The Outboard Boater's Handbook: Advanced Seamanship and Practical Skills

By David R. Getchell

This comprehensive manual shows you how to go places and do things you never thought possible in a small outboard motorboat. A well-designed ruggedly built 17-footer, for instance, can fish offshore, circumnavigate Lake Superior, and crisscross the continent on inland waterways or on a trailer pulled by the family car. Small outboards are among the most versatile boats ever developed and are far more able than you might expect. Covered here are all the popular types--and some exciting alternatives as well as methods that may change your entire boating outlook. Aided by contributions from other experts, veteran outboard skipper David R. Getchell, Sr., offers a wealth of useful facts and special savvy that reveal for the first time in a single book the true potential of these democratic boats 20 feet and under. Here are the means to understand what can be done, and the way to do it safely, including: how to judge a boat's potential and capabilities based on design and construction; how to rebuild an older boat; how to handle a little boat in big seas, surf, or shallow water; how to navigate; how to read the weather; how to head upriver or offshore; how to trailer your boat; how to manage and equip it for camp cruising on a nearby lake or for subarctic exploration; and how to care for the boat and motor.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0877424098
• ISBN13: 9780877424093
• Release Date: January 1994
• Publisher: Tab Books
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 1.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 11.0" x 8.5" x 0.5"

Customer Reviews

Lots of Info for Boaters

We don't have a boat yet, but have a lake nearby so are contemplating it. This book is quite interesting as it describes different types of boats (runabout, bass boat, etc.) and what to consider before purchasing one. Then it has lots of info on handling a boat, like how to run an inlet or docking and anchoring. It's a little scary seeing how much there is to learn about boats and motors. The info is quite practical on the proper load distribution in the boat and motor angle adjustment and how it affects performance. It covers maintaining, repairing and even towing the boat (selecting a trailer and tow vehicle).

This is a book of practicalities! An outboard boater's Swiss Army knife of info...

In a day and age of "bigger is better", Getchell makes the case (and I must say quite well) for smaller is sweeter. Oftentimes I will pass on a book because of it's copyright date, assuming the info in it is now dated and there must be "newer" and better tomes out there. Yet this one is timeless and shall remain so. When I bought my first boat roughly 8 years ago, I came across this book in a bookshop and figured that I could use a little edification on boating. I couldn't put it down. What I found was a simple large-trade paperback that gave you enough info on almost any facet of boating as relates to small (18' or less) outboard boats. Think of it as the Swiss-Army knife of running/fixing/touring/revamping/etc a small boat. Why aluminum v. fiberglass? What hull designs work best where? How should I set up my boat to do boat camping? What are the ins/outs of trailering and boat launches? How can I tell if that used model is beat to heck? How do I navigate? What do i do when the weather turns on me? Etc. I recently purchased an outboard boat again. I also bought this book, again. There aren't many books I would buy twice. Buy it, you'll like it!

Commonsense advice for neophytes and seasoned boaters alike.

Out of all the boating books that I've read over the last few months, nothing comes close to matching Getchell's book.It is replete with useful information that covers the entire gamut of outboard boating. For example, it was from this book that I learned about the advantages of a portable trailer lightbar. Furthermore, I used the guidelines he presented to make my own.Experienced boaters may find some of the material a little too basic, but I'd wager that just about everyone will come away with a few pearls of wisdom.Happy boating.

The Whole Earth Catalog of small outboard motor boats.

Plain, outspoken, wonderfully opinionated and varied accounts of the what, how and where of small craft. For this blue water sailor and sea kayaker, Getchell's book is a bible. Even a non motor head could understand, and enjoy the 'how ' of operating, buying, cruising, and sleeping on and with a small outboard under twenty feet. This book has now been through too many hands and is worn.....

Sensible and comprehensive book on small power boats.

Covers a wide variety of topics (e.g. selecting, powering, equiping, trailering, maintaining, and sailing) a small (12 to 20 foot)power boat. Excellent for boat owners or those considering buying a boat. I could not find anything as sensible and comprehensive in any of the local libraries