The Craft of Sail: A Primer of Sailing

• #29 in Best Sailing Books

7 Reviews

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Adkins begins where he ought to, with the underlying basic principles of how sails work. After that, details that might otherwise be confusing or a mere memorization chore fall into place and make sense. His small, heavily illustrated book is succinct, and each page, though clear, requires a lot of thought before turning. One other note: he addresses the principles that allow a boat to sail at a close angle to the wind much better than the other sailing authors I have read, who were generally off a bit in their understanding of the physics. (They typically confused the results of air collision with Bernoulli's principle.) It's a book for novices, but I think most sailors, even many experts, would benefit from the careful thought it exhibits and provokes. And it's cheap for what you get.

Thoughtful, thorough, and visually beautiful, especially if you like old boats. Those who believe thay must wear lycra suit rather than old t shirt and shorts to go, say, biking or to go sailing might not find it glitzy enough. I have bought four of them. One to replace our tattered copy at home, one for public library and two for favorite young relatives

This is a wonderful book for both children and adults who would like to learn the "nuts and bolts" of sailing. Adkins explains why sails work the way they do, with an understandable discussion of the Bernoulli effect, vectors, and the airfoil. He also explains various sailing techniques, such as docking, anchoring, tacking and gybing. Various knots are demonstrated as well. There are very attractive and useful illustrations throughout, which make the book very entertaining and accessable. My favorite part of the book is the 2 page spread showing various rigs. When I first started learning about boats, this helped me figure out the difference between a ketch and a yawl, and taught me the names for the various parts of a sail. This book contains lots of useful, digestible information at a reasonable price.

Jan Adkin's book shows a gift for teaching as well as illustration, and his style is literate, rather pedagogical. Because I am new to sailing, I brougt home many books from the library that I hoped would be helpful. The Craft of Sail was better than any of the others.

I was hooked at the dedication page, which reads "These friends are anchor and compass to me...."

This book has three great things going for it as an instructional book. It is illustrated with attractive, clear and helpful drawings; it is written in a charming, wise and simple voice; and, most importantly, it does not bog down in the attempt to capture on the page the things that are better learned by doing. Adkins addresses nautical vocabulary, the physics of how sails work, basic sailing technique and important ancillary skills like knots, navigation, and understanding weather. It left me with two desires: to go sailing as soon as possible, and to give copies of this book to my friends and relatives.

Not strictly speaking a children's book, as it's a little wordy for unsteady readers - but suitable for confident readers age 8 or 10ish through adult.

This book is the best introduction to sailing I've ever seen. It is packed with information. Although beginners may spend hours on one page, the concepts are clearly presented and easy to follow. It is succinct. Only 64 pages! The drawings are superb. They are far superior to photos in clarity - Jan is such a fine artist that they are superior to most other drawings as well.

All sailboat owners will want to have at least one copy around for guests, and experienced sailors who respect the fundamentals will enjoy having at least one on their shelf as well. Did I mention the price? Highly recommended.

A very well done, simple to understand, text of the concepts and principles behind sailing. Any would-be-sailer in the entire family would enjoy this book.