The Voyager's Handbook

[thistlecap]

Chris 2998 asked me for a list of books I'd recommend for the would-be cruiser.  After giving him my list, someone else added The Voyager's Handbook by Beth Leonard.  I hadn't read it, so after looking it over on Amazon, I bought a copy for myself.  I've only gotten through the introduction and part of Chapter 1, and perused the topic headings for the rest of the book, and can already see that I'd recommend the book as well.  Ms. Leonard does a great job of covering some topics often omitted, such as the mind-set of the cruiser, why people decide to go, why some fail while others succeed.  She then goes into crew, financing, finding a blue-water capable yacht, upgrading it for offshore, sails and sail handling, anchors, anchoring and mooring, dinghies, self-steering, safety gear, navigation, communications, electrical system, refitting, liveaboard essentials, what to bring and how to stow it, managing life afloat, boatkeeping, gallelywise, lessons learned over 90,000 miles, staying healthy,staying challenged, ship-adaptable activities, shorthanded passage-making, global weather patterns, voyage planning, onboard forecasting, preparing for passage, basic passage routines, heavy weather, toward self-reliance, managing emergencies, seamanship and efficient passage making, handling foreign bureaucracy, enjoying being there, the voyaging life, reconciling the dream with reality, long-term satisfaction and surviving reentry, and appendices for additional resources, offshore medical kit, understanding vessel performance measurements, upgrades for boats, galley substitutions and equivalents.  563 pp.

[AdriftAtSea]

Yes, Beth's book is an excellent resource.  I hope you got the Second edition, which came out about a year ago or so... :) It's much improved over the first.