Boatbuilding & Boating

This is just the short yet quite valuable and informative excerpt taken from the "Popular Mechanics" magazine dated half-a-century ago. The readers who decide to have a look into this small booklet will be told, very briefly, how to construct a simple boat with their own hands and without having to involve third party professionals; in addition, there will be no serious money required.

As declared by the authors of this mini-textbook to the boatbuilding, this new construction project will cost you almost absolutely nothing - say about dozen of bucks, and it can be completed in only sixteen hours; moreover, the newly built boat may be either oar-powered or moved using the outboard engine. Just try, because summer is coming! All necessary plans, sketches, and technical data inside. The authors insist that literally anyone can build a boat - you just have to find some dollars to get the necessary materials for construction.

Then, provided you have some sixteen hours (usually not more unless you plan to waste the time), you may start. One of the secrets of this simple construction is the lack of any framework in the design. The sides of t e boat will fair around the single mold stick which is inserted between the stern and the stem, in a natural way...

This guide dedicated to the Chinese sailing rig guide has been developed on the basis of the information collected during many years of designing, building and sailing Chinese lug rigs. Despite quite compact sized of the publication, it really contains huge amount of useful information and may be treated as a perfect addition to any collection of nautical history books.

The book is remarkably reader-friendly and provides all info about the construction of the seaworthy boats. the text is full of photos included to illustrate all stages of construction. In short, it is very informative and handy book - note that everything presented in the pages of this book has been already tried and done so you may rely on the information contained herein. The publication is recommended to any reader with the interest in naval history and vessels of the past and who are willing to know some more about the Chinese rigs and how the western hulls could be adopted.

Of course, you do not have to be a professional shipbuilder or naval historian to enjoy reading this book. By the way, some of the info presented will definitely interest ship modelers who may use it when making the model of ships of that period.

At the first glance, this publication may be thought of as the nice and interesting one, devoted to a single vessel. However, should the reader have a bit more thorough look and study the content of the book, he or she will immediately note that the Christopher Maynard, the author of the book, did a remarkable job and included so much of basic useful information which every naval history enthusiast ought to know.

At the same time, it shall be noted that the publication is very easy and pleasant to read - it makes the book truly excellent for children due to the way in which various details have been explained. The book starts with the intro expanding into a brief description of the way in which ships and boats float, sail and steer. This part is followed by the section dedicated to the triremes and riverboats, yachts and ferries. There is a separate chapter for the engines, powerboats and lifeboats, tugs and container vessels, cruise ships and tugboats, and even underwater vehicles.

Note that every section of this book contains minimum one cutaway view of the ship in question and some of them are supplemented with the exploded view of decks. Definitely one of the best books on this subject available today. 

Why to choose an outboard engine; The present and past of the outboards; European Union 2004 emission standard labelling; Distribution networks; Outboard engine anatomy; The power head, shaft, power leg; How the engine works; The two-stroke and four-stroke engine cycles; Scavenging; Four strokes or two?; The main parts of an outboard engines; Terminology used; Piston displacement, torque and compression ratio, HP, power/weight ratio; Number of cylinders in the outboard engine; Specific fuel consumption... and so many other topics relating to the maintenance and repair of the outboards. As it is the case with the most technical stuff on board the powerboat, the outboard engine is quite simple in use; however, should it happen to break, it immediately becomes very complex and obscure piece of machinery.

This book is intended to provide the boat owners with some guidance on the maintenance and repair of such engines. First of all, it goes without saying and discussion that the best way to prevent the engine from breaking down is the regular maintenance. It may seem quite tedious and time-consuming if you are not guided; however, with proper guidance, it is really easy and quick task. That is why this guidance book must be in the collection of every boater.

Who would have thought, when I first dropped off the manuscript for Sea Kayaking at the offices of Jim Douglas and Scott Mclntyre back in 1980 that there would ever be a fifth edition? The "sport" wasn't even called sea kayaking; we picked that name for the title of the book to make it clear mat we were talking about neither paddling on rivers nor using canoes. Sea Kayaking had a nice ring to it. and the name fit much better than coastal paddling, blue water kayaking, sea touring or any number of other less precise options.

Sea kayaking has long topped the list of fastest-growing water sports. There are still more people padding canoes and aluminum boats, but sea kayaking is where the energy is. Recently I returned to the kayak industry after some years away from it writing children's books and home-schooling my two children. I found that much had changed during my absence. For a start, many of the small players have grown big. some gobbled up by very large fish indeed. Manufacturers such as Perception. Necky and Wilderness Systems have been bought out by multinational corporations that have seen big business opportunities in sea kayaking. The competition between these giants has been fierce. Fortunately the vitality of the small builders remains and the quality of boats is noticeably higher.

Sea kayak instruction has also become a thriving industry, but like many educational systems, it has largely focused on those aspects of the activity that can be most readily taught and measured—such as paddling skills and rescue techniques—rather than on subtler, less tangible skills such as judgement, sound seamanship and good risk management. Sea kayaking as I know it is roughly 80 per cent seamanship skills and less than 20 per cent boat-handling skills. The reverse is true only if all your paddling is done in sheltered waterways. In addition, some inappropriate crossover skills have found their way into sea kayaking from racing. It has become fashionable, for example, to paddle a sea kayak as if it were a seven-kilogram racing shell, with a high, exaggerated "chicken wing" box-style stroke and racing paddles. It is a stroke that works brilliantly if you suddenly need a burst of power, but I know of no one who has paddled a loaded sea kayak for a thousand miles and maintained such a style. Yet it is being taught by skill-focused paddlers as the stroke of choice.

The present official Manual was prepared by USCG to present the approved procedures and established methods to be used when conducting boat operations. The text part of the manual is fully illustrated with very informative images. The book has been deservedly treated by the readers as the best resource for the crews. The content if written in a very easy-to read language making it very convenient to use.

The materials contained in the publication are arranged in twenty chapters all important aspects. For example, the first chapter of the book is dealing with the boat crew, duties of the crew members and watch standing responsibilities, determining the crew size as well as certification and qualification of the crew members, description, knowledge and performance skills of the trainees, crew members, engineers, coxwains and surfmen, lookout watch including night watch, towing watch and helm watch, anchor watch and other relevant matters.

The next chapter is dealing with the auxiliary operational missions while the third one covers the main factors of crew efficiency. Then the authors proceed to the team coordination, management of the associated risks, first aid, pyrotechnics, characteristics of the boat, survival equipment, boat stability, communications, navigation techniques, boat handling and many other aspects.

As the title implies, this book is about the repair of boats and is intended to provide boatbuilders and boaters with truly comprehensive and detailed repair guidance. In fact, a good boat owner shall be a sort of combination of boatbuilder and sailmaker, boat mechanic and electrician, and even welder and plumber - of course, he or she shall also have good boat navigation skills.

Knowing all this is next to impossible, and all boat owners have to call experts to assist them with one task or another. The present volume aims to empower all interested boat owners with the required technical knowledge enabling them to fix the damages occurring to their boats and eventually reduce the demand for the external help. The reader will find useful and easy-to-read information about the fundamental tool skills, they will get valuable advice relating to the essential spares and get to know how to set up their personal workshop.

Using the information contained in the book they will even be able to survey their boats on their own. This, in turn, will eliminate additional expenses and let them save some money. Starting with the essential repair skills, the content of the volume proceeds to the boat hull and deck repairs, wooden, steel and ferro-cement repair works, domestic repairs, general mechanics and repairs to the electrical equipment and systems including navigation part, engine repairs, sailboat and motorboat repairs, outboard and dinghy boat repairs. The glossary is also there to check the terminology.

This books was designed to serve as an excellent ultimate companion to be used for the exploration of the North American coastal waters. The text content of the guidebook has been supplemented with numerous beautiful images providing valuable tips on such important aspects of boating as anchoring and piloting, weather etc.

The book is full of detailed step-by-step instructions on various quite specific techniques and boating skills. Six section of the guide provide information on choosing the cruising powerboat, selecting of the gear for cruising, using the boat, keeping the boat running boat and looking nice, living the cruising life, cruising great destinations etc.

Among the topics covered in the pages of the present guidebook there are boat engines and drive systems, stabilizers and steering systems, cooking and refrigeration, shipboard cooling and heating systems, anchors and associated equipment, safety equipment, tips on buying the cruising powerboat, routing maintenance techniques and procedures, keeping the boat clean, handling the boat, fundamentals of boat navigation, planning boat cruises, rules of the road and so many other important and interesting topics. Some additional information is provided within three appendices to the main part of the volume.