Old books

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trebor
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Re: Old books

Post by trebor »

Hi Stephen, sorry to hijack your thread, but I would like to ask if anyone can recommend a book about dinghy design and rigging etc, basically I would like a book which explains how different hull shapes work and how different types of rigging work and how to get the best out of them, it may be that I will need to get more than one book to cover everything, I would like to get a more technical insight in to how sails etc work. Thanks Rob.
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Re: Old books

Post by Max McCarthy »

Hi Rob, Frank Bethwaites high performance sailing is good for that, it is almost 500 pages long, so there is a lot of info in it
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trebor
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Re: Old books

Post by trebor »

Hi Max, I will have a look on Amazon and Ebay. Thanks Rob.
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Re: Old books

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If you really want to get into the theory then Marchaj is worth a read
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Re: Old books

Post by neil »

a few other decent reads are:
  • Sailing Craft by Edwin Schoette
  • Handbuch Des Wassersports by Artur Tiller - it's in German but the pictures and lines drawings are great
  • Chapelle's Boatbuilding (I was so chuffed when I bought a 1st Edition with an ex-libris Ian Proctor plate in it for a tenner)
  • Faster Sailing by Robert Bavier
  • anything by Alan Villiers (Falmouth for Order is a good start)
  • Sailing Yacht Design by Douglas Philips Birt (but all his are good)
  • Practical Yacht Construction by Watt and Jurd
  • Yacht Racing by Manfred Currey
  • Racing Dinghy Sails by Jeremy Howard Williams
  • Sail Racer by Jack Knights
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trebor
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Re: Old books

Post by trebor »

Hi Neil, I have just brought a copy of Frank Bethwaites book on Amazon, is the book called Marchaj, seems a weird name, I will have a look.
Stephen, have you read Hammond Innes book about his voyages in his Yacht "Mary Deare", it is called "Sea and Islands", he meets Tito the Yugoslavian President on one of is voyages in the Med. Rob.
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Re: Old books

Post by neil »

The Author is C.A Marchaj. I have his first book - Sailing Theory and Practice but he's done another one - Sail Perfomance http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sail-Performanc ... b_title_bk
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Re: Old books

Post by JimC »

Bethwaite has done two books, called, confusingly, high performance sailing and higher performance sailing. They are complementary: one doesn't succeed the other. Each is really two or more volumes inside a single cover.
High has much more on weather
Higher has a good historical overview and more very recent material

Compared to Marchaj Bethwaite does much more empirical research - Marchaj can be *very* theoretical and heavy on the maths.
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Re: Old books

Post by neil »

JimC wrote:Marchaj can be *very* theoretical and heavy on the maths.
that's why it's such a fun read ;) takes me back to my student days - my copy of Aero-hydrodynamics is very battered.
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Re: Old books

Post by Rupert »

Also worth finding for a more basic view for those of us without PHD's are Dinghy Systems by Mark Chisnell and John Hodgart and Small Boat sails by Jeremy Howard Williams.
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Re: Old books

Post by Southern377 »

Will be listing some of the above on flea-bay this weekend. Will post links once they are listed.

Several Dinghy Yearbooks. Yachting World Annuals. Both the last two books mentioned, plus more .

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Re: Old books

Post by Rupert »

Having a clear-out?
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Re: Old books

Post by Nessa »

I have been told our recently deceased commodore has left a box of sailing books to be sorted. Thanks David, hope you're happy in the great ocean of the hereafter.

I will be having a look tomorrow. Quite exciting.

The Bethwaite books are good, but complex and not easy for the beginner. I like the ones Rupert mentions, as well as good old Start to Win, Dave Perry's Winning in One Designs, and anything by Stuart Walker.
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Re: Old books

Post by Nessa »

oh and this week I acquired Racing Techniques by Conrad Gulcher - fantastic diagrams, inclduing instructions on how to amke your own trapeze harness out of a strip of flexible plywood and some padding. It is effectively a padded wooden belt with a hook on it. Aamazing.
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Re: Old books

Post by trebor »

Hi Nessa, have you seen the price of some of the books mentioned, that is one of the things that makes this site so good, with the experience provided by members who can tell you what is the best book for your level of experience, saving money and time. Rob.
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