a safe and seaworthy condition at minimum cost. Its detailed tables provide a unique survey of the real cost of every aspect of yacht upkeep.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Verney, a prolific writer on proper British yachting, here outlines the correct maintenance of yachts. All the many facets of owning a boat are briefly covered: tools, deckwork, sails and sail handling, marine engines, dinghies, etc. The emphasis is on the older wooden yacht, which Verney terms a "bargain." Also included is a price comparison table of typical annual upkeep costs in Britain and the United States. There are some excellent suggestions here and there, but American readers might benefit more from the advice of Ian Nicolson ( Improve Your Own Boat, LJ 3/15/86), or George Buchanan ( The Boat Repair Manual, LJ 7/85), both of whom cover fewer subjects in greater depth. Only for extensive boating collections. John Kenny, San Francisco P.L.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

In it's third edition, the book's title is not an exaggeration. By keeping to the point and dealing only with getting immediate results from the task at hand, author Michael Verney manages to reasonably cover complete yacht care in just 261 pages....So broad is the scope of the book it could qualify as an encyclopedia of yacht care. It covers sail and power, every basic boat system and component, and fiberglass, wood, aluminum and ferrocement hull materials.

The book is probably one of the few modern references (it was revised in 1997) to cover caulking and paying planked hulls and decks, making mast hoops for a gaff rigged sail boat, and careening a hull for bottom maintenance. If you are looking for a concise, up-to-date book encompassing modern as well as traditional boat maintenance and nautical skills, you could not do better than this. -- Dockside, June 1998

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Sheridan House; 3rd Edition edition (August 11, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1574090410
• ISBN-13: 978-1574090413
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7.7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,760,614 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Tips and Ideas, July 10, 2000

By 

"simonfl" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Complete Book of Yacht Care (Hardcover)

If you are a new boat owner, this book will give you some good tips to keep your boat in a good working order and it will also give you a good but shallow explanation/instruction to many of the jobs required onboard. However if you are an experienced yachtsman you will not be enlightened by any fantastic ideas but it will merely serve as a reminder of what you already know or a second opinion on something you think should be done differently.

2.0 out of 5 stars A good collection of obsolete technology, March 19, 2003

By 

Rich Kokoska (Mansfield Center, CT United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Complete Book of Yacht Care (Hardcover)

I'm afraid the Dockside review above is too optimistic about the scope of this book's coverage--little of what is here is useful to the owner of even a very old fiberglass production boat of any size. What this is, however, is a treasury of obsolete technologies for people with specialty interests such as owners or keepers of wooden schooners and the like. There are excellent diagrams of line-splicing jigs and tons of advice on wooden deck and hull painting/protection. The book was also intended for a British audience and takes up a lot of space on the usual British things such as instruction in the unthinkable practice of leaning a boat against stone piers when the tide goes out...
If you are someone dealing with an antique or wooden boat you will want this for your collection; if you are surrounded by fiberglass, best to look elsewhere.