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The World's Best Sailboats: A Survey

The World's Best Sailboats: A Survey

List Price: $60.00
Your Price: $37.80
Product Info Reviews

<< 1 >>

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: For All Lovers of Sailboats
Review: A beautiful book that will give heart palpitations to those who love sailboats. The photographs are fantastic and the writing insightful. There are also some very candid interviews with the different builders. As Máté says, this is not a definitive list, but a list of beautiful and really well built boats from builders with a unique perspective on sailing. Consequently, several genres of sailing are presented. This book is best purchased with "The World's Best Sailboats, Volume 2." The were some deletions and additions between the two volumes. Some of these were due to the requirement that the builder still be in business. I think others were due to builders being less focused on building a quality boat. Also, there are no custom boats reviewed, which is why you don't see any aluminum, steel or cold-molded boats.

To make Máté's list, it seems a boat builder not only had to build a seaworthy vessel, but one that was also a joy to sail and beautiful to look at. While some may argue that the autopilot does not care how the boat sails and beauty means durability and low maintenance, for those who really love sailing these attributes can never be ignored. I own an Alden 44, which is featured in this book. I can say that it measures up in every way. I've been caught in 45 knots with steep 10' plus seas off the coast of North Carolina and sailed downwind on a warm, 10 knot breeze on Little Bahama Bank. Regardless of the conditions, the boat performed beautifully. Despite having an autopilot, I somehow find myself taking the helm when sailing close-hauled; there is no better feeling than to be on the wind in a fine yacht. And once in harbor, people always come over and comment on how beautiful my boat is.

The boats on Máté's list may seem to be all about bragging rights, but this is not so. Sailing is hard work and is often uncomfortable. If you are greeted by an ugly boat that sails like a pig every time you come down the dock, what pleasure will there be when you are cold, tired, and wet? It is the difference between Slocum's Spray, in which he circumnavigated in a near continual state of ecstasy, and Chichester's Gipsy Moth IV - a temperamental boat that had a knack for directing water into the cabin and refused to sail for more than a couple of hours unattended. It was only through Chichester's will and determination that he completed, albeit bruised and battered, his circumnavigation.


Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Misleading Publishing Information
Review:

This is an absolutely gorgeous book. The photography is awesome! It is a "dreambook." You would not look through it in order to choose a boat. Most of them would only be available as used boats in any case. You buy this book for your coffee table, because you love fine, beautiful yachts!

Ferenc Mate has done a remarkable job, bringing together some of the finest sailing yachts, designed by the world's best naval architects and built by some of the best yards. The boats are described in the text, and the building techniques and history discussed, and line drawings presented of the plans, buttock lines, sailplans and accommodations. But, the most striking feature of the book is the exquisite photographs, many of which were made by Mate himself (photographic credits are listed on page 281.)

One does not need to be a yacht owner to love such vessels, or to love this book. However, I have been a yacht owner. I built my own, in my back yard: a ketch-rigged (two-masted) trimaran, the Wild Goose, document number 516550 Net 11. She was a 36' beauty, with a 20' beam that took me four years to build and all the money in the world. We sailed her and lived on her for a couple of years in the Pacific.

Anyone who has ever longed for their own boat will want this fine book to dream over. Such dreams can and do come true. Take my word for it, they do!

Joseph Pierre,
Author of THE ROAD TO DAMASCUS: Our Journey Through Eternity



Rating: 5 stars
Summary: This book would be cheap at twice the price!
Review:

This is an absolutely gorgeous book. The photography is awesome! It is a "dreambook." You would not look through it in order to choose a boat. Most of them would only be available as used boats in any case. You buy this book for your coffee table, because you love fine, beautiful yachts!

Ferenc Mate has done a remarkable job, bringing together some of the finest sailing yachts, designed by the world's best naval architects and built by some of the best yards. The boats are described in the text, and the building techniques and history discussed, and line drawings presented of the plans, buttock lines, sailplans and accommodations. But, the most striking feature of the book is the exquisite photographs, many of which were made by Mate himself (photographic credits are listed on page 281.)

One does not need to be a yacht owner to love such vessels, or to love this book. However, I have been a yacht owner. I built my own, in my back yard: a ketch-rigged (two-masted) trimaran, the Wild Goose, document number 516550 Net 11. She was a 36' beauty, with a 20' beam that took me four years to build and all the money in the world. We sailed her and lived on her for a couple of years in the Pacific.

Anyone who has ever longed for their own boat will want this fine book to dream over. Such dreams can and do come true. Take my word for it, they do!

Joseph Pierre,
Author of THE ROAD TO DAMASCUS: Our Journey Through Eternity



Rating: 5 stars
Summary: This book would be cheap at twice the price!
Review:

This is an absolutely gorgeous book. The photography is awesome! It is a "dreambook." You would not look through it in order to choose a boat. Most of them would only be available as used boats in any case. You buy this book for your coffee table, because you love fine, beautiful yachts!

Ferenc Mate has done a remarkable job, bringing together some of the finest sailing yachts, designed by the world's best naval architects and built by some of the best yards. The boats are described in the text, and the building techniques and history discussed, and line drawings presented of the plans, buttock lines, sailplans and accommodations. But, the most striking feature of the book is the exquisite photographs, many of which were made by Mate himself (photographic credits are listed on page 281.)

One does not need to be a yacht owner to love such vessels, or to love this book. However, I have been a yacht owner. I built my own, in my back yard: a ketch-rigged (two-masted) trimaran, the Wild Goose, document number 516550 Net 11. She was a 36' beauty, with a 20' beam that took me four years to build and all the money in the world. We sailed her and lived on her for a couple of years in the Pacific.

Anyone who has ever longed for their own boat will want this fine book to dream over. Such dreams can and do come true. Take my word for it, they do!

Joseph Pierre,
Author of THE ROAD TO DAMASCUS: Our Journey Through Eternity



Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Delicious eye candy
Review: The photography is stunning, the interviews thought-provoking. If you want to see beautiful boats in all their glory, this is the book for you.

Selection is a bit arbitrary; the high technology side of the industry is pretty much ignored. But that's not what this book is about. It's about beauty. It's about style. It's about craftsmanship.

Those are great things, in any era, for any reason. But I do join with the previous reviewer: This is an appreciation, not a buyers' guide. By all means buy the Dashews' Offshore Cruising Encyclopedia and educate yourself technically before spending $ 500,000 plus on a boat.

Buy this book and let your imagination soar, into a world where you have the funds and the energy to maintain a sixty-five foot teak-laden palace. True beauty is yours.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Good But Dated
Review: This book is a well written survey of high grade, expensive sailboats. The information is getting very dated. We need a new edition if the reader wants current advice on selection of a sailboat. Few of the boats covered are current production boats, though I assume all of them could be built for an owner in a custom yard. I found the general principles described in the book helpful, but the newer materials and newer designs that have come out in the years since this book was published make the book dated. I would have rated this book five stars when it came out, but its value to me as a first time sailboat buyer today makes me give the book only three stars.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Good But Dated
Review: This book is a well written survey of high grade, expensive sailboats. The information is getting very dated. We need a new edition if the reader wants current advice on selection of a sailboat. Few of the boats covered are current production boats, though I assume all of them could be built for an owner in a custom yard. I found the general principles described in the book helpful, but the newer materials and newer designs that have come out in the years since this book was published make the book dated. I would have rated this book five stars when it came out, but its value to me as a first time sailboat buyer today makes me give the book only three stars.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Misleading Publishing Information
Review: This book was not first published in 2001, as suggested by Amazon's information, so what is offered is either a second edition or there is a typo in the date of publication. Some of the manufacturers are no longer in existance (as pointed out by another reviewer), and Vol. II of this book was published in 2003 with updated reviews of most of the boat builders covered in Vol I.
Yes, it is a stunning picture book, no, it is not of the slightest use for any other purpose, and even as a picture book it does not equal or compare well with Vol. II.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Delicious eye candy
Review: This is book of beautiful pictures and great interviews with designers of some of the most respected sailboat builders in the world. I enjoyed the read and I very much liked the emphasis on overall quality that comes through loud and clear. Mate's book, however, is like a tour guide to the world of the "rich and famous", not a practical guide to functional sailboats. If you have $800K to buy an Alden or a Hinkley, then be my guest, but understand that while these boats are built to the highest quality standards, some of the design compromises they incorporate do not produce the safest, most appropriate, or the most durable boats in the world.

Mate' is clearly a knowledgeable sailor and no lightweight when it comes to boat design issues, but he seems to have missed the point with this book. I had almost bought into his philosophy that a beautiful boat with lovely teak decks and interiors is the same a "great" sailboat when I saw a write-up on Steve Dashew's new "Beowulf" series of boats and how they were designed and developed(covered in "The Encyclopedia of Cruising"). Dashew's thoughts are worlds apart from the design philosophies of the manufacturers of high-end production boats like the ones covered in Mate's book. If the purpose of this book is to provide a useful guide to the market for new production sailboats, to my mind, the author has missed the mark. A potential sailboat buyer will benefit far more by taking a look at some of Dashew's design comments than he or she might by reviewing any of the boats mentioned in this book.

What bothered me most about this book was the boat builders that Mate' excluded as well as some that made his "A" list. No production boat mentioned in this book is built out of aluminum which is far superior to GRP in almost every respect. On the other side of the coin, some of the boats included had me scratching my head. Hallberg-Rassy and Beneteau were both reviewed even though both have serious weaknesses as far as blue water sailing in rough weather is concerned. Hallberg-Rassy still uses the chopped glass lay-up method for its hulls which is far weaker and less stiff way of building hulls than woven GRP. Beneteaus, which are marvelous boats for the price, lack stiffness because of the use of a plastic shell liners rather than integral beams and other stiffeners used in most better boats. You would not want to spend much time in the Southern Ocean in either of these production boats.

All in all, I loved the photographs, enjoyed the comments of the designers, but ultimately found the book lacking in useful insights. As a tour of what's available at the high-end of the production market, the book may have some merits, but viewed as an aid to selecting a safe and suitable boat it falls short.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Beautiful pictures, but short on insights
Review: This is book of beautiful pictures and great interviews with designers of some of the most respected sailboat builders in the world. I enjoyed the read and I very much liked the emphasis on overall quality that comes through loud and clear. Mate's book, however, is like a tour guide to the world of the "rich and famous", not a practical guide to functional sailboats. If you have $800K to buy an Alden or a Hinkley, then be my guest, but understand that while these boats are built to the highest quality standards, some of the design compromises they incorporate do not produce the safest, most appropriate, or the most durable boats in the world.

Mate' is clearly a knowledgeable sailor and no lightweight when it comes to boat design issues, but he seems to have missed the point with this book. I had almost bought into his philosophy that a beautiful boat with lovely teak decks and interiors is the same a "great" sailboat when I saw a write-up on Steve Dashew's new "Beowulf" series of boats and how they were designed and developed(covered in "The Encyclopedia of Cruising"). Dashew's thoughts are worlds apart from the design philosophies of the manufacturers of high-end production boats like the ones covered in Mate's book. If the purpose of this book is to provide a useful guide to the market for new production sailboats, to my mind, the author has missed the mark. A potential sailboat buyer will benefit far more by taking a look at some of Dashew's design comments than he or she might by reviewing any of the boats mentioned in this book.

What bothered me most about this book was the boat builders that Mate' excluded as well as some that made his "A" list. No production boat mentioned in this book is built out of aluminum which is far superior to GRP in almost every respect. On the other side of the coin, some of the boats included had me scratching my head. Hallberg-Rassy and Beneteau were both reviewed even though both have serious weaknesses as far as blue water sailing in rough weather is concerned. Hallberg-Rassy still uses the chopped glass lay-up method for its hulls which is far weaker and less stiff way of building hulls than woven GRP. Beneteaus, which are marvelous boats for the price, lack stiffness because of the use of a plastic shell liners rather than integral beams and other stiffeners used in most better boats. You would not want to spend much time in the Southern Ocean in either of these production boats.

All in all, I loved the photographs, enjoyed the comments of the designers, but ultimately found the book lacking in useful insights. As a tour of what's available at the high-end of the production market, the book may have some merits, but viewed as an aid to selecting a safe and suitable boat it falls short.


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