Seamanship: A Beginner's Guide to Safely and Confidently Navigate Water, Weather, and Winds (Essential Guide to Boating) - Softcover

Skills Institute Press

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1565235541 ISBN 13: 9781565235540

Publisher: Design Originals, 2011

Synopsis

Hit the water like an experienced sailor with all the watery wisdom in this handy book! John Kelsey walks you through handling a variety of situations you might face while boating. He'll help you understand how to read the winds and water, drop your anchor, deal with foul weather, and prepare for emergencies. Develop an eye for weather changes. Know when a low-lying pall of fog is fast approaching. Get a glimpse of a swift-moving current before it reaches the boat's buoy, and recognize the choppy, quick waves that are signs of shallow water ahead. Knowing the tips Kelsey writes about in this guide gives you time to think of the next best course of action before you get into trouble. Learn convenient and reliable methods to navigate, steer, or provision a boat. In case of bad weather, learn how to handle it with ease. Additionally, if you can no longer steer the ship, learn the best method to abandon the boat. The book provides each scenario in practical, easy-to-implement steps that you can put to work immediately. The anchor enhances the security and steadfastness of a vessel. Learn how to use the anchor properly and when to drop it, and be able to recognize when you should repair or replace the entire anchoring system, preventing nasty surprises while at sea. Before the heavy weather strikes, know how to prepare for it and reach shore in one piece. Learn some quick dos and don'ts in foul weather to guarantee your safety. Finally, know when it is time to abandon ship and how you can safely do it. Any body of water that is large enough to hold a boat is subject to the powers of Mother Nature and mechanical damage. In times of peril, you need to know how to navigate turbulent waters safely to get ashore. Fortunately, the rules that apply at high seas will work for your motorboat on a lake or at the coast. With all this advice, you will be well-equipped with the right skills to hit the water, navigate, and handle various situations on river, lake, ocean, or sea.

About this title

About the Author

John Kelsey is a journalist and editor specializing in woodworking and furniture making. He has a degree in woodworking and furniture design from the School for American Craft at the Rochester Institute of Technology. He is a former editor in chief of Fine Woodworking magazine and a publisher of woodworking and home building books at the Taunton Press. He is the author of Furniture Projects for the Deck and Lawn. He lives in Newtown, Connecticut.

From the Back Cover

Be Smart, Be Safe, and Enjoy your Time on the Water One of the first rules of enjoying the great outdoors is you don't fool around with Mother Nature- especially when it comes to water. Whether you're in a sailboat on a pond or a fishing boat chugging away on the ocean, the rules of seamanship are essential to know. Every boater needs to understand the basics of safety before setting foot on deck. The Essential Guide to Boating: Seamanship is more than a beginner's guide to boating. It provides in-depth information on boat handling and navigation, and how best to read the changing water, weather, and wind conditions. Beyond the basic tenets of mastering practical details, Seamanship will provide knowledge for handling deck equipment, a thorough understanding of safety devices and how to use them, and offer a disciplined approach to preparing, stowing, and maintaing all the unglamourous but critical pieces of boating equipment. With this helpful guide and a respect for Mother Nature to inform and inspire you, your seamanship skills will save you from discomfort and danger while allowing you to safely enjoy your time on the water.

Edition details

• Publisher: Design Originals
• Publication date: 2011
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1565235541
• ISBN 13: 9781565235540
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 160