George Buehler

I loved the authors no nonsense attitude. We are looking into buying a boat in the distant future (or perhaps not too distant future). We don’t want a fancy boat with all of the ‘bells and whistles’, we want the basics, something in between Annie Hill’s [Voyaging on a Small Income] and [Voyaging Under Power]. This book doesn’t tell you how to cross oceans; it tells you the best type of boat to use to cross the oceans.

I’ve been reading a few books about cruising and many of the show more people cruising talk about very expensive boats that rarely or never leave the dock. We want a safe, comfortable, cruiser that doesn’t cost a fortune to own and operate and that can take us any where that we want to go whether it is the coast of Belize, Wales or America’s Great Loop without costing us a fortune.

The author tells the reasoning behind the designs of his boats, mainly based on the salmon trollers of the Pacific Northwest. It could have been a long advertisement for his designs but it isn’t. Yes he tells you about his designs, and how you can buy them from him. But really the book is more about why he designed the boats that way and how he came about with his conclusions. He talks about engines, auxiliary sails, how to understand plans and estimate costs, the different systems on a boat and much more.

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