Sailing Small
Grayson Stan ed. - SAILING SMALL - Devereux Books 2004 ISBN 1-928862-08-X 197p. photos.
Although close in title to Sailing Big in a Small Boat this is a much better book. Grayson has selected nine essays from writers with a variety of experience in a rang of locations across a spectrum of boats from 17 to 23 feet. And this book is about actually sailing those boats,. not just equipping them. Even the first chapter in which Grayson provides an overview of the types of boats available for small sailing is superior as it includes a host of boats still available on the used boat market and gives both pros and cons of the particular approach or design. Grayson is not simply a shill for the current US boat manufacturers. He discusses fifteen boats which have very different approaches to sailing small. These range from a West Wight Potter 15 to a Pacific Seacraft Dana which can cost upwards of $96,000. In discussing each of these boats Grayson makes points which are equally valid for boats not listed, but which are certainly part of the small boat universe.
A listing of some of the other chapters illustrates the diversity of the publication: 40 Years and 70,000 miles aboard a Small Sailboat, Offshore in a 22 Footer, A Canoe Yawl in the Bahamas, A Designer Goes Small. Each of the chapters combines observations and practical advice from those who are actually "doing" small sailing with the inspiration to prod those of us who are "thinking about doing". Most of the chapters include a "warts and all" look at boats which the authors have sailed and if nothing else can serve as a warning to others. These are people who have occasionally made mistakes in the boats they have acquired and are not afraid to admit it and learn from it. In sharing that learning they help all of us.
I liked this book and can recommend it to others - even if you are already a small sailor.