Sails: The Way They Work and How to Make Them [Paperback]

Derek Harvey (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 21, 1998

This book contains all the information a boatowner needs to fully understand how sails work, and how to design, make, repair and modify them. The do-it-yourself sailmaker can save as much as three-quarters of the cost of small boat sails by making them or recutting old ones, using a little more than a tape measure, scissors and a simple sewing machine.

Editorial Reviews

Review

...essential if you have ever contemplated making your own sails....will also help sailors evaluate the sails they now own or will acquire. All in all, this packed little volume will be a welcome addition to any sailor's nautical library. -- The Ensign, November 1998

...you'll rarely see a book explain so much material with such efficiency. -- The Journal of the American Sailing Association, Summer 1997

About the Author

Derek Harvey has been sailing small boats for over 50 years, progressing through a variety of dinghies, converted naval craft and fishing boats to modern performance cruisers, live-aboard catamarans and trimarans. He combines coastal cruising and weekend racing with photography and writing about boats. He is the author of Boating on a Budget and Multihulls for Cruising and Racing.

Product Details

• Paperback: 188 pages
• Publisher: Sheridan House (August 21, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1574090305
• ISBN-13: 978-1574090307
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,525,705 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent description of history, how, and why sails work., September 8, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Sails: The Way They Work and How to Make Them (Paperback)

I've been sailing for 40+ years - raced dinghies up to boats across the Gulf of Mexico and this is the first time I ran into a clear (believable) explanation of how the sails work. Airplane wing - it takes longer on the curved side - Bernoulli - low pressure =s lift. I'm an engineer and have lived with that forever - but although a sail may be shaped like the upper edge of a plane's wing - it doesn't have any thickness - therefor there is not much difference. How does THAT explanation account for the lift? As an engineer I can only say Thank You Derek Harvey for a better and more believable explanation (I hope your right!).

His explanations of what adjustments to make to the sail under varying conditions were most helpful. I only wish he had made an easy reference sheet. I also found it useful to know why then sail makers do the things they do. I will consider it a valuable tool in helping me decide what boat, and what sails to buy in my current search.

Not only do I recommend it to others I am buying a second copy for my son who has just made the varsity racing team at the Coast Guard Academy. `nough said.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Sails: The way they work and how to make them, October 27, 2007

By 

Trevor L. Griffiths (Sausalito,California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sails: The Way They Work and How to Make Them (Paperback)

I was looking for a book on sail design and repair.Although there is a lot of good information in this book, Half the book is used up describing different types of rigs and early sail history. I was disappointed with the content for my purposes (sail repairs,maintainence and modifications) I later found: Sailmakers Apprentice by Emiliano Marino, and Sail Care and Repair,by Dan Neri. Now for me,these are worth having!! I can't see looking at this book again. Sorry, but it was a poor choice for me.