How Boat Things Work: An Illustrated Guide

This book blew my mind. This is essential reading for a new sailor.

Nice thing about.this was that the example hardware they chose to use in the book matches the hardware on my boat

Charlie Wing has done a little bit of public service with "How Boat Things Work: An Illustrated Guide", although McGraw-Hill has done a disservice to their fine illustration department by not crediting their work by name. Books of this sort which are extensively photo-illustrated often make things harder to see and understand because of the issues involved with lighting small bits in enclosed spaces and/or scale issues. Clear-line illustration of this sort suffers from none of these drawbacks. Captain Wing--whose name is familiar to those of you nautically-minded as author of "Get Your Captain's License" and "The Boatowner's Illustrated Electrical Handbook"--reviews boat systems that you'd likely see aboard your 32'-class cruiser. Wing's no stranger to learning in extremis, either--indeed, as he makes clear, he began his journey as the systems aboard his own cruiser successively packed it in over the course of a season. Section I deals with propulsion, and his overview of the various folding/feathering props should disabuse you of the notion that installing these aboard your boat would be a good idea. (That's not what he says, it's what I inferred. Seriously, the diagrams alone are frightening. Why would you hang your boat's propulsion upon something that has that many teeny pieces and moves about?) At any rate, it's a good overview of propulsion. He uses the Yanmar 2GM as his example, and includes some sage advice--such as installing a larger primary fuel filter. Section 2 covers steering. I like wheels, but he doesn't cover tiller systems. He also explains servopendulum autopilots. Section 3 covers standing rigging, swageless fittings and tuning your rig. It's a brief chapter that's at best a big-picture overview. Section 4 is called "Line Handling", which is pretty ambitious--it includes basic deck skills like coiling down lines properly to making them off through knots, block and tackles and the set up of your running rigging. My nit to pick here is that Captain Wing doesn't review the fundamentals of reeving multi-part blocks. How many times has someone unreeved crucial blocks, such as at the mainsheet, and left you wondering how to get it reeved properly? His coverage of reeving to advantage and disadvantage is too short and too sparsely illustrated. This is a particularly salty skill and probably would have added fewer than 2 full pages to the text. Section 5 covers ground tackle--this is what sailors usually call the frayed mess of crap that they've shoved forward into the fo'c's'le. Ground tackle often merits little attention let alone discussion, which is a mistake. Regular practice with it will save your skin. I'd have liked Captain Wing's discussion of various moorings (in particular the Bahamian) to have earned a little more coverage, though. After all, as I tell my students, there's no such thing as a book called "101 Funny Anchoring Stories". Chapter 6 is the reason I bought this book. As the co-author of a book called "The 12-volt bible" you'd expect the Captain to spend some quality time on this subject. He does, and that's a good thing, since electrical systems are growing steadily larger and more complicated in small cruising boxes. I'd like to have seen an overview of basic tests that you would perform when tying up at dock--for example, how to use a multi-meter when checking for correct polarity. Chapter 7 is "plumbing", which offers a good overview of general marine plumbing systems. It is not, however, by any means a troubleshooting and repair guide. Captain Wing has done an excellent job of creating a high-level overview of major boat systems. It's an excellent companion for boat owners and those of you who bare-boat charter as a familiarization guide.

This is a fabulous book! Learn the words needed to converse with tradepeople or to move on successfully to repair manuals and more specific books. See a quick image (literally - it is full of drawings) of a part or system so you can think about what's going on inside it. Wish I'd see it early-on so I would not have struggled so! Keep it on board and you can quickly understand what might cause that engine click, or stuck valve handle, etc. and at least be able to discuss it intelligently. It isn't a repair manual, as some seem to have expected. I great gift book for someone who just bought a vintage sailboat!

Finally, publishers are formatting correctly for the Kindle! This book is laden with acres of clear technical drawings of engines, toilets, water-makers and whatnot. In the Kindle version, the drawings all enlarge wonderfully. Further, the table of contents works. This is not really a reading-book, but is more of a reference. A discussion of membrane pumps is pretty darn dry, unless you suddenly need to know how to open the fool thing and fix it. Then, this book is just what you need. The author tells you he is discussing a certain model of pump or engine, but chances are yours is at least somewhat simular. I found the discussion of waste-water plumbing to quite useful. As I eyeball boats, I now have a clearer idea of what I am looking at. This book is more suitable for a boat-owner than a boat-shopper like me, nevertheless I found it worth my time. I cannot imagine not having a copy of this book on board.

This book breaks down how most things actually work on sailboats , I haven’t seen anything like it , it has exploded parts display

Great illustrations. Loaded with general information but nothing specific. For that reason, I do not find the book useful. I definitely would not buy it again. This book has a purpose but only for identification, not for solving problems or servicing equipment. In no way, can anyone troubleshoot with this book.

I got it due to a recommendation from a captain at work. It is a good introduction to a lot of boating things and the diagrams are very useful

Este libro es una maravilla. Tiene gráficos detallados de casi todo lo que uno se puede imaginar abordo de un "bote". Me sentí un niño cuando lo vi por primera vez, muy completo!

This was a great buy, some useful information within the book.

May not cover everything about a yacht but it tries to and does it in a clear, informative style with fantastic illustrations and drawings

Liked the clear illustrations and explanations

The headline says it all. 5 Star product !