Sailing America: A Trailer Sailor's Guide to North America (Paperback)

~ Lawrence W. Brown (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Seven Seas Pr; 1st Paper, 1st Printing edition (June 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 091516096X
• ISBN-13: 978-0915160969
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 0.8 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #907,325 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars should have been so much more, January 7, 2005

By	---- Neil H. "Ecclectic Reader" (Michigan) - See all my reviews

Read this book and you will learn how to tow your boat all across the united states, while getting in precious little sailing. There is a guide at the back with short suggestions on possible sailing locations. I was excited to find this book, since Larry Brown's "frugal yachting" seems to have a devoted audience. But I was dissappointed. It could and should have been so much more.

5.0 out of 5 stars Dream becomes reality, January 10, 2009

By	Sam (TX USA) - See all my reviews

Sailing America is a rare kind of a book. Yes, it is dated. Yes, America has become a more dangerous place since its publication, and yes, America has totally fallen for consumerism and is paying the price for it now. While it has become a different country, the contents of Sailing America still has a true ring to it. Sailing America should not be viewed as one long trailer-sailor expedition. Rather, it's a collection of possible sailing destinations, from which a trailor sailor may select the ones closest to home, if frugally inclined, or the one that promises the greater adventure, if time and sufficent funds are available. What readers have to understand is that Mr. Brown has made his living as a teacher, and as such, he has had the privilege of taking summers off to pursue sailing. While teachers have their summers off, they also earn correspondingly less money than other professionals with similar degrees. Folks, there is always a trade-off. As a friend of mine is fond to say: you can have time or you can have money, but to have both is difficult. Thus, Mr. Brown's sailing has been of the frugal type. In Sailing America, he didn't use a big SUV as a towing vehicle, but a small 4-cylinder Toyota bus. Neither was his boat impressive--mostly a small West Wight Potter 15, which nowadays can be had for a few thousand dollars on the second-hand market. Mr. Brown's family, himself, his wife, and two daughters, also camped a lot on their low-budget trips to make them affordable. If you are into money,glitzy things, big SUVs, big yachts, and expensive hotels, then this book is not for you. However, if your budget is located in the lower middle class/working class environment and you have been smart enough to not get trapped by credit card companies and been able to avoid a huge morgage and big car loans that will enslave you forever, then Sailing America is truly an inspirational book whose contents can become reality. Thus, you may fall in love with sailing, but do not fall in love with expensive boats, cars, houses, or other budget-crippling gadgets. If you can do that, you will love this book. Fair winds from a low-budget sailing aficionado.