Hervey Garrett Smith was the foremost marine illustrator of the 1950s and 1960s, and his wonderful drawings of traditional ropework quickly propelled The Marlinspike Sailor to cult classic status when it was published in 1956. With the addition of a section on modern, synthetic rope in the 1970s, its popularity has continued undiminished to this day. It teaches a few basic knots--the bowline, sheet bend, and rolling hitch, among others--and splices in three-strand and braided rope. But its real business is decorative rope and canvaswork--the traditional arts of the sailor--and here it has no equal. For a rope mat, a rope ladder, a sea chest, a ditty bag, a canvas bucket, a mast boot, and the best-looking rope fenders or heaving line in the marina, this is the book of choice.
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``The art of creating a `boaty' boat. If you don't have this title, now is the time to get it.'' (WoodenBoat)
From the Back Cover
Hervey Garrett Smith was the foremost marine illustrator of the 1950s and 1960s, and his wonderful drawings of traditional ropework quickly propelled The Marlinspike Sailor to cult classic status when it was published in 1956. With the addition of a section on modern, synthetic rope in the 1970s, its popularity has continued undiminished to this day. It teaches a few basic knots--the bowline, sheet bend, and rolling hitch, among others--and splices in three-strand and braided rope. But its real business is decorative rope and canvaswork--the traditional arts of the sailor--and here it has no equal. For a rope mat, a rope ladder, a sea chest, a ditty bag, a canvas bucket, a mast boot, and the best-looking rope fenders or heaving line in the marina, this is the book of choice.
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54 of 56 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Using hand drawings that are clearer than any photograph, THE MARLINSPIKE SAILOR (c.1960) by Hervey Garrett Smith illustrated in a 131 page soft cover book a collection of the best detailed renditions of basic knot tying and ropework any beginner can learn to start his ropework career, or for an old hand to refresh his memory.
There is no waste as only essential rope skills are shown in clear etchings, line drawings, and pencil sketches, which will make the wooden sail boat owner self-sufficient from a lot of expensive, store-bought textile gear.
In a written text accompanying each excellent drawing, Hervey Garrett Smith explained the purpose of each rope related product; such as: knob knots used for drawer handles, baggy wrinkle for chafe gear, coach whipping for stanchion rails, rope shackles for your storage chest, sewing skills to make gear bags and sail mending, netmaking for storage, and rope fenders for hull protection. The author included no superfluous skills or fancy work (MacNamara's Lace as we called it in the Navy).
There is more than a hint of Yankee frugality pervading THE MARLINSPIKE SAILOR as Hervey Garrett Smith promotes self-sufficiency through recycling old rope and canvas, or anything else that can be salvaged and made useable.
THE MARLINSPIKE SAILOR is an important and useful book for the beginner to teach themselves the fundamental skills necessary to quickly make oneself a useful member of any traditional sailboat crew. This book should be read in conjunction with both THE ASHLEY BOOK OF KNOTS and SEAMANSHIP IN THE AGE OF SAIL.
29 of 31 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
As live-aboard cruisers, we have frequent uses for knots, bends and hitches. We have several instructional books on knotting and splicing, and the best remains "The Marlinspike Sailor" by Hervey Garrett Smith, published in 1956. Smith's explanations and illustrations stand the test of time. They are the clearest and easiest to follow of any instructions we've found. Invariably, we always pull out "The Marlinespike Sailor" when we're at loose ends!
21 of 22 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
THE MARLINSPIKE SAILOR, now in its 46th year, is one of the half-dozen or so "essential" books in any sailor's working library. Just a bit less cumbersome than THE ASHLEY BOOK OF KNOTS. THE MARLINSPIKE SAILOR is an excellent book to keep on board to teach yourself or your crew the fundamentals of working with rope, so critical a part of sailing.
I find Mr. Dupre's criticism of the use of nautical terminology in THE MARLINSPIKE SAILOR to be a bit ironic; after all, that's like saying a cookbook makes too many references to kitchen utensils.
I find Mr. Dupre's criticism of the use of nautical terminology in THE MARLINSPIKE SAILOR to be a bit ironic; after all, that's like saying a cookbook makes too many references to kitchen utensils.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
A chatty and charming little notebook of traditional skills for working traditional 3-ply laid line. Owners of classic craft will find it useful, and those with an interested in traditional sailing skills will find it a must-have for their library. I'm already contemplating burying my gaff-rigged catboat in acres of netting, woven rugs and baggywrinkle.
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
By Brett Lloyd
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I bought this book for two specific reasons. First, because it is recommended by many other knot tyers that know their stuff, and second, because of the illustrations. Although digital photos are nice, I very much enjoy the drawings in this book. They are very clear and easy to follow, and the accompanying text is enjoyable to read as well.
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Execllent overview of functional and decorative marlinspike seamanship; and clearly written by a real sailorman! Not very deep in any individual area, but highly useful to the novice. I actually made a few items using the instructions, they worked
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Pros: It's well written and fun to read. It's full of historic information and anecdotes. The illustrations represent a wide variety of interesting projects .
Cons: The book is very uneven. Some projects are explained in details with patterns and step-by-step diagrams. Some have little or no explanation. I also noticed that some knot-tying diagrams are inaccurate and near-impossible to follow.
I recommend the book as a fun and engaging overview of marlinspike seamanship, but if you want to learn the craft, this book alone is not sufficient.
Cons: The book is very uneven. Some projects are explained in details with patterns and step-by-step diagrams. Some have little or no explanation. I also noticed that some knot-tying diagrams are inaccurate and near-impossible to follow.
I recommend the book as a fun and engaging overview of marlinspike seamanship, but if you want to learn the craft, this book alone is not sufficient.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I purchased this book for my husband who has been looking for a easy explanation of splicing...He had the following to say: Have looked through several books on sailing knots and splicing and none have done a better job than The Marlinspike Sailor. The text shows a decent array of knots and does a great job on splicing which is what I purchased the text for. I have had no trouble following the simple directions to troublefree splices...a great item
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Nice reading!
The book is very nice and has an excellent structure, based on stories and illustrations that show the art sailor within. I recommend to anyone interested!
Published 7 days ago by Marcos Paulo Alves Barboza
4.0 out of 5 stars
knot tying made simple
This is a well written book on proper use and assembly of knots for everyday use, it contains well defined drawings to help understand how to tie various knots.
Published 2 months ago by Luis F DeLaCruz
4.0 out of 5 stars
Would be excelent but...
...the illustrations are not the best in the world but they get the job done. The written directions are the same, but if you have a little experience knotting, learning to... Read more
Published 4 months ago by wrenchman
5.0 out of 5 stars
great book
best rope-work book I've got, and I have a few, very informative. and very entertaining, I would recommend this book to anyone that is interested in doing rope work
Published 4 months ago by Robert Sistek
5.0 out of 5 stars
Foundational!
If I only had one rope-work book, then this would be the one. It's not macrame. It's sailor arts. So get this book and be ready to use your hands and arms, because easy don't... Read more
Published 5 months ago by -MDG
3.0 out of 5 stars
This was a gift
I chose this because my dad wanted a book to learn to make a sea chest handle. I looked over it a little once I gave it to him, and it seems like the instructions are not as... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Sarah Grossbauer
5.0 out of 5 stars
great!
great info and tons of old seamanship info. i only wish i had bought the fids first i had to wait till i got them to try some of the knots.
Published 6 months ago by don
4.0 out of 5 stars
Love it
This is a BIG book not pocket size people. BIG and very informative. nice instructive pics to follow. happy whipping!
Published 8 months ago by h2so4
4.0 out of 5 stars
Best for beginners
Although the Ashley Book of Knots is the "go-to" reference for marlinspike work (alternate spelling of "marlingspike" or "marlinespike"), "The Marlinspike Sailor's" instructions... Read more
Published 9 months ago by Crow
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very clear and would remain as one of my priced books on knots
I love knots. This books contains many illustrations and clear instructions which would be very beneficial for beginners. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Badrul Hisham
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 3
books:
11
books
cite this book:
See all 11 books citing this book
- Yacht Designing and Planning by Howard Irving Chapelle on page 112
- Arts of the Sailor by Hervey Garret Smith in Front Matter
- Boat Carpentry by Harvey Garrett Smith in Front Matter
- The Practical Encyclopedia of Boating: An A-Z Compendium of Seamanship, Boat Maintenance, Navigation, and Nautical Wisdom by John Vigor in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Cruising (with) Class by Stan Zimmerman in Back Matter
- Beautiful Boat Crafts: Decorating Ideas and Projects for OnBoard by Linda Buckingham in Back Matter
- Sailmaker's Apprentice by Emiliano Marino in Back Matter
- Sailors, Whalers, Fantastic Sea Voyages: An Activity Guide to North American Sailing Life by Valerie Petrillo in Back Matter
See all 11 books citing this book
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