Do yourself a favor: if you own a boat, you should also own the Boatowner s Mechanical & Electrical Manual. Written in a simple, accessible style, the Manual is aimed at helping the nonexpert solve problems in marine systems--think of it as a friendly mechanic. Author Nigel Calder explains how the systems work, helps you troubleshoot and identify problems, and presents clear and concise instructions on how to repair them. Best of all, Calder also offers helpful advice on how to prevent future system failure. Absolutely indispensable for boat owners. --M. Stein

#If You Could Only Have One Boating Book, this is the One (2004-05-11) If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and could only take one CD with you, which one would you take and why? Years ago I used to listen to a program on the BBC that asked famous guests that question, only they said record, not CDs. Well I suppose I d take Bob Dylan s Blood on the Tracks if I were in that fix. And if I were to go to sea on a cruising sailboat and could only take one book with me, it would have to be this excellent, well written book by Mr. Calder. It s big, heavy, expensive and if yo...

#RV Repair Guide too. (2004-04-05) This is a very good book. Too many books only explain what is wrong and then instruct to perform a service without explaining specifically how. This book shows how with lots of illustrative photos and test data and detailed instructions for using test equipment. Practically everything in this book also applies to maintaining RV vehicles and trailers as well. I use it for my boat and RV.

#Essential Reading for Cruisers (2003-08-08) Having completed the our first year as full-time live-aboard cruisers, currently in the Sea of Cortez, we find that this book to be essential reading. The information is presented in easily understandable terms and sufficient detail to assist in solving most mysteries of marine systems. By it and take it with you!

#My highest recommendation, a must have! (2003-05-04) Even if you don t own a boat, if you love mechanical things you will appreciate this book. There is so much here that it makes the price seem a bargain.

#A must. Ready to sail off? Read this, before (2002-01-19) Too complex for non serious sailors. That s what s waiting for you out there. Think it twice, or practise everything in advance. Very useful to clear your mind, makes you get prepared. A bit outdated.

Frantic and entertaining in a guilty sort of way, Nights of Ice is like Endurance on steroids. The book presents eight true stories of disaster and survival involving commercial fisherman off the coast of Alaska (said to be one of America s most dangerous occupations). Included are tales of subzero temperatures, 100 mph winds, 60-foot-high waves, boats encased in ice and capsized, men trapped underwater, and other horrors. Author Spike Walker, who interviewed many of the survivors in compiling this book, is no stranger to such tales of the high seas, he worked as a commercial fisherman off the Alaska coast and wrote about it in Working on the Edge. Nights of Ice begins promisingly enough but unfortunately gives way to a sensationalism that cheapens the whole affair: At that moment, Bruce Hinman s past life flashed before his very eyes. Launched instantaneously through time, he watched the events of his life play out before him...they flashed and froze there in his consciousness, in a ...

#entertaining subject--marginal writing (2002-09-05) I read this on a trip to Alaska, so I got into it s spirit on location. The stories are quite entertaining, but when writers make junior-varsity comments and mistakes, it makes me wonder about the veracity of the actual stories:1) Does everyone see their entire lives flash before their eyes when they are near death?2) Some guy s one-year old child asks him if he is Santa Claus upon his return from an ordeal at sea. Clearly Spike has never spent time with a one-year old, not only can very few of them speak more than a word or two...

#Nights of Ice ... Spike Walker is great read (2001-04-04) Having lived my entire life in and around Seattle, In March 2001, I ventured North to Alaska to visit my daughter and her family. While there I picked up ",Nights of Ice",. Spike Walker s subject matter is, first of all, relevant to anyone who has lived near the sea. The Pacific Ocean, the Bering Sea and the Gulf of Alaska, as one non-fisherman said, ",I can t drink it all and I m damned sure I can t swim that far. ",Life at sea in a boat, rolling and plowing through the next wave, gets into some folks blo...

#This book will make you shiver! (2000-10-13) I enjoyed this book alot. All the stories deal with survival at sea in the waters off Alaska. The stories are kind of repetitive but if you like the first one you ll like the rest. The thought of finding one s self in the frigid Alaskan waters will make you pull an extra blanket on while you read. My only real complaint is that I would have liked more details on the fishermen involved (background, etc) so it wouldn t just have been names floating out there in the ocean. Overall, highly recommended adventure reading.

#An excellent read if you like action. (1999-10-26) Great book! Not quite up to the first book, ",Working on the Edge",, but great. The author spares the reader all the scientific, high-tech bs of the ",Perfect Storm",, and gets down and dirty.

#Hard to put down! (1999-08-24) I have heard that King Crab fishing was dangerous. Spike Walker lets you know exactly what it is really like. I have a whole new respect for those who bring in our King Crab! This book brought many a tear.