The most comprehensive and helpful guide ever written for selecting and equipping a cruising sailboat
Whether you’re a coastal or offshore cruiser, you’ll find your most pressing concerns treated with the know-how that makes for skillful, confident cruising in Nigel Calder’s Cruising Handbook. The author -- one of the most respected marine how-to authors on either side of the Atlantic, and author of the universally admired Boatowner's Mechanical and Electrical Manual, -- walks you through all key technical and practical aspects of modern cruising systems and equipment, providing you with a summary of the skills necessary for safe, enjoyable sailing.
The first half of the book includes an easy-to-use tabular method for evaluating a boat's suitability for cruising; ideas for workable deck and interior lay-outs and organization; how to choose and configure suitable boat systems for cruising; and how to install gear for trouble free operation.
The book's second half teaches you boat handling skills; core navigational expertise; anchoring techniques; weather understanding; heavy weather expertise; and specific skills for long-term and long-distance cruising.
Front Matter
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Part One: The Boat
Chapter
1. A Boat for Cruising
Basic Design Parameters
Length-Beam Ratio; Keel Types; Displacement Calculations; Ballast Ratio; Displacement-Length Ratio; Overhangs; Waterplanes and Immersion; Comfort Factor; Sail Area-Displacement Ratio; Stability Curves and Ratio; Capsize Screening Value and STIX Number; Maintaining Control; Speed-Length Ratio; Buttocks, Diagonals, and Aft Sections; Speed versus Comfort
Getting Down to Details
Construction Materials; Cored Hulls and Decks; Hull-to-Deck Joints; Structural Reinforcements; Keels; Rudders and Skegs; Skegs and Propellers; Bilge Water and Tankage
Conclusion
Chapter
2. On Deck
Rigs and Rigging
Rig Options; Masts, Spreaders, and Shroud Angles; Holding Up the Mast; Roller-Reefing Foresails; Mainsail; Odds and Ends
Cockpits and Deck Layout
Center or Aft Cockpit; Basic Parameters and the Comfort Factor; Steering; Dodgers and Biminis; Cockpit Flooding; Deck Design and Layout; Stowage
Dealing with Ground Tackle
Bow Platform; Deck Layout; Anchor Wells; Chain Locker; Windlasses
Addendum: Carbon Fiber Masts
Lightning and Other Survival Issues
Chapter
3. Cruising Accommodations: Fusing Functionality at Sea with Comfort on the Hook
General Considerations
Minimizing Motion; Keeping Things in Place; Insulation; Ventilation; Air Conditioning and Heating
Specific Spaces
Navigation Station; Wet Locker; Galley; Saloon; Forecabins, Quarter Berths, and Aft Cabins; Head Compartment
Conclusion
Addendum: Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
Carbon Monoxide Alarms
Chapter
4. Electrical Systems
A Balanced System
Keeping the Load Down; The Supply Side; Supplementary Sources of Power; Defining the Limits; Miscellaneous DC Systems Issues
DC to AC Inverters
Sizing an Inverter; DC and AC Installations
Over-Current Protection and High-Current Circuits
What Size Fuse or Circuit Breaker?; High-Current Circuits; Check Your Own Boat
Low-Energy Refrigeration
Efficiency; Versatility; Insulate, Insulate, Insulate; Enhancing Performance; Effective Refrigeration
Low-Energy Lighting
Fluorescent Lights; LED Lighting; Halogen Lights
AC Systems
Safety; Corrosion; Miscellaneous AC Systems Comments
Bonding, Zinc Anodes, and Lightning Protection
Stray-Current Corrosion and Bonding; Lightning Protection
Conclusion
Chapter
5. The Rest of the Systems
The Engine and Propeller
How Big an Engine?; Propeller Sizing; Propeller Matters; Peripheral Systems; Living with an Engine
Fuel and Water Tanks
Metal Tanks; Plastic Tanks; Freshwater Systems; Watermakers
Bilge Pumps
Flooding Rates and Pumping Capacities; Improving Performance: Hoses and Check Valves; Improving Performance: Electrical Considerations; Float Switches; Keeping Dry Below Decks
Through-Hulls, Seacocks, and Hoses
Quality Through-Hulls and Seacocks; Hoses
Propane Installations
The Problem of Refills When Cruising
Making Equipment Choices
What Spares to Carry?
Chapter
6. Acquisition Strategies
Defining Priorities
What Size Boat?; To Build or Not to Build; Commissioning Costs
Used-Boat Market
Refurbishing an Older Sailboat; Old Racing Boats; A Survey; Go Sailing as Soon as Possible!
Cruising-Boat Questionnaire and Checklist of Desirable Features
Part Two: Cruising Skills
Chapter
7. Boat Handling under Power and Sail
Maneuvering under Power
Close Quarters Maneuvering under Power; Docking (Mooring) Lines; Docking Situations; The Mediterranean Moor; Getting in and out of Slips; Picking up and Leaving a Mooring
Sailing Skills
A Little Theory (of Sorts!); Going to Windward; Using Telltales; Adjusting Draft; Tacking; Reaching; Running before the Wind; Double Headsails; Spinnakers; Cruising Spinnakers; Weather Helm and Lee Helm; Motor Sailing
Tuning a Rig
Preparatory Measurements; Static Tuning; Dynamic Tuning at Sea
Chapter
8. Piloting, Navigation, and the Rules of the Road
Paper Charts
Chart Construction; Chart Terminology and Symbols; Chart Corrections; Other Nautical Publications
Buoyage Systems and Lighthouses
Lateral and Cardinal Marks; Lighthouses; Picking out Navigation Marks
Compasses and Plotting
Compass Basics; Compass Installation and Adjustment; Transferring Bearings to and from a Chart; Plotting Positions
Basic Piloting
Dead Reckoning; Estimated Positions, and Set and Drift; Fixes; Plotting Conventions; Tides, Tidal Currents, and Currents; Keeping a Logbook; Expanding the Piloting Repertoire; Complex Situations, Fog, and Coral
Electronic Navigation
Chart and GPS Datums; Electronic Charting; Radar Navigation
Rules of the Road
Basic Rules; Sound (and Light) Signals; Navigation Lights
In Perspective
Addendum: One Person's Ellipsoid Is Another Person's Shipwreck
Newton versus the Cassini Family; From Sphere to Ellipsoid; From Ellipsoid to Geoid; A New Age; Nautical Peculiarities; Avoiding Reefs
Chapter
9. Anchoring, Running Aground, and Kedging Off
Ground Tackle
Calculating the Load; Matching the Components; Chain Rodes; Rope Rodes; How Much Rode?; Anchor Choices
Anchoring
Anchoring Routine; Setting and Retrieving an Anchor under Sail; Setting More than One Anchor; Retrieving (Weighing) an Anchor
Running Aground and Kedging Off
Running Aground under Sail; Running Aground on a Rising Tide; Running Aground on a Falling Tide; Running Aground in Tideless Waters; Towing and Salvage
Chapter
10. The Ditty Bag
Modern Ropes
A Look at Construction; Caring for Ropes
Marlinespike Seamanship
Knots; Eye Splices; Seizings and Whippings; Ratlines
Sails
Materials and Construction; Maintenance and Repairs
Dinghies
Hard versus Inflatable; Inflatable Options; Getting a Dinghy on and off a Boat; Miscellaneous Dinghy Thoughts
Foul-Weather Gear
Features; Layering and the Extremities
Safety-Related Equipment
Life Jackets and Harnesses; Crew Overboard Maneuvers; Fire Extinguishers
Chapter
11. Weather Predictions and Heavy-Weather Sailing
Basic Theory
Adding Wind and Putting a Spin on These Processes; Pressure Changes, Isobars, and Wind Direction; Relative Humidity, Air Masses, Stability, and Instability; Frontal Systems; The Jet Stream and the 500-Millibar Chart; The Big Picture
Coastal Cruising: Putting Theory to Use
Onshore and Offshore Winds; Thunderstorms; Fog
Offshore Cruising: Putting Theory to Use
Things to Monitor; Signs of Change; Ocean Currents
Extreme Weather Situations
Hurricanes and Typhoons; Rapidly Intensifying Lows (Meteorological Bombs); Microbursts
Heavy-Weather Sailing
Being Prepared; Heaving-To; Lying Ahull; Running Off; Sea Anchors; Dealing with Flooding; Abandoning Ship
Conclusion
Chapter
12. Extended Cruising and Staying in Touch
Logistical Considerations
Provisioning; Ensuring Safe Water; Environmental Issues; Finding Crew; Financial Matters and Insurance; Bureaucracy; Children Onboard
Staying Healthy
Seasickness; Good Health in Tropical Climates; Diarrhea; Childhood Infections and Infestations; Avoiding Mosquito-Borne and Other Transmittable Diseases; Cuts, Scratches, Insect Bites, and Marine Hazards
Staying in Touch
Big Ship Developments; VHF Radio; Marine SSB and Ham SSB Radio; Inmarsat; Satellite and Cell (Mobile) Phones; E-Mail; Making Decisions; Snail Mail
Postscript
Bibliography
Metric Conversions and Trademarks
Index
