Resources
Cruising World Magazine
Cruising World Magazine, Devoted to people who like to take long trips on sailboats, such as trans Atlantic, trans pacific or circumnavigation of the world by sailboat. There are some interesting personal accounts written by people who have traveled thousands of miles by sailboat.
Small Boats Magazine
This is the web site for Small Boats Magazine which features mostly small home made sailboats, power boats, Kayaks, canoes and row boats. It has a lot of tips and info for people building their own small boats. It is an offshoot of Wooden Boats Magazine see next link below. These boats have a lot of character compared to mass produced boats.
Wooden Boat Magazine
This magazine has many photos and stories of beautiful boats. I used to own a 25 foot wood monohull sailboat and I was a subscriber to Wooden Boat during that time. If anyone owns a wood boat in this age of fiber glass hulls this is the magazine for you. Please note that wooden boats don’t do well in warmer climates. Have you seen a piece of drift wood on the beach in Florida? Have you noticed all the little holes in the piece of drift wood? That is what happens to wood boats in Florida also.
Shell Point Sailboard Club
This is the Shell Point Sailboard Club Web Site. Sailboarding is another name for Windsurfing. I am a member of this club. They offer free windsurfing lessons, they have some fun events including parties and races throughout the year. A great group of people. It only costs $30 per year for a individual membership or $45 per year for a family membership. A brief note about the website address: 20 knot Snob. Many sailors prefer to sail in “sporty” (high wind) conditions. 20 knots is the minimum wind needed for so called “sporty” conditions. Some windsurfers (boardsailors) don’t even consider going out unless the wind is at least 20 knots (blowing 20 nautical miles per hour). These sailors are known as “20 Knot Snobs”. Since a Nautical mile is a little longer than a land mile, a 20 knot wind is a little stronger than a 20 mile per hour wind.
BoatUS Magazine
I have been a Boat US member for many years. Basic Membership is less than $20/year and includes Boat US Magazine subscription which was like a newsletter, but now has grown to become a very good boating magazine. Boat US represents the interests of Boat Owners (both sail and power) and lobbies congress to prevent laws that might have a negative impact on boat owners, offers insurance for boats, discounts at marina’s and other marine Industry vendors, rebate on money spent at West Marine, offers towing for members both on the water and on land including boat trailers for a slightly higher membership than the basic membership. Boat US Foundation has other benefits, see next link below.
Practical Sailor Magazine
This is a news letter I have subscribed to for many years. It is like Consumer Reports for Sailboat Owners in that Practical Sailor does not accept advertising and so they can be unbiased when they write about products of interest to Sailboat owners. Like Consumer Reports they test and rate products such as anchors, boat bottom and topside paint, Marine electronics like VHF Radios, GPS, and electronic charts, Depth Sounders, Knot meters etc., Outboard and inboard motors, types to wire rope and rigging terminals, etc. If you subscribe you have access to their archive of past product evaluations, as well as current issues. It costs between $30 and $40 per year for both print and digital editions.
Books
Lin and Larry Pardey have completed many circumnavigations of the Earth on Lyle Hess design wood boats that they built themselves.
They have written too many books to mention here. All their books are worthwhile reads. Your local public library, used book stores, Practical Sailor Magazine has a online book store, International Marine Division of McGraw-Hill has a long list of titles of interest to sailors https://www.mhprofessional.com/international-marine and e-bay are all good places to find books on sailing. You can learn a lot from reading books and magazines, but don’t become an “Arm Chair Sailor” Get out there and sail!
Fix it and Sail by Brian Gilbert 2006 International Marine / Mcgraw-hill
The author bought a 1972 MacGregor Venture 222 trailer sailer that had been parked in the woods for years and needed a lot of work. Sailboats deteriorate whether you are using them or not. The author describes how to fix everything that is wrong with this boat, which is just about everything. He ends up with a virtually new boat and trailer for less than $4000
USCG Navigation Rules And Regulations Handbook
Navigation Rules is a publication that contains the rules and regulations that apply to the operation of ships and other vessels in navigable waters. These rules are designed to promote the safe and efficient operation of ships, and to prevent collisions and other accidents.
It can be found in this link:
The Complete Rigger’s Apprentice, Tool and Techniques for Modern and Traditional Rigging by Brian Toss 2016 McGraw-Hill Education
This is so much more than a book on tying knots. This amazing book has to be in every sailors book collection. Subjects covered are splicing all kinds of Rope including the wire rope that holds up your mast, Different rigs and sail plans, even rope tricks and puzzles, emergency procedures, and a chapter called Sheer Ingenuity which contains lots tips gained through many life times of sailing passed down from one Expert Rigger to his or her apprentice.
Handbook of Trailer Sailing by Robert Burgess 1984 Dodd, Mead & Company Inc.
The Author buys a Com-pact 16 and later a Com-pact 19 and describes these and other trailer sailers and improvements you can make. The Com-Pact line of boats are unusual because they have fixed keels with encapsulated concrete ballast. No Center board or dagger board to raise and lower.