Managing 12 Volts –

How to Upgrade, Operate, and Troubleshoot 12 Volt Electrical Systems

by Harold Barre
 

Do your batteries fail to power the electrical devices on your RV or boat? Do your chargers fail to recharge your batteries adequately? Are you frustrated with your 12-volt electrical system?

Managing 12 Volts solves your electrical problems.

You will learn how easy it is to:

Upgrade your system by answering three simple questions, and by installing the equipment to support your answers, you will have all the electrical power you need.

Operate your electrical system by learning how to determine the amount of “fuel” your batteries contain, and how to recharge them properly.

Troubleshoot your 12-volt electrical system by following simple step-by-step procedures for troubleshooting circuits containing failed lights, electronics, chargers, or batteries.

The book includes the concise treatment of how to Determine Your Electrical Requirements (Chapter 2), and Determine Your Battery Capacity (Chapter 3). The author stresses that batteries are the heart of any 12-volt system and emphasizes the importance of monitoring and maintaining proper battery condition, a must for keeping your power system in balance. There is also a clear explanation of Under­standing Electrical Circuits (Chapter 8) and Troubleshooting Electrical Circuits (Chapter 9), enhanced by numerous simplified wiring schema­tics. Additional subjects covered in the book are Types of Lead Acid Batteries; Battery Charging; Monitors, Wiring & Switches; and Designing and Operating Your 12-Volt System.
 

#253 Softcover, schematic drawings, 212 pp …$19.95

 

 

 

 

The Marine Electrical and Electronics Bible –
A Practical Handbook for Cruising Sailors –
2nd Edition
by John C. Payne

With the enormous increase in the use of electronic and electrical equipment, mariners are hard-put to keep up with the necessary installation pro­cedures, nor are they aware of the required trouble­shooting. Now all this information can be found within the covers of this book. It’s a detailed guide for how to select, install, maintain and troubleshoot all the electrical and electronic systems on a boat.

This is a handy volume not only for professionals but also for the weekend cruiser or long-distance racers/cruisers. Remember there is no 24-hour road service station offshore!

This fully revised new edition has been expanded to cover the internet, e-mail, GMDSS, updated radio frequencies and much, much more. The clear concise text is supplemented with hundreds of informative charts, wiring diagrams and graphs.
 

#459 Hardcover, 7 1/4" x 10 1/4", 420pp, graphs, tables and explanatory drawings galore …$39.95

 

 

 

 

Mariner’s Weather Handbook –

A Guide to Forecasting and Tactics

by Steve & Linda Dashew
 

This is a step-by-step manual of analysis, forecasting, and weather tactics.

There are twin philosophies on display throughout the book. The first is risk analysis. The Dashews stress under­standing the process by which dangerous storms form, so that the reader will have as much notice as possible of difficult weather – helping them to make early decisions on the appropriate course of action.

On the other hand, the Dashews point out that most weather is benign, especially if the basic rules in the book are followed. They take their readers on an easy-to-follow course of how to use typical high and low pressure systems to maximum advantage.

The Dashews cover traditional and modern forecasting methods – how observing the sky, sea state, barometer, and wind can keep you out of trouble. Extensive discussion is undertaken on the use of weather fax charts, both current analysis and long-term prognosis – with numerous real-world examples.

Mariner’s Weather Handbook offers its readers a unique perspective on weather structure. Interpreting 500mb charts (the “secret” of professional forecasters and routers) is explained for the first time in a user-friendly (non-technical) manner. There is extensive data on tropical storm forecasting and avoidance, with a detailed explanation of what causes tropical systems to venture into the higher latitudes, and how to assess the risks of this happening.

“Bent back warm front” storms are explored in depth. This recent discovery of storm structure applies to 60% or more of all major open ocean storms. The explosive growth of these storms and the unusual way in which the wind develops around the central core is critical knowledge.

Throughout the book the Dashews stress the importance of practicing weather analysis and forecasting while at home. They explain how to use the Internet to dig up weather data from around the world – so the reader develops a feel for the rhythm of the weather before leaving port.

The CD-Rom edition of Mariner’s Weather Handbook is fully searchable, with a linked table of contents and index (click on a subject and you are instantly transported there in the book). It also includes the Internet addresses of numerous weather-related sites with an automatic connection feature.

This is the Dashews’ sixth book. More than 200 of their articles have appeared in magazines around the world. They have sailed more than 200,000 miles.

For more information readers can visit the website – http://www.SetSail.com and review a full table of contents and sample chapters.
 

384 Hardcover, (Smyth-sewn binding). 6 1/8 x 9 1/4. 594 pp. 533 illustrations …$69.95...Now $59.00

 

 

 

 

Multihull Seamanship Illustrated

by Gavin LeSueur
 

“There are no hard and fast rules at sea. Sailing is an art.”

This book is a bigger and better update from the original. There is a lot of expert input in this book from the vast sailing experiences of the author and his friends, Ian Johnston, Cathy Hawkins, Paul Nudd, Grant Telfer, Dean Snow, and others – all multihull sailors. The draft was edited by Lock Crowther, two weeks before he died from a massive heart attack.

Although the subject matter is serious (and educational) the illustrations by Nigel Allison are quite humorous, sort of cartoon-like.

The chapters are arranged in alphabetical order:

 Anchoring, Apparent Wind, Battens, Beaching, Bridles, Capsize & Waves, Capsize & Sheet System, Capsize & Reefing System, Capsize Preparations, Capsize Survival Tactics, Cargo, Centerboards, Collision, Crew & Passengers, Cyclones, Dinghy, Dismasting, Electricity, Fire & Gas, Flares & Torches, In Irons, Jetty Work, Life Rafts, Man Overboard, Masts, Motors, Racing Seamanship, Radar & Reflectors, Rigging, Righting, Roller Furling, Sails, Self-steering & Autopilots, Seaweed & fishnets, Sheet Systems, Sinking, Slipping, Spinnakers, Steering & Rudders, Storm Sailing, Stress  Measurement & Beam Failure, Telltales, Towing, Trailering, Trampolines, & Safety Nets, Trans- fers, Whales. There  are 40+categories in all.

 At the end of the book is a Glossary of Terms, and an Index.

The author is qualified by his own experiences during the loss of his catamaran D-Flawless during a severe storm off the Australian coast.
 

#154 Softcover, 8 1/4" x 11 3/4", 144 pp …$26.95

 

 

 

 

Multihull Voyaging

by Thomas Firth Jones
 

Thomas Firth Jones is a long-time contributor to MULTIHULLS. Starting with the Spring issue of 1977, he has written several accounts of his sailing/cruising, designing and boatbuilding skills. He is, what you would call, the down-to-earth designer/builder who believes in the make-it-simple have-no-trouble principle.

Most sailors dream of owning an affordable family-style cruising boat that is safe and easy to handle. In this book Tom Jones shows how to make this dream come true by buying or building a small or medium-sized cruising multihull. It is an important book that explains why multihull voyaging is becoming more and more popular.

Here is an excerpt from just one of his chapters:

“I do not trust a boat with a keel in bad weather out on the ocean. I’ve never tried one, but in the accounts of knockdowns – both of multihulls and monohulls – when the skipper has been prudent and the boat is snugged down for the blow, almost always there is a sideways tripping. A wave hits the boat, and she trips and goes over. What she trips on is the keel. A hundred  years ago, sailors of coastal freighting schooners learned to trust the centerboards in really bad weather, and to mistrust the keelers.

“Dozens of times, I’ve been in the cabin of one of the multihulls, in a gale or storm or hurricane, and a wave of 20 or more feet height has hit the boat. The boat skips away from it so fast that I am plastered against the seatback of the planking. What would have happened with a keel down deep in the water? A fixed keel is a tremendous help to a monohull, because it can carry the ballast, which is more effective when lower. It has no comparable advantage in a multihull, and I do not advise it.”
 

#445 Hardcover, 9 1/4" x 6", 202 pages, drawings and B&W photos …$27.50

 

 

An Ocean In Mind

by Will Kyselka
 

How can the knowledge of ancient cultures be transmitted to present-day minds? Kyselka examines this question when he writes about a young man of Hawaiian descent who wants to know how his Polynesian ancestors found remote island destinations by using only the stars, the sea, and their own instincts for guidance.

Nainoa Thompson the navigator for the Hokule’a, recreation of a traditional Polynesian vessel that successfully completed a round-trip journey from Hawaii to Tahiti in 1980. He turned to many sources in order to acquire the necessary knowledge to guide the canoe without the aid of mechanical navigation instruments.

Gathering information from the Bishop Museum Planetarium in Honolulu, and learning the ways of the sea from master Carolinian navigator Mau Pialug, Thompson formed the 2 systems of know­ledge into a unique method of wayfinding. An Ocean in Mind weaves adventure with scientific inquiry and rediscovery of Pacific Island heritage.

About the Author: Will Kyselka, a geologist by training, who was formerly an associate professor at the University of Hawaii Curriculum Research Development Group, is presently the acting director of the Bishop Museum Planetarium.
 

#106 Softcover, 6" x 9", 244pp, many b&w photos and drawings …$14.95...Now $10.00

 

 

Oceanography and Seamanship – 2nd Edition

by William G. Van Dorn
 

This is a beautifully produced book in its second edition. The author sailed on everything from “two barrels lashed together (a catamaran?) to an aircraft carrier. He applies the science of ocean­ography to the practical needs of the sailor. There are sections on heavy weather sailing and emergencies. Lessons learned from the Fastnet disaster are beneficial to cruisers, for whom the book was written.
 

#404 Hardcover, many illustrations, 440 pp …$44.95...Now $34.00

 

 

 

 

On and Off the Beaten Path –

The Central & Southern Bahamas Guide

by Stephen F. Pavlidis
 

It is the most detailed guide in print covering the Central and Southern Bahamas. It covers from Florida to the Turks and Caicos Islands. Excellent b&w charts and graphs of the islands and anchorages.
 

#268 Softcover, 8 1/2" x 11", photos, 132 charts …$34.95

 

 

 

 

The Onboard Medical Handbook

by Paul G. Gill, Jr., M.D.
 

Paul G. Gill, Jr., M.D., a native of Boston, Massachusetts, grew up in Stony Brook, New York, where he first developed his love for boating and the sea. He attended the University of Notre Dame and the University of Alabama School of Medicine, and now practices emergency medicine in Vermont.

A board-certified emergency medicine specialist, he writes a sports medicine column for Outdoor Life magazine, and spends most of his leisure time building boats and sailing them on Lake Cham­plain and on Penobscot Bay in Maine.

The book deals with: Shock, CPR, Injuries; Dentistry, Dermatology, Sunburn; Drowning, Seasickness, Diving Medicine; Dangerous Sea Life; Pediatrics, Gynecology; A Ship’s Medicine Chest; Emergency Radio ...and much more.
 

#250 Softcover, 7 1/4" x 9 1/4", 230 pp …$17.95...Now $15.00