Your First Sailboat : How to Find and Sail the Right Boat for You [Paperback]

Daniel Spurr (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 12, 2004

The Comprehensive Sailing Start-Up Resource

• Can a keelboat tip over?
• Can I take a centerboard boat onto open water?
• How can I determine what boat I want?
• Once I do, what’s a fair price to pay for it?
• Should I buy it new or used?
• How can I tell the difference between a used boat and one that’s used up?
• Now that I have it, how can I start sailing quickly and safely?

Your First Sailboat is the first book to answer all your questions about selecting, buying, maintaining, and using your first boat. This user-friendly guide covers issues that other books ignore, including how to choose between a trailer sailer, daysailer, raceboat, cruiser, or multihull; what hull material is best for your first boat; whether to buy new or used; where to shop; how to judge quality and condition; where to keep your new boat; and what to do about gear, loans, insurance, and annual maintenance. Special features of this all-in-one handbook include:

• A descriptive buying guide to 75 recommended sailboats of all types and sizes, from daysailers to racers, cruisers, and multihulls
• A decision tree to guide you to your ideal starter boat
• Complete instructions on how to care for and sail your boat as well as how to acquire it

Straightforward and fun, Your First Sailboat gives you just what you need to stop asking questions and start sailing. Everything else is optional. Save time. Save money. This book omits everything you don’t need to know.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

The Comprehensive Sailing Start-Up Resource

*Can a keelboat tip over?
*Can I take a centerboard boat onto open water?
*How can I determine what boat I want?
*Once I do, what’s a fair price to pay for it?
*Should I buy it new or used?
*How can I tell the difference between a used boat and one that’s used up?
*Now that I have it, how can I start sailing quickly and safely?

Your First Sailboat is the first book to answer all your questions about selecting, buying, maintaining, and using your first boat. This user-friendly guide covers issues that other books ignore, including how to choose between a trailer sailer, daysailer, raceboat, cruiser, or multihull; what hull material is best for your first boat; whether to buy new or used; where to shop; how to judge quality and condition; where to keep your new boat; and what to do about gear, loans, insurance, and annual maintenance. Special features of this all-in-one handbook include:

*A descriptive buying guide to 75 recommended sailboats of all types and sizes, from daysailers to racers, cruisers, and multihulls
*A decision tree to guide you to your ideal starter boat
*Complete instructions on how to care for and sail your boat as well as how to acquire it

Straightforward and fun, Your First Sailboat gives you just what you need to stop asking questions and start sailing. Everything else is optional. Save time. Save money. This book omits everything you don’t need to know.

Daniel Spurr is the editor-at-large of Professional Boatbuilder magazine and the author of seven sailing books. He has been senior editor of Cruising World magazine and for twelve years was the editor of Practical Sailor, the consumer report of the sailing world, for whom he has edited a book-length collection of sailboat reviews. He has owned and upgraded eight sailboats.

About the Author

Daniel Spurr is the editor-at-large of Professional Boatbuilder magazine and the author of seven sailing books. He has been senior editor of Cruising World magazine and for twelve years was the editor of Practical Sailor, the consumer report of the sailing world, for whom he has edited a book-length collection of sailboat reviews. He has owned and upgraded eight sailboats.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: International Marine/Ragged Mountain Press; 1 edition (April 12, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0071422161
• ISBN-13: 978-0071422161
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 0.4 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #284,508 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Just what I was looking for... February 9, 2005

By Richard D. Helmig

Format:Paperback

This is a good buy for the beginning sailor looking to buy his or her first boat. The writing, diagrams (reminds me a lot of R. Crumb drawings), and pictures are simple an to the point. Glance thru the chapters list and you'll get a good idea of what to expect. Definitely recommended if you are in the market to buy your first sailboat and have no sailing experience.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Very handy, well-written -- a must for the beginning sailor April 8, 2005

By T. Herer

Format:Paperback

I just got this book two days ago, and am so far very pleased with it. It organizes every single question I've ever had into concise, well-diagrammed, and sometimes humorous chapters. For example, the two-page chapter "What if the Boat Does Sink" certainly isn't an exhaustive study of the topic, but does give you extremely good pointers and common sense advice that will help you respond better to such a worst-case scenario.

I think another good treatment of a subject is in the "What if the Boat Heels" chapter. It's a question that I imagine a lot of beginning sailors have, often accompanied by nervousness about how much heeling is normal and safe. The answer to this question has proved surprisingly elusive to me, so it was nice to see a little bit written on the topic, and to have my concerns addresses directly.

What this all means is that this book does a phenomenal job of covering the bases. I would feel 100% more qualified to go buy and sail a boat after reading it. Of course, it's no substitute for comprehensive guides of special uses, such as offshore cruising, real foul-weather sailing, instrument navigation, etc., but it's a fantastic primer book for the price. Enjoy.

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Practical Sailing Advice in ENGLISH!!! January 20, 2006

By yowzers14

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

My husband and I have signed up for ASA Sailing classes, so we have been reading many "how-to" books on sailing. Lots of these books jump right into sailing lingo, and so the subject matter is very confusing for the novice sailor.

We finally found Your First Sailboat when we looked for books on the subject of buying a sailboat. This is the book we should have read first!! Daniel Spurr writes humorously about the selection of boats, and along the way, we learn about sailing techniques as well. He approaches the sailing sport with clarity and common sense, and he writes in plain jargon, not the technical language that would overwhelm a beginner.

We love this book!

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent September 29, 2005

By L. Cook

Format:Paperback

As a newbie to sailing, I found this book a to be a wonderful overview of sailboats and sailing in general. The book is organized into short chapters covering just about everything I wanted to know before deciding to purchase a sailboat. The diagrams are just right- helping to illustrate key points quite handily. I would definitely recommend to others looking for an overview of sailboats.

11 of 15 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Your fisrt sailboat: How to Find and Sail the Right Boat for you September 3, 2007

By J. Crough

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

There has got to be better books out there for the first time sailboat owner than this. The information is very sparse and lacking in any kind of detail. As an example there is a chapter on "From Whom Should I Buy?" that is two pages long. Even a novice such as myself knows that you are either going to buy from a private owner or a broker. In fact there are 39 chapters in this book, and they are all about two to three pages long. The book just does not flow well. In the introduction the author makes you feel as if after reading this book you will grasp all the basic concepts of boat ownership and sailing, when in fact you walk away with more questions about sailing then when you started reading the book. The one thing the book did tell me was that I better read other books on the subject before I continue on the path to sailboat ownership. One thing I would recommend is that you get profesional instruction on sailing and ask a lot of questions of other boat owners before you decide to buy a boat and start sailing. If you feel you need to read this book, get it at the libarary, and save yourself the money.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars exactly what it says it is January 9, 2010

By James Rosenthal

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I bought this book, by her request, for a godchild who will get her first sailboat when she graduates this spring. Although I didn't read it cover to cover, I did look through quite a lot of it before it got wrapped up and given as a holiday gift. The book is practically laid out, well-written, and will be very useful indeed as we are looking for a cruising sloop in the 35-45 foot range for her. I recommend it as helpful and also as entertaining reading. The book is particularly well organized; the list of topics and chapters makes the information easy to find and work from.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great, concise, helpful & fun September 8, 2009

By Eggy

Format:Paperback

A great book for anyone thinking or dreaming about buying a sailboat. Covers many topics, to a reasonable level, and is a great 'starter' book.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A great all around book June 20, 2009

By Paul K. Jensen

Format:Paperback

I'm fairly new to sailing and have my own boat for about two years now.
Being from North Dakota I'm pretty much self taught and this book is among the best books I own. Trust me, my wife states I have about 30 books and she's right.
I highly recommend this one. Among the best.
You'll get alot out of it.