Throughout the whole history of maritime enterprise and achievement, few ships have ever excited so much interest as the clippers, even though they existed for quite short historical period. In both the America and Great Britain there was a great surge of interest and enthusiasm in the design, construction and performance of the clippers which were of a type unique in the annals of the sea.

Never before had shipbuilders been in such a hurry to construct large ocean-going ships to sail at maximum speed, and this was particularly true of America. Here the clippers were for the most part intended to transport eager prospectors to the "land of gold" in California, and this necessitated a battle with the elements in the storm-swept oceans around Cape Horn. The gold rush frenzy, as far as the ship building was concerned, lasted in the US from 1849 to 1854, although the performance of the clippers continued to be studied avidly.

Unfortunately, the years of the American Civil War terminated all this. In Great Britain the picture was slightly different, because fold was discovered in Australia three years later than in California, and clippers sailing from Britain did not have to contend straight against the fierce westerlies off Cape Horn on their outward passage.

So the clipper ship era overlapped in the 1850s, and thereafter the China tea trade produced a fine selection of clippers, a sprinkling of which were of the "extreme" category. However, this second clipper ship boom was brought to a sudden close in 1869 by the opening of the Suez Canal, which forced down freight rates for sailing vessels to ruinously low levels, and consequently, the construction of clippers ceased.

Led by the need to find food, or just curiosity, people have always explored the world around them. Our ancestors probably made their first journeys on water by floating out into rivers and bay on top of tree trunks. As long as 10,000 years ago, they had learned to make simple boats called dugouts by hollowing out tree trunks. Many thousands of years later people discovered that boats could be built by joining wooden planks together. Boats could now be any shape or size. Small ones were pushed along by paddles or oars, but larger ones needed the power of wind pushing against sails to propel them. All the great voyages of exploration were made by sailing ships. Then, in the 1800s, the invention of the steam engine opened up a new source of power and led to new designs. In this century, new materials and small powerful engines have made lightweight yachts and motor-boats possible. And the popularity of water sports has led to the invention of water skis, the sailboard, and the jet ski.

The new edition of one of the best boat system maintenance book ever published. This release contains many significant updates in comparison to the previous edition. In fact, all section have been re-worked; however, the electrical systems portion was affected most. The publication provides enough technical information to allow people, even newcomers, to diagnose the problems with their boats, and, what is also important, to understand whether the external pro's coming to fix the problem, know what they do and offer.

Today, there is no any other book looking at the mechanical and electrical issues happening to the boats, that deep. The publication covers nearly all parts mechanical and electrical parts of all types of boats. The reader will get professional advice on such the important matters as battery technologies, marine diesel engines as applied to the boats, electric propulsion, electric motors, hybrid propulsion, electric lights, marine electronics, generators, solar power, transmissions, pumps, steering arrangements, watermakers, 12V and 24V DC systems, energy efficiency, A/C and refrigeration, mooring arrangements, rigging, bow thrusters - too many to get listed here.

We have some other publications by Nigel Calder on same topic, see The Instant Book of Boat Handling, Navigation, and Seamanship...

Many of us have at least some familiarity with the electrical wiring maters. For instance, when we make minor repairs at home, say to a switch or receptacle, or replace the failed ones. Some people may feel quite secure in extending a circuit or adding a new one, and they may even be able conduct wiring in the entire house is a safe and effective manner.

We are able to do so thanks to the NEC (standing for the National Electric Code) and because so many useful books have been prepared and released for both the novices and the professionals. However, unfortunately, a boat is not a house at all - and this fact still escapes all too many boatyards. This publication is truly perfect for learning everything related to the electrical system of your boat and of the way the equipment on board works. It shall be treated as the invaluable guidance when adding the new equipment pieces to what is already existing on the boat.

It has to form a part of the library of every boater serving as the ready reference source teaching how to make effective maintenance, repairs and modifications that would comply with the recognized ABYC standards. Though the publication is technical, it is still very easy to read and understand. You will also get to know how to install the wind- and solar-power systems properly, and how to protect the electrical systems of your boat from corrosion...

In 1898—1899 battleships of "Borodino"class had been still in process of development while all the principal elements of their future adversaries — Japanese armorclads of "Shikishima" class — had been determined already, though not yet detailed. In December 1898 heads of the Russian Naval Department, after careful examination of various armored ship projects by the Naval Technical Committee (NTS), made a choice of the French engineer A. Lagagne project, who was building "Tsesarewich" in Toulon at that time.

The armament of the developed ship was less formidable, being determined by NTS, than that of "Shikishima" (two 152-mm guns less); on the other hand, A. Lagagne managed to ensure the safe protection of the ship against shells and mines and arrange favourably her major and middle-caliber guns — in turrets — while having relatively small displacement (12 900 t). The main task of the battleship of this type was thought to be in the head of the squadron, when the decisive battle is fought with a formidable enemy. It had been presumed, that this ship was to be intended for actions in a limited sea area, being supported by its rear bases.

Because of it the stock of fuel, capacity of reserve coal bunkers, supply of food and drinking water, the stock of other consumable materials were reduced to two-weeks norm, in order to strengthen the armor protection and gunnery of the ship as much as possible. The store boiler water was not included in the ship normal load at all, since high efficiency desalinators were installed on the board.

This book is one of the most informative publications related to the boating. It will suit even the beginners having minimal knowledge - they will learn everything what is required in this book. In case of boating, the experience cannot be substitute with anything else; however, some necessary fundamentals must be possessed by the person wishing to hit the water for the first time.

Try this book and it will definitely prevent you from making some of the most popular boat handling mistakes as well as from getting bad habits from the start. The book shall definitely be treated as the perfect introductory source to the fundamentals of the recreational boating. Apart from serving the beginners, it will also be useful to the intermediate-level powerboaters since it offers all readers the necessary basics of proper choosing, equipping, handling and maintenance of the powerboat. Note that this is the updated edition with some significant changes made.

The readers will know how to select a good boat and the essential equipment, will get familiarized with the latest equipment for electrical navigation, know about the stability and safe boat loading; there are also some instructions on boat handling and seamanship techniques, boat trailering, safe navigation etc.

Please have a thorough look into this Guide for painting, which was developed and released by the professionals of the YachtPaint - people who have been so creative in developing the best solutions in order to protect and improve the performance of the boats of any type for over a century - really remarkable experience record.

It makes no difference where you are located and which waters your boat is intended to float, you will definitely find the highest performance coatings that are backed by the knowledge and support provided by International Paint. This release was prepared by the recognized industry experts and will be very useful for every boater. The booklet starts with a nice and concise Quick Reference Guide, followed by the introductory chapter named Before Your Start.

After that the readers will proceed to the Step Project Guide and the guides shedding some light on the antifouling and topsides issues; the recommendations for blister repair and prevention are also there. At the end of the publication there are Colour Card and Troubleshooting Guide. We do think that this is a truly important publication for those dealing with the determination and application of the paints to the hulls of the sail- or powerboats and yachts.

Well, this is one of the most popular and recommended books on boat mechanical systems. Written by one of the recognized and world popular experts, Dave Gerr, it has proven to be extremely useful and practical to the millions of readers. The text is very clear and easy to understand.

They say that the present publication is the best one of all Gerr's books. There are so many books available today on the subject matter, but, unfortunately, big part of them concentrate on the lofty and fairly impractical theories; but the author of this book did his best to grill down to the true and tried solutions - in addition to that, he clearly explains why these principles have to be followed, supplementing the theory with some practical stories.

It is a truly amazing book treated as the Bible for the home boat designers and builders due to the wide range of they key boat systems covered, including tanks, steering, exhaust systems etc. - and all of them have been detailed to a level you will not find in any other similar publication. The images and drawings contained in the book make the reading very interesting, and the experiences included to supplement the technical data, turn this book into a solid reference source.