Seaworthy Offshore Sailboat: A Guide to Essential Features, Handling, and Gear [Paperback]

John Vigor (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 21, 2001

"An invaluable resource. [Vigor's] practical wisdom gives you the know-how and confidence to prepare your boat for the sea."--Cruising World. Here is the book that answer the sailor's fundamental question--"Can my boat take me offshore safely?"--then shows how to make it happen.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

All sailors want to believe their boats can go anywhere and stand up to anything. Who knows when you might get caught by bad weather? It's enough to worry about your own responses without worrying about the safety of your boat. The Seaworthy Offshore Sailboat explains feature by feature how you can refit your boat for worry-free bluewater voyaging.

Take the unique diagnostic questionnaire to determine whether your boat is capable of offshore sailing, then let John Vigor show you step by step how to get there, as he covers everything from structural modifications and reinforcements to rigging, engines, systems, and gear. Whether you're planning an offshore voyage or just dreaming of one, The Seaworthy Offshore Sailboat is the perfect guide.

"An invaluable resource. Vigor's practical wisdom gives you the know-how and confidence to prepare your boat for the sea."--Cruising World

"Not only hands us practical advice in a clear format but also the hope that an offshore voyage is fully within our grasp if we are willing to follow his roadmap."--Good Old Boat

"Vigor's questionnaire offers hard-to-find, honest evaluations of whether or not a boat is bluewater capable. . . . This clear, objective reference will make fearless, prudent skippers."--Mariner

About the Author

John Vigor has sailed more than 15,000 ocean miles in boats 11 to 40 feet. He is the author of The Practical Mariner's Book of Knowledge and The Boatowner's Handbook.

Product Details

• Paperback: 232 pages
• Publisher: International Marine/Ragged Mountain Press; 1 edition (March 21, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 007137616X
• ISBN-13: 978-0071376167
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #168,311 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

67 of 67 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A MUST Buy For Anyone Serious About Venturing Off Shore, January 13, 2000

By 

Bill Williams (Escondido, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Seaworthy Offshore Sailboat (Hardcover)

In The Seaworthy Offshore Sailboat, author John Vigor covers the requirements for any sailboat venturing beyond coastal waters. He first defines what makes a boat suitable for offshore sailing, then provides a virtual checklist of improvements that can "harden" a boat in order to meet the requirements for heavy weather sailing. In one chapter there is are 56 questions to test the fitness of any boat. The final score on this test helps the sailor determine whether or not a boat is blue water capable. He also addresses the operation of a boat on a long voyage, and what should be expected in the way of weather. Provisioning is also addressed in this book. An appendix covers the Catalina 27, a model that has over 6000 boats manufactured. His assesment is that this boat is the "Volkswagen Beetle" of the boating world, and is a very seaworthy choice for it's price and size. He tells of Patrick Childress making a solo circumnavigation in a Catalina 27. Any boat owner contemplating a long offshore cruise would be well advised to read this book before venturing out without making the improvements suggested.

45 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Advice, January 22, 2002

By 

D Paul "D Paul" (Denver, CO United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Seaworthy Offshore Sailboat: A Guide to Essential Features, Handling, and Gear (Paperback)

You can easily pick up three books on offshore sailing and get three separate opinions of what type of boat you need. A fast boat will get across the pond faster. A big boat adds stability and can carry lots of accessories like auxiliary generators and water makers. John's theory is that you should get a boat that can be handled well by a small crew and tough enough to handle any weather that you are likely to run into. Since his opinion parallels my own, I can only assume that he is obviously a sailing genius. This book is highly recommended for anyone contemplating a voyage over the horizon.

31 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Buy This Book, June 18, 2003

By 

GEORGE R. FISHER (Boston MA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Seaworthy Offshore Sailboat: A Guide to Essential Features, Handling, and Gear (Paperback)

Even if you do not plan to sail shorthanded thousands of miles offshore it's a very good idea to understand in detail what makes your boat seaworthy in difficult circumstances and to make it so.

This book is a very thorough and very readable treatment of the subject of everything you need to know about a sailboat (except how to sail; that part is assumed). These sorts of things distinguish good sailors from the mass of recreational sailors and I, for one, have an ambition to become the former. If you do, too, then this is a great book to read several times.

The Black Box theory of why some people are lucky and others aren't relates to preparedness and if only once in your life you need it, then it's worth it to you and your companions to have taken the trouble.