The Complete Sailor: Learning the Art of Sailing

• #2 in Best Sailing Books

32 Reviews

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After sailing for 30 years, I was looking for a book for my children to use to give them a solid foundation. I ordered another 5 star book recommended by sailing schools, but ran across this one at the library.

This book is head and shoulders above the other. It covers all the basics in an easy to read style, and the huge number of detailed drawings are both beautiful and incredibly informative.
In addition to the basic stuff you need to know to sail a small boat, it also has a wealth of deeper information, about everything from bouyancy and balance, to boat construction and history.

I'm buying a copy for each of my kids, and recommending it to my sailing friends. As for the other books, I will probably either return them, or leave them to gather dust on a shelf.

I wish I had gotten this before I bought Sailing For Dummies. Sailing For Dummies somehow left me with a lot of unanswered basic questions about sailing. Complete Sailor answered those questions. Complete Sailor also has more illustrations that provide a clearer understanding of just what the heck the author's talking about.

Sailing is filled with intricacies of terms and techniques. The more knowledgeable I become of sailing, the more questions I seem to have. Wish I had found this book when I started sailing. Now, as a sailor of some experience, I find this book re-teaching me the basics in a way that answers more questions than it creates. Other books leave out explanation of terms and/or subjects and otherwise assume reader knowledge. This book covers sailing in a way that is thorough yet concise. The drawings and diagrams are extremely successful in deploying the author's subject. The information is complete without being textbook. It is enjoyable. If I had to rebuild my sailing library today, this would be the first but on the self!

I bought this book, as well as "Sailing for Dummies" and "Learning to Sail - the Annapolis sailing school guide for all ages", and I have to say, the Complete Sailor is the worst of the three, at least for someone who has no previous knowledge of sailing. It was an interesting book with a wide variety of topics covered, but I think it would be better suited to someone with at least a basic knowledge of how to sail. If you truly want to LEARN to sail, the Annapolis book is the best and simplest of the three, particularly if you're learning on a dinghy like me.

A few years ago, I became interested in sailing, and came across this book at a local bookstore. I'm glad I did; it's a great introduction. It includes a lot of useful information presented in a straightforward manner, and also gives a good feel for nautical tradition (without being the least bit preachy). I've since done a bunch of sailing. I still think highly of this book, and have occasion to refer to it on questions of nautical terms and techniques.

We operate a sailing school (Women In The Wind) here in Minnesota. Because of how this book is written, for the past two years we've selected it to be included in a packet of information we present to our students.

Our classes are taught "hands on". That is that the studnets learn by doing. Therefore we don't use a "text book" as such. We do, however, encourage our students to read The Complete Sailor, at their leisure; to use it to refresh their memories of what they experienced and learned; but most of all, to ensure their view of sailing remains always challenging, and always positive.

It's as if this book were written for us. Perhaps it was.

The best introduction to sailing I've found. The illustrations- cartoons, really- are attractive, and clearly show exactly what you want to know without excessive detail or abstract diagrams. Along with instruction from a friend, this is the book that taught me how to sail my little Potter 15. Recommended for all beginning sailors, and those who are intersted in learning more about sailing.

this is it!

If you are looking for a book that will give the basics of sailing, this book has it.

If you are looking for a long-term reference to remind you of the details, this is it.

If you are looking for a book to have on-board for novices during bareboat cruises, this is it.

If you are looking for a book that the novices could use to critique your skills, this is it.

Unfortunately, I purchased this book after going through ASA sailing school. I have read the ASA and the US Sail course books to the bareboat chartering level. From a sailing skills point of view, this book beats them hands down.

The illustrations are enchanting. They draw the reader into each topic. At the same time, the concisely present the key information needed to grasp the topic.

This will be coming with me on all of my bareboat trips!

Anyone got a scuba book like this?

As I said, I own many sailing books, but this is my favorite. It teaches while still catching the essence, the soul of sailing. (so many sailing books of this type are so dry).

With superb illustrations and minimal text, this superb primer is the basic text for our sailing school (Orca Sailing). We emphasize key concepts, and this book is perfectly aligned with that intention.

There are a few historical sections and small boat pages we ignore in our larger boat cruising classes, but after 10 years of reading everything about sailing (and often feeling disappointed), this is the one!

I recently took up sailing and bought this book, along with some others, as a general reference to accompany my lessons. The first time I read it through it seemed OK but nothing special, but having now acquired some skills it is really becoming useful. Every time I re-read it (as I have done several times) the amount of detail and practical information seems to increase, and that is not necessarily the case with other books.

The author has packed an immense amount of information into a small book, but it is best for refreshing the memory or consolidating practical knowledge learned in lessons - sort of a second opinion. Reading Seidman after a lesson is like talking things over with an experienced sailor who straightens everything out for you.

It is not, however, the best book for absolute beginners, simply because it is so very packed with concise information, and a lot goes over the neophyte's head. For absolute beginners the very best books are the RYA (Royal Yachting Association) sailing series - they are exceptional.

The Complete Sailor is a very good reference book for advanced beginners and intermediate sailors. The title of the book is a bit exaggerated, as the book, being concise as it is (approx 200 pages), cannot possibly aim to turn one into a complete sailor.

The most outstanding feature about the book is the illustrations. For intermediate sailors who are not yet completely familiar with sailing vocabulary (such as myself), the illustrations make it very easy for one to understand what is being exposed. The book is divided into small topics, each ranging from 2 to 4 pages, which allows the reader to get a good glimpse of many topics, learning the basics and some of the wisdom of longtime sailors without having to get the bad experience.

The Complete Sialor is a good reference book for intermediate and advanced beginners -- advanced sailors will not be satisfied by the shallow descriptions and early beginners will not be able to appreciate most of the insights.

More than any introduction to sailing I have come across, this book conveys the magic of moving across the water by sail. Mr. Seidman is passionate about sailing and is also quite gifted in his ability to charm the reader. This is not a dry technical read. That said, it is also loaded with clear, easy to follow information. The art work is also first rate; sometimes I will open it up just to look at some of the great drawings.

My first sailing instructor used this book as a text. It was a great introduction and years later still remains on my bookshelf.

I ordered this book from Amazon in August of 2006. It's now January of 2007 and I still don't have it. Every month, Amazon has asked me to be patient and has given me a new anticipated ship date. I can't understand why they offer a product that is not stocked and not available.

After sailing by bits and pieces since I was a child, I had no formal instruction of any kind. when I finally succumed to yacht ownership, where mistakes can be costly, I looked arund to find a single, straightforward book what would confirm what I had been doing right, let me know what I was doing wrong, and show me volumes of stuff I never would have figured out. ...and the illustrations are cool!

We are just learning to sail and this book is very helpful and easy to understand for the beginner. You don't need to know the lingo to learn, in fact, this book explains much of the sailing language in easy terms for anyone to understand. We are attending 10 days of sailing school this Feb and I intend to bring this book with me. I have two sons, ages 10 and 13, and they will be reading this book as they too, learn to sail next summer. I think it will become even more valuable while actually sailing our boat.

I bought it for a friend and ended up reading it myself. I've sailed little boats ever since I was young and was amazed at what I didn't know. This book is fun to read and darn helpful, whether you're just taking up sailing or been doing it awhile. See you on the lake!

This book covers a wide area in sailing. Some things aren't relevent to the learning to sail. The author tried to fill the pages with words. I was unable to pick up much valuable knowledge from the book. This book is only suitable for beginners or people who want to know a little about sailing.

A book that's useful for both the novice and the experienced sailor, one that's really worth the space it takes up onboard. Filled with info that we refer to on every cruise, yet also beautifully illustrated and fun to browse at home. The Staneks - Chicago, IL

Great book for beginners and the online book is handy to have for printing small sections. I enjoyed reading the book.

Excellent book. Talks about the lifestyle as well as how to sail. I recommend it.

My partner dreams of cruising across oceans. He gave me this book, along with Lin Pardeys Care and Feeding of Sailing Crew. I am truly hooked. Seidman makes sailing accessible. Lin Pardey makes crossing oceans in a boat we can actually dream of owning, do able. I recommend both!

As a non-sailor just getting into the world of sailing, I've found this book extremely helpful and easy to digest. The explanations are accompanied by beautiful drawings, which helps explain topics such as wind direction. My boyfriend, who is a competitive sailor, says that the book is very accurate and explains important topics well. We both give this book five stars.

If you are looking for the book which has all info in one and gives you simple and interesting advises and knowledge - this is great buy!!! You will Love this book.

New at sailing? Don't go further without buying this book. Delightful, informative, artistic, succinct. I bought 5 books on sailing after falling inlove with it and this is the best one.
Buy two and give one to a friend.

lots of black and white drawings make the info clear..very basic..great starter, add to your library

For the skilled sailer the book will be a dissapointment.
That said, the book will be an important source of all kinds of maritim knowledge for the beginner.

If you've been sailing for a little while and are looking to expand your knowledge, this book will give you many great tips.

This book is not for the very novice sailor. Actually no book alone is but a good teacher and book is what is needed for newbies. The details and topics discussed were great, though the section on knots left some to be desired. Why can no sailing book acurately cover knots? I would give it a B+.

As a person who really like the sailing and try to find out more and more reading, "the complete sailor" book is a very good reference book with wonderfull drawings which helps the readers to understand the cases easily.

I am a novice at sailing and had purchased two other books. This one is easy to read, somewhat fun and easy to understand for the landlubber. I wish I had read this one first, it made the others easier to understand

This is a very clever book which clearly explains lots of basic details about sailing and being around boats. I used it to clarify many points. Great drawings. Every sailing school should recomment it.