Gene HamiltonCoastal Cruising Under Power: How to Buy, Equip, Operate, and Maintain Your Boat

This is a very well written and comprehensive book on coastal power boat cruising. It is fun to read because it is well written and not intended to go into extensive technical depth on any subject. Everything is covered from selecting a proper cruiser to anchoring, to turning a single screw boat even to selecting a turkey based on the height of the oven. It is written from the vantage point of a seasoned cruiser giving friendly advice to a novice so some information is detailed some is less so. Some is basic like knot tying, some is more complex like backing into a slip with a single screw boat with the wind and tide, etc. - sort of like learning golf over the phone! There are even recipes that cruising cooks can make!No this book is not everything but it is an excellent introduction and I would recommend it even over Sorensen's or Stapleton's or even the Beebe classic - simply because it is more readable, more comprehensive and less complex. What would I wish for, probably more information on cruising the Puget Sound/BC area. But there are other books on that.

This book probably didn't tell much that I hadn't learned, one way or another over the years - but it would be a foolish person who insisted they had nothing to learn on the subject. I bought the e-version more than a few months ago and I've returned to it again. I don't say it lightly when I write that I am impressed by what the author has achieved. The contents are well ordered, concise and informative without slipping towards verbosity. The author clearly is not afraid to draw on the knowledge of others. I unreservedly recommend anyone with an interest in cruising to place it in their bookcase, digital or otherwise.

I really enjoyed this. Very comprehensive, covering literally all aspects of powerboat cruising. Written in a very down to earth fashion, where the authors weren’t afraid to share their own mistakes made along the way. I only wish they had updated it once or twice along the way. This was published in 2006 and there have been quite a few technology changes since then. Nonetheless, this will still tell you 95% of what you need to know as a beginner.

This is one of the best guides to boating I have read so far. In just the first few chapters, it gave me confidence that I hadn't found in other resources. Hands down, one of the best books I have bought in the past year.

The book is very useful for the novice sailor also because of its completeness. If you are an experienced sailor I would say leave it alone.

Coastal Cruising was an excellent companion when I was shopping for a trawler. I've spent lots of time on commercial fishing boats, but was new to pleasure boating. This book provided a great overview of all the fundamentals: Boat buyer pitfalls, boat handling, piloting, anchoring, maintenance, safety, etc. It made me excited about boat ownership and setup realistic expectations for cost and upkeep requirements.It's also surprisingly well-written and readable. There's very little indulgence in personal anecdotes that don't present real information and the succinctness is nicely punctuated with important details and tips. My only suggestion: Drop the recipes and some of the lifestyle content. It's nice to read about different modes of boat ownership (e.g. Live-aboards versus weekend warriors), but I didn't get a lot out of this except low onboard dining expectations and reminders of yacht owners' propensity for corny vessel names (Apologies to the authors, but 'High Life' qualifies).Overall, I strongly recommend 'Coastal Cruising' to new or prospective boat owners.

Authors provide good topics and the discussion and tips were worthwhile. Sure, some of the information is quite elementary even to a movie like me, but the author provides a lot of good info in a factual, but entertaining way. It was fast read.

If you are just starting out, you will find this book to be very informative and full of ideas to perplex before making the plunge and done as a good read. However, if you are like me and buy just about anything about boats and have some experience with them, you find this book to be a reminder of things probably forgotten, but enjoyable nonetheless.