This thread is for links to free sailing reference books that are available on-line.
The answers to many recent noob questions (and many of my own) might be found in a sailing reference library. While there are many reference books out there, some of them - though invaluable - are actually priced pretty high. However there is quite a bit of material offered for free, on-line. Some of it is a bit dated, some is free because it is government-published. But while the latest gadgets and eThings may not be considered, there is a lot of basic information out there.
Another advantage of eBooks is that you can keep a lot of them on-board, or in your pocket, at all times.
To start off, here is a set that has recently been brought to my attention.
Four books by Steve and Linda Dashew:
Practical Seamanship: Essential skills for the modern sailor
Surviving The Storm: Coastal & Offshore Tactics
Mariner's Weather Handbook
Offshore Cruising Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition
A voluminous offshore medical reference:
The Ship Captain's Medical Guide (UK)
The classic guide to celestial navigation:
The American Practical Navigator - Bowditch
Wow! While trying to find the best Bowditch link, I hit the mother load! (See the "Yachting" link down at the bottom of the menu.)
Er... never mind. Too good to be true. Apparently you have to buy something first to get these files. Some of the menus come up in cyrillic, Looks kind of dodgy. In fact, I'll remove the link.
Andrew Evans has made his book available for free for many years, but you can toss him a little gratitude by buying the latest edition for kindle, for around five bucks.
Thoughts, Tips, Techniques, and Tactics for Single-Handed Sailing
Other suggestions? Reviews? I know there may be essentials that are not free, but let's try to keep those separate for now.
There are a few websites that purport to offer PDF versions of older editions of Chapman, but they are all pretty dodgy-looking and I did not try to open them.
The answers to many recent noob questions (and many of my own) might be found in a sailing reference library. While there are many reference books out there, some of them - though invaluable - are actually priced pretty high. However there is quite a bit of material offered for free, on-line. Some of it is a bit dated, some is free because it is government-published. But while the latest gadgets and eThings may not be considered, there is a lot of basic information out there.
Another advantage of eBooks is that you can keep a lot of them on-board, or in your pocket, at all times.
To start off, here is a set that has recently been brought to my attention.
Four books by Steve and Linda Dashew:
Practical Seamanship: Essential skills for the modern sailor
Surviving The Storm: Coastal & Offshore Tactics
Mariner's Weather Handbook
Offshore Cruising Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition
A voluminous offshore medical reference:
The Ship Captain's Medical Guide (UK)
The classic guide to celestial navigation:
The American Practical Navigator - Bowditch
Wow! While trying to find the best Bowditch link, I hit the mother load! (See the "Yachting" link down at the bottom of the menu.)
Er... never mind. Too good to be true. Apparently you have to buy something first to get these files. Some of the menus come up in cyrillic, Looks kind of dodgy. In fact, I'll remove the link.
Andrew Evans has made his book available for free for many years, but you can toss him a little gratitude by buying the latest edition for kindle, for around five bucks.
Thoughts, Tips, Techniques, and Tactics for Single-Handed Sailing
Other suggestions? Reviews? I know there may be essentials that are not free, but let's try to keep those separate for now.
There are a few websites that purport to offer PDF versions of older editions of Chapman, but they are all pretty dodgy-looking and I did not try to open them.
Last edited: