DK Complete Sailing Manual

Rating:
Summary: Excellent balance - tons of information - fun to read
Review: The biggest challenge facing the author of any sailing text is to communicate comprehensive information on a technical subject in a manner that is still readable. Many of them fail at this, being either too dry for most people to read or not sufficiently comprehensive to be very useful.

Steve Sleight's Complete Sailing Manual is one of the most informative and engaging books on sailing I have ever encountered. The writing is highly articulate and flows in a manner that draws the reader into each topic. It is sprinkled throughout with gem-like details of seamanship, history and personal experience that expose the author's formidable knowledge of sailing, communicating and teaching. It can be used as a reference or text -- read and enjoyed from cover to cover or kept on board to be used when you need to look something up.

The subjects range from dinghy and high performance sailing to racing, design considerations, all aspects of cruising, navigating, weather, storms, maintenance, safety, line handling and very much more. Each is handled thoroughly, and presents specific details that most writers are not sufficiently articulate to include. There are excellent sections on anchoring and docking under power or sail with consideration given to almost any possible wind and current strength and direction. Included is a discussion on techniques for using warps to turn a boat at a dock or on a med-moor.

The work is a beautiful balance between images (clear precise diagrams as well as excellent photos) and text. In short it is a complete sailing manual - extremely responsible in its content and fun to read.

As the director of one of the largest sailing schools in the United States, I am very pleased to have discovered this treasure and plan to use it as a text for our more advanced courses.

Dave Franzel Director Boston Sailing Center

Rating:
Summary: Informative and down-to-earth. Wonderful illustrations!
Review: The Complete Sailing Manual is a must for any beginner or expert sailsman. This book covers a wide range of tips, techniques, parts, safety and has a bountiful amount of illustrations. Use it!

Rating:
Summary: Author's Comments
Review: This book was written with the intention of it being a practical guide to a wonderful sport. I hope it has achieved its aim but that is for you, the reader, to judge.

Any reader wishing to contact me with a comment, question or suggestion is welcome to reach me by e-mail at [e-mail].

Rating:
Summary: Excellent intro to sailing for a beginner
Review: This is very well laid-out, user-friendly book covering a huge range of topics. Start with this one, move on to some hands-on lessons, and then get the annapolis book of seamnship. From there, you should have quite a good knowledge base on which to build.