Between these covers is the essence of centuries of seafaring experience, distilled into a concise, alphabetically organized reference for sailors and powerboaters. You'll find rules of thumb for hull thickness, bottom paint coverage, estimating distances, when to hoist and lower flags, predicting weather, which colors are unlucky, rope size and strength, anchoring rights, making a rum punch, and a lot more. This is either the most useful boating book ever designed to entertain or the most entertaining book ever designed to be useful. Open it to any page and browse awhile. You'll see.

Table of Contents:
ForewordAcknowledgmentsIntroductionAAbandoning Ship; Aground; Air Pressure, on Sails and Rigging; Albatross, Superstition Concerning; Alternators; Anchors and Anchoring; Angles, Horizontal, Estimating; Atoll Passes, Current Movement inBBalanced Helm, Factors Affecting Monohull Sailboats; Ballast and Bad Luck; Ballast Ratios, Safe, for Monohulls; Barometers; Battens, Sail, Eliminating; Batteries; Beam, Proportion to Length; Bearing, Collision; Bearing, Definition of; Berths, Dimensions of; Bilge Pumps, Minimum Requirements; Binoculars; Black Box Theory, Vigor's; Blistering of Fiberglass Hulls; Blocks, Size of; Boarding Ladder, Side for; Boat, Choosing the Right One for You; Boat, Definition of; Boom, Metal, Recommended Minimum Sizes; Bosun's Chair, Safe Use of; Bottom Painting, Golden Rule; Breakers, Spilling and Plunging; Brightwork; Bulwarks, Depth of; Buoyage; Buoys, Effect of Color; Buoyancy, Center of; Buys-Ballot LawCCapsize; Carbon Monoxide, Dangers of; Carrying Capacity, Boats Under 20 Feet Overall; Castaways, Survival Rate of; Center of Effort, Position of; Center of Lateral Resistance, Position of; Chain, Strength of; Chain Locker, Estimating Size of; Chart Table, Size of; Charts; Chartwork, Best Pencil for; Circles of Position; Circling, Accidental; Circumnavigation, Definition of; Cockpit, Self-Draining; Color and Distance, Assistance in Judging; Color Blindness, Frequency Among Crew; Colors, Unlucky; Companionway Ladder, Proportions of; Compass; Coral Reefs, Navigating by Eye; Course Correction for Variation and Deviation; Crew Overboard Routine; Cruisers, Success Rate Among; Cruising, Cost of; Currents; Currents and Tidal Streams, Face-Saving FactsDDangers, Keeping Clear of; Decks, Teak; Delivery Trips, Documentation for; Depth Sounders, Choices; Design, of New Yachts; Diesels; Dinghies; Direction, Measurement of; Displacement, Definition of; Displacement-to-Length Ration; Distance Off, Estimating by Eye; Distress Signals, Reliability of; Dock Lines, Length of; Dock Lines, Size of Splices; Dockage, Cost ofEEar Infections, from Sea Water; Echo Pilotage; Electrical Bonding; Electrical Grounding; Electrical Wiring; Engines; Exhaust Line, Pitch ofFFathom, Derivation of; Fear, Experience of; Fear, Widespread, Occurrence of; Fiberglass Construction; Fiddles, Height of; Figureheads, Derivation of; Fire; First Aid; Fishing, Definition of; Flags; Flotation, Requirements for Ballasted Hulls; Flotsam and Jetsam, Definitions of; Fog; Foresail Sheets, Fouling of; Foresails, Headsails, and Jibs; Freeboard in Sailboats, Classic Proportions of; Friday, Sailing on; Fuel; Fuel Tanks, Shape ofGGaff Mainsail, Proportions of; Gales, Frequency of; Galley, Placement of; Galley Stove, How to Gimbal; Global Positioning System (GPS), Limitations of; Green Flash, at Sunset; Griping, Causes ofHHallucinations, Occurrence of; Halyards, Types of; Hatches, Dimensions of; Headroom, Definitions of; Height of Eye, for Sextant Navigation; Hobbyhorsing, Causes of; Hooks, Shackles, and Rings, Strength of; Horsepower; Horses, Live, Provisions for; Hull Color, Best of Resale; Hull, Cost of; Hull, Steel, Resale Value of; Hurricanes; Hypothermia, Diagnosis and Treatment ofJJib Numbering and Naming System; Jib Sheet, Strain onKKeels and Keel Boats; KnotsLLateral Plane, as a Percentage of Sail Area; Latitude, Approximate; Lead, Sounding; Leaks, Emergency Actions to Take; Lee Helm, Effect of; Leeway, in Sailboats; Lifelines, Height of; Liferaft, Chances of Survival in; Light, Jumping; Lightning Protection, Principles of; Lights; Lines, Suggested Color Coding of; Lines of Position, Permissible Angles; Log, Patent, Overhauling of; Log, Ship's OfficialMMainsail Slides, How to Attach; Making Fast, Correct Terms; Maneuvering; Masts; Mechanical Similitude, Law of; Miles; Motions of a Sailboat at Sea; Motorsailer, Definition of; Multihulls, Speed of; Multihulls, Stability ofNName, Attracting Bad Luck with; Name, Changing of; Navigation; Navigation Lights, Specifications forOOars; Ocean; Ocean Voyaging, Size of Boat for; Oceangoing Sailboat, Basic Requirements for; Oil, Color of; Osmosis; Outboard Motors; Overhangs, Dangers of; Overloading, the Safety LimitPPaint; Passages and Gangways, Dimensions of; Performance, Human, Variation with Time of Day; Planing; Planking, Sizes of, for Wooden Boats; Plankton, As Survival Food; Plywood Decks, Spacing of Beams for; Porthole, Definition of; Position Determination, Frequency of; Pounds per Inch Immersion; Powerboats, Atkin's Suggestions for; Preventers, Manifold Uses of; Price, to Convert for Cruising; Price Apportionment, Yard-Built Yacht; Price per Pound, New Cruising Sailboat; Privacy, the Need for; Propellers; Pull, Maximum, by One Person; Purchase, Calculation of, in Block and TackleRRadar; Radar Reflector, Efficiency of; Radio; Radio Direction Finder, Emergency; Range Markers, Which One to Follow; Red Right Returning; Reefing, When to Reef; Rigging; Right of Way; Rising and Dipping of Lights; Roller Furling, Reliability of; Rope; Rudders; Rule of Thumb, the Original; Rules of the Road; Rum Punch, Caribbean, Recipe for; Running Aground, First Action to Take; Running an InletSSail Area; Sail Cloth, Weight of; Sailmaker's Palm, Care of; Salt, Spilled; Salvage Claims; Schooner Masts, Names of; Screws, Dimensions for Use in Wood; Sculling Notch, Dinghy; Scurvy, Incidence of; Seacocks; Seakindliness, Definition of; Seamanship, the Highest Order of; Seamanship, Where It Starts; Seasickness; Seawater; Seaworthiness, Definition of; She, As a Nautical Pronoun; Sheets, Headsail and Mainsail, Diameter of; Ships, Large, Stopping Distance of; Singlehanded Boats; Singlehanded Voyagers, Motivation of; Size, According to Age; Size, Down Below; Skid Fin, Size and Placing of; Sound Signals, When to Make Them; Sound, Speed of, in Water and Air; Soundings, Definition of; Speed; Spreaders, Angle of; Stability; Stainless Steel, Corrosion of; Staysail Stay, Movable; Stern Glands, Rate of Drip; Sun, Distance Away; SwiggingTTacking, Downwind, Advantages of; Tacking, to Windward, Increased Distance; Teak, Whether to Varnish; Tender, Ideal for Yacht; Through-Hull Fittings, Precautions; Thumb, Original Rule of; Thunder, Distance off; Thunderstorms, Most Likely Times of; Tidal Streams; Tides; Tiller, Ideal Handgrip; Time, Estimating; Time Signals for Navigation; Tonnage, Different Determinations of; Trade Goods, Suggestions for; Traffic Separation Schemes, Navigation of; Trysail, Area of; Twin-Screw InstallationsUUpkeep, Estimating Costs; Useless Articles on a Boat, the Three or Four MostVVarnish; Ventilation; Voices, Illusion of Hearing; Voyage, Definition ofWWatches, the Seven Parts of the Day; Water, Danger of Receding; Water, Drinking; Waterplane Area; Waterspouts, Recognition of; Waves; Weather, Forecasting; Weather Helm, Benefits of; Weatherliness, Improvements in; Weight, Crew and Stores, Estimates of; Weight-Carrying Capacity; Wheel Steering, Turns from Lock to Lock; Whistling and Bad Weather; Winch, Size of; Wind; Windlass, Definition of; Winterizing, the Main Points; Wire Terminal Connectors; Wood, as a Boatbuilding Material; Wooden Spars, Filling Cracks in; Writers, Yachting, Rules forYYacht, Definition ofZZinc, SacrificialAppendix: Useful Tables and FormulasBibliography