The Fisherman's Boating Book

Rating:
Summary: Best book I've seen for small outboard fishing boat owners
Review: In fact I came to this site hoping to find similar books. A comprehensive DIY book for the small boat fisherman with chapters on trailering, electrical (including a simple and effective battery-charging system), anchoring, theft-protection, weather forecasting, taking a bassboat to saltwater, onboard rod/tackle/gaff etc. storage, "Building A Custom Fishing Machine" (out of a bare 16 foot utility skiff in the book's example), and a chapter on modest but useful projects such as simple transom-mounted baitwells (with optional rudimentary trimtabs attached) that require no circulating pump.

Although the chapter on electronics is now behind the times except as a basic overview, the rest of the book is very useful. None of the projects or modifications described in the book take a great deal of skill or know-how; and the simpler your boat is now (in terms of design features and equipment) the more valuable you will find these DIY projects. After fifteen years I still refer to this book from time to time, and I wish Stearns would compile enough new info to write a sequel.