Customer Reviews

The Complete Guide to Choosing a Cruising Sailboat

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I eagerly dove into this book when it arrived, but... While Roger Marshall's book has some good general information about choosing a cruising sailboat, even that information is better addressed in Nigel Calder's "Cruising Handbook," or for serious interest in offshore cruising, John Vigor's "The Seaworthy Offshore Sailboat." Marshall's book will be a dissapointing read for anyone that aspires to acquire a cruising sailboat with reasonable offshore capabilities at a cost that's affordable. Of course if you're wealthy, you don't need this book either, just hire Roger to design the perfect sailboat for you.

Marshall develops concept boats for five categories. The first boat is a "Weekender" of 20 to 26 feet with "sail in the bay" kinds of systems. The second category is the "Cruiser" that is 34 to 36 feet long that doesn't range beyond 30 miles from the coast. The third boat Marshall talks about is the"Voyager" that's a very comfortable 45 to 47 feet long (Are we beginning to sense the missing bits?). Then we encounter the "Single Hander," a 45 to 50 foot boat that seems specifially designed for the Around Alone racing crowd. And finally, the "Racer/Cruiser" with a design of 32 to 36 feet and seems to be a reasonable assessment of the kind of boat that will be appreciated by those that want to race with the yacht club and still enjoy some coastal journeys.

The missing chunk relates to blue water cruising or offshore sailboats of less that 45 feet. It's a disappointing omission. Especially if you consider that the average size of a sailboat that cruises away from the coast is getting larger, but only from about the 35 or 36 feet range to about 38 or 39 feet. If you are looking for a cruising sailboat that has offshore and passage capabilities and can't afford the 45' or larger "Voyager" category, you'll have to do a lot of interpolating between Marshall's design categories to glean the knowledge you're hoping to find.

This book is more than just choosing a cruising sailboat. It covers the whole spectrum of foils, hull shapes, deck layouts, sails, interiors, etc. anyone who is looking to buy a boat period, i recommend this book. Even if you are not planning to buy but just want to learn more, this is a must.

I eagerly added this book to my wish list based on it's title and found that what was inside the book was less about selecting your ideal cruising sailboat than it was about selecting a custom design, or perhaps directing the construction of your custom dream boat.

Those who have owned sailboats in the past would be less likely to choose this book than people like me, just getting started and looking for some informed help. Unfortunately, those needing this help most - people with the least experience - will be the ones least helped by it.

What was missing from this book (in my humble opinion) is a review of existing cruising sailboats, blurbs written by people who own and sail them, pros and cons about their design, sailing characteristics, and recommended modifications to make them fit various sailor's needs.

In all fairmess, I did learn about hull shapes and the like, but there was no "joining" of hull design factors to existing boats that possess these designs, making all the technical information in the book rather useless.

I'm sure many very experienced sailors will find this book fascinating and perhaps even incorporate some of the author's ideas into designs for their custom boats. Unfortunately, for the sailor looking to choose a cruising sailboat, this book falls short and is a dissapointment.

Written in a clear and beautiful style, lots of helpful diagrams, BUT... I am interested in single-handed ocean cruising, and I want a 26-30 foot boat. Yep, it would be more comfy if I could afford a 45-50 footer, but that's just not realistic for the average person with a dream. If you could afford a boat that size, you can probably afford a designer of your very own and thus wouldn't need this book.

Normally a book title is merely an attractive phrase to sell a book, but in this case it's lengthy title leaves no doubt: it's exactly what it says! To me, this is a perfect example of a perfect book.

It is for starters a very well designed book: nice hardcover, a handy format and a pleasant layout with lots of drawings that makes it an easy book to read. Secondly, the content is so well formulated that despite the extensive technical nature of some of the chapters, it can easily be understood by anyone seriously interested in buying a sailboat.

In my view, there's even a philosophy behind it all: in order to really understand what kind of boat is right for you, one must be able to understand some of the design charactaristics and it's effects on the way that particular design will behave in the water. It's not a coincidence that there are so many recent yachts for sale: people tend to rely too much on manufacturer's colour brochures and end up buying the wrong boat!

After reading this book, I will never look at a boat the same way I used to. Instead, I will look for those specific details that divide a nice design from a great design. Even such simple practical issues as the positioning of winches or fairleads around the cockpit can make the difference between enjoying a boat or getting agitated every time you need to trim your sails!

But there's more: because of the theoretical approach you can even use those misleading colour brochures to calculate a wide variety of ratios that will tell you something about stability, performance, handling and comfort of your boat of choice. With these formulas you'll be able to really compare boats and truly understand which design will suit your demands. The final choice, of course, can only be based on the real thing: by taking her out on the water. But by using this book sensibly, you will save yourself a lot of trouble!

My review is simply that this book was mis-titled. It should have read Designing a Cruising Sailboat not Choosing. It speaks less of real boats and more about 4-5 mythical boats of which the author walks you through the design process of. If you've got lots of cash and want to see your custom design come to life this book may be for you. The author even goes so far as to say that proper boat maintenance starts when you visit your boat builder while your boat is being built and blah blah...at this point I considered the book a loss.

This book starts by giving you an exam and rates your experience. Don't be discouraged by the exam, it isn't valid and I doubt it is reliable. Nevertheless, Marshall has some great technical information on all sorts of things to consider when you select a boat. Best of all he has a spread sheet of statistics on a large number of production boats. Selecting a boat is much of the fun of owning a boat and this book helps with the fun. The information doesn't seem to be unique, but it is well enough presented to make it worth while looking at, especially if you are new to sailing.

I was looking for a book that would help me select a cruising sailboat, as the title suggested. This is really a book about sailboat design and design features that must be considered for different types of cruising. The book was very interesting in terms of boat design, as it lays out the "design thinking" and use-specific features in the design of five different boat types. Because we already know exactly what sort of cruising we intend to do, this book didn't get us very much further down the "choosing a boat" path. It is, however, useful in terms of helping evaluate used boats and their design features based on the important features of his "model" designs. This book will educate, but won't necessarily help you choose from the wide range of used boats that are out there. The Used Boat Guide "from the pages of Sailing Magazine" is an excellent choice if that's the sort of help you're looking for. I give it three stars only because the title is a bit misleading - a better title might be "Choosing the Right Cruising Sailboat DESIGN".

Naval architect Roger Marshall provides a substantive guide for the cruising sailor who chooses his boats based on their suitability to his purposes. In plain language and with clear supporting diagrams, Marshall explains the fundamental principles of seaworthiness, the elements of good design, and the ever challenging balancing act between speed, comfort and cost.

I disagree with the reviews that say this book is only for cruising sailors with a large budget. I think this book is for sailors of any budget who take sailing seriously and who want to own boats that fit their exact needs. Considering how many boats are left to sit idle by their owners, it makes sense to realistically think though how one intends to use their boat and just what features are worth paying for. Frankly, most sailors will find they do not need the boat to end all boats if they only intend to putter close to shore on sunny weekends. At the same time, considering there is always the potential for a sailor to face the elements at their harshest, and considering some cruisers will want to push the envelope to its fullest, it makes sense to understand what exactly makes a sound, seaworthy boat and a worthwhile investment. I found that Marshall covers all these bases and more and I heartily recommend this book to readers.

Perhaps the problem with Roger Marshall's "Choosing a Cruising Sailboat"--as reflected in the mostly mediocre reviews here--is that the audience includes readers who are relatively new to sailing. That describes myself and my wife when we first purchased this book.
As we have gained more expertise and a clearer idea of what we expect of boats, this 210 page volume has become increasingly valuable. Parts of it ARE quite technical. But it's clearly written, and if you stay with it and apply the concepts to boats you see and to boats you sail, it will come to you. Each time I pick up this book, I learn new things.
Reviews stating that Marshall only treats "mythical" boats or boats for the rich leave one wondering if those reviewers actually read this book. In fact, Marshall devotes pages of detailed, practical analysis to 26 different well-respected makes of cruising vessels in dozens of lengths from 22 feet to 52 feet. The quiz at the beginning for the book provides a good indication of where a sailer is in terms of experience and know-how. There's a solid index, and lots of clear illustrations. If you want to really understand what makes a good cruising boat a good cruising boat, this is an excellent resource.