Away All Boats: A Personal Guide for the Small-Boat Owner

Features true tales of boats and boating adventures, using the backdrop of some of the author's own boating experiences, combined with tips on selecting and using a boat

Cole's obsession with boats began in childhood-- Emma was a 14-foot wooden rowboat from Macy's, owned by his grandparents. Here the author of Fishing Came First offers an engaging memoir about his life among boats. His first job after graduating from Yale was operating a launch between Stamford and the Fishers Island Country Club in Connecticut. For a few years he worked in and around Long Island Sound, first as a professional fisherman (work boats are described in loving detail) and then in a charter business with writer-naturalist Peter Matthiessen. Moving to Maine as a newspaper editor, Cole still made time for boats, including a Boston Whaler, a Hobie Cat and an Old Town canoe. Much later, he found himself in Key West, part owner of a johnboat. He notes that boating in the Florida Keys is not a casual pastime; it requires careful preparation, good equipment and precise orientation. Cole gives his assessment of small boats in a final chapter. Illustrations.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

While this book charmingly recounts the variety of crafts Cole has owned over the years, it can scarcely be used as a practical reference for the selection and mainenance of boats, as the title suggests. The book begins by detailing Cole's boyhood days on Long Island (and his first boat, a flat-bottomed skiff) and progresses through his experiences with a series of boats, both power and sail, as well as a number of water venues, especially those of Maine and Key West. Cole only briefly mentions his homes, family, and career, focusing on his experiences with boats and fishing. This rather specialized item will be enjoyed by those who have done the things the author did and lived where he has. For purchase by regional libraries and those with a large boating clientele.
Robert E. Greenfield, formerly with Baltimore Cty. P.L.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Cole shares his experiences in a book that is both a guide to small boats and boating and a personal narrative. He prefers boats propelled by oars--he loves to row--but covers those powered by other means, too, and shows that every boat, regardless of method of locomotion and material of construction, is designed to perform a limited number of functions. This unity of purpose in small boats gives Cole's book a feeling of order within which his love of small boats and preference for the marine lifestyle come across vibrantly as he imparts valuable information on small-boat selection, maintenance, and use. So you can read Cole's effort as either an adventure story or a guide to small-boat owning. Either way, the writing is crisp and engaging, the information and lore intriguing. Mike Tribby