By definition couples sailing alone have to do everything for themselves. They leave the berth, set the sails, helm the boat, trim the sails, navigate, anchor, pick up mooring buoys, enter harbour, moor up and all without the help of any extra crew. So they need to carry out these manoeuvres efficiently and effectively, with as little physical effort as possible.
Stress-free Sailing is the answer to single or short-handed crews’ prayers – a step-by-step handbook addressing the most common sailing situations that anyone cruising will have to manage. Here you will find clever, highly effective and successfully tried and tested shorthanded solutions for dealing with everything from getting off and then back onto the dock in a variety of wind and tide configurations, sail setting and reefing, picking up mooring buoys and anchoring, to sailing in heavy weather and new techniques for man overboard retrieval, all clearly illustrated with straight forward diagrams, photos and explanations. 21 QR codes dotted throughout the book link to online video demonstrations of many of the techniques in action.
As single or short-handers you have to plan carefully, prepare properly and be able to anticipate. This book will be a godsend to anyone sailing single or shorthanded, packed, as it is, with original techniques for coping in every situation.
Stress-free Motorboating is the answer to all single- or short-handed crews’ prayers.
Highly illustrated with diagrams, step by step photographs and QR codes that take you to videos that you can watch on your smart device, this unique handbook tackles the most common motorboating situations anyone cruising along the coast or river will have to manage.
Whether they are aboard a 35-footer, a sports runabout, a 75 foot flybridge superyacht, a displacement cruiser, or a 60 foot barge, this helpful guide demonstrates techniques that will be invaluable to all crews. It covers the close quarters procedures for getting off (and then back onto) a marina berth, anchoring, mooring to a buoy, mooring a barge alongside a river bank single-handed, even how to get a man in the water back on board when you are the only person on the boat and he is unable to help himself.
It includes essential advice about fuel monitoring, engine care and maintenance, looking after batteries, and many more issues specific to motorboats. Stress-free Motorboating will be a godsend to all motorboaters, whether crossing the Channel, pottering along the coast, or cruising rivers and canals.
Stress-Free Mooring is a quick-access, extremely visual on-board practical guide to how to approach mooring and berthing situations in a yacht or motorboat. Condensing material from the highly successful Stress-Free Sailing and Stress-Free Motorboating into a bite-sized book for easy reference, Duncan Wells provides instant guidance to helmsmen seeking to learn how best to get on and off pontoons, jetties and harbour walls in all directions of wind and tide, as well as anchoring and picking up mooring buoys. The techniques are applicable anywhere in the world, on any type and size of boat.
Areas covered include: Tying knots and mastering other rope work Adapting to different wind and tide configurations Casting off from a dock Springs, bridles and slipped lines Coming alongside a berth Rafting up with other boats Anchoring Picking up a mooring buoy With step-by-step photos, explanatory diagrams and concise hints and tips, helmsmen can have at their fingertips the answers they need to all manner of mooring problems.
Here are the answers to all your boating questions and dilemmas. This book is packed with 101 essential punchy sailing tips for sailors to read before and during sailing for a stress-free, enjoyable time at sea, from expert sailing instructor, Duncan Wells. In this accessible, easy-to-absorb handbook, Duncan will share his tried-and-tested techniques and advice on sail setting, mooring, anchoring, navigation, sailing in heavy weather and more.
Step-by-step photographs, diagrams and clear instructions will guide you through each tip, and this book is perfect to dip in for help with a particular sailing problem.
In this book, Duncan will tell you all about how to:
· Calculate the speed of the tide by eye
· Follow the rule of the road
· Calibrate the depth sounder
· Calculate the displacement speed of your hull
· Reef early for an easy life
· Use the chart plotter to calculate when to tack
· Pick up buoys from the cockpit
· Look after your zips
And many, many more!
This new title in Duncan Wells’ popular Stress-Free mini-series will be a godsend to all boaters looking for tips, hints and solutions to everyday boating problems, and will complement Stress-Free Sailing and Stress-Free Navigation.
Stress-Free Engine Maintenance is an accessible and practical guide to understanding what is going on with your boat’s engine, how to look after it, spotting the signs when all is not well, and how to fix it. Learn how to change a filter and impeller, how to ensure the engine doesn’t overheat, and much more.
This visual and jargon-free book covers all the essentials for looking after your engine, in one place, including:
Like the other titles in Duncan Wells’ bestselling ‘Stress-Free’ series, the information is presented in an accessible, manageable way, with the use of diagrams, quick reference tables, box features, QR videos, clear explanations, top tips and checklists, making maintenance and basic repair of your engine straightforward, and with minimum stress. There are also plenty of amusing anecdotes and useful lessons learned. If you find the prospect of fixing anything to do with the engine daunting, then this is the book for you.
Stress-Free Engine Maintenance is a key addition to any boat’s bookshelf, ready to remind the skipper how to deal with problems and keep everything running smoothly.
As single or short-handers you have to plan carefully, prepare properly and be able to anticipate. This book will be a godsend to anyone sailing single or shorthanded, packed with original techniques for coping in every situation.
