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Rating: 
Summary: Leaves you with more questions
Review: A good well written book with essential information clearly explained. If you know exactly what type of characteristics you want in a boat (performance, safety, etc) then this book will help in finding the right boat though the criteria laid out in the boat by various authors are not easily found or reconciled in one boat design. Will make further investigation more productive to be sure. Certainly a jumping off platform for the first time buyer and more reading is needed for a true understanding of the concepts resented in the book.
Rating: 
Summary: Vague and inconclusive
Review: I bought the book because I am looking for a blue water cruiser to take me round the World.
I liked the design explanations especially stability. However I was astonished at the brevity of the section on Keels. Less than a page on one of the most controversial aspects of blue water sailing.
The section on "Five Good Boats" is disappointing in that the boats are not widely available, apart perhaps from the Pearson. In an article in the Pearson Owners association web site the designer implicitly states the Pearson range were designed for coastal work.
There is no mention of any of the popular boats generally regarded as offshore suitable.
The author - the Technical Committee of the CCA, is no doubt a prestigious and experienced body, but it is heavily involved in racing and I think this shows.
The addition of a section on popular "offshore" boats and their strengths and weaknesses would have put my rating up to 4 stars.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding
Review: This book is incredible. If you are a complete novice, in the market for your first boat - or an experienced sailor preparing to go to sea - this should be required reading. There is an incredible amount of experience behind this book, making it the authority on sailboat configuration and equipment. Illustrated in all the right places.
Rating: 
Summary: A chapter from the Old Testament of sailing
Review: This collection of articles by a Cruising Club of America committee of the surviving gods of 20th-century sailing, especially the venerable Olin Stephens, lays down the dogmas of bluewater sailing design and safety as they were agreed upon by these worthies at the close of the century. Their lament at the undue influence of racing design on consumer cruising boats is commendably progressive, but otherwise the material is a chronicling of their conservative preferences in traditional equipment. The chapter on anchors takes a step backward, recommending as the primary anchor the fisherman, a design not in production even in 1987 (based on the author's experiences in 1962!); 4 of the 5 boats in the chapter on good designs were custom models not affordable to the general public, letting us all know where we (and they) stand in the class structure of sailing. Read this material for its intrinsic value and recover your sense of modernity by having a go at Garry Hoyt's book "Ready about", which is the New Testament and road map to the 21st century future of sailing.
Rating:
Summary: Authoritative on cruising yacht design and features.
Review: This is the authority on the features and equipment that belong and those that don't belong in a cruising sailboat. Rarely before has a book on sailing drawn upon as much experience and knowledge as these authors provide. Between them, they have been sailing for some 850 years, have covered more than 750,000 miles offshore (the equivalent of 30 circuits of the globe), and have owned 43 cruising sailboats. Writing for sailors of cruising boats of all sizes and types, the authors cover just about every aspect of preparing to go to sea in a modern boat: characteristics of safe boats for blue-water cruising; latest developments in hardware, construction and sails; dimensions of proper sea-going bunks, chart tables and cockpits; lists of sails, emergency gear, and electronic instruments for different types of boats and sailing; ways to improve your boat's ventilation and refrigeration; checklists of gear and medical equipment...and much more.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent book
Review: Whether you are a novice about to buy your first boat or an old salt who wants to add a little more practical knowledge, this is an excellent book. Some of the recommendations may seem like overkill for the casual weekend sailor, but it is best to be prepared, if not in equipment then at least in knowledge, for the worst conditions. There is a big difference in knowing and not knowing how much your boat falls short of ideal preparation. This book could give you a sense of where to set the standard.
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