Seamanship in the Age of Sail: An Account of Shiphandling of the Sailing Man-O-War, 1600-1860 Hardcover – January 1, 1657

I just got my copy today and have spent the last two hours in joyful surprise leafing through Seamanship in the Age of Sail. I keep seeing Captain Jack Aubrey making careful marginal notes of his thoughts on raking masts, stowing cargo to bring ships of a certain design more 'by the stern by about a strake', and of course he would have provided many useful practical annotations on the illustrations for traveling backstays and martingales.Of course my inner Dr. Stephen Maturin can occasionally be heard protesting "Let us not be pedantic, for all love!"But I press on; and, oh joy, by page 268 I come upon a chapter that would have given the good doctor the greatest of pleasure. Here the etymological mysteries of catting and fishing the anchor are illuminated with international linguistic derivations that would astonish even Stephen's learned colleague, the Reverend Graham.But seriously, if you have enjoyed a few cruises with Captain Lucky Jack or any of his contemporaries, you will find great delight in this amazing and erudite volume. If you never quite understood catharpins, all is revealed. If you sort of guessed you knew how a damaged mast might be fished, here is the answer. If (like me) you understand the weather gage, but were rather embarrassed to admit you couldn't quite envision club-hauling a ship on a lee shore, this book is for you."I wish you joy, sir -- the bottle stands by you!"

I purchased this book with the hope of gaining a more in-depth knowledge of sailing square-rigged ships. I was overwhelmed with how exhaustive this amazing book turned out to be, and was excited to see that it included many detailed drawings that allows one to see how everything connects. I am the author of the Captain Alonzo Johnson novels, and this book is proving incredibly useful. A must have for every sailor, nautical historian, and novelist who writes swashbuckling tales at sea! I cannot speak enough about Seamanship in the Age of Sail. Rigging, sails, handling ships at sea; its all in there, and so much more.

This book will extend everyone's knowledge, not only to its intended readership of seagoing crews and commanders of present day square-riggers (too few of them) but to anyone interested in the age of sail.Even as an ex-RN, ex sailor, and now model builder, the book contributed solid research on hitherto unknown aspects of hulls, sails, rigging, principles of design, crew and operations in all weather conditions beyond anything to be learnt from model plans, instructions, manuals and actual construction.Although sometimes couched in authentic and historical terms, glossaries and dozens of illustrations make everything clear (no mentions of sea battles or admirals) while "knowing the ropes" means what it says, and the unbelievably physical demands on crew and officers is made apparent, (but caused despair to the reviewer in finding it impossible to reproduce in a model the hundreds of 'sheets, buntlines, tacks, staysails, etc').A book for aficionados, priced appropriately, this book is the ultimate reference.

I'm the author of the historical fictions series The Strongbow Saga. A large part of the novel in the series that I'm currently working on takes place during the course of a sea voyage. I'm not a sailor, and needed to find a detailed source of information covering the nitty-gritty details of how square-sailed ships were sailed, how the sails were controlled, how they reacted in various types and directions of wind, etc. Although this book is primarily about 19th century sailing vessels, and I'm writing about the Viking period, nevertheless I found it very helpful. Many of the principles are the same--with Viking ships, they just apply to a single mast and sail, rather than multiple ones--and the book even makes several references and comparisons to Viking-era vessels.

I have long wanted a copy of this particular work, but the price has kept it from my collection (single parent and all that). It was worth the wait! (And the expense) I thought myself well versed in the esoterics of ship handling under sail, having made a study of it for almost 40 years and having actually lived aboard my own sloop for more than 10, but this gem was full of gritty and fascinating detail. Anyone interested in the nuts and bolts of operating the complex machine that is a square rigged man of war can ill afford to be without this volume.

Immensely detailed book. 've been reading "wooden walls" fiction for 15+ years and always get bogged down in the technical details that some of the better authors use. I love it, but it's difficult to follow. This book, if one has the patience, will make it all understandable.

I ordered this book for a novel I am writing on sailing in the 15-16th century; this is so well-illustrated and the text is very readable and easy to understand. This is a great reference book about parts of a ship and their functions and touches on the evolution of seagoing vessels - very helpful if you are building one or just want to learn how to sail. Unfortunately it deals with latter-day ships, very little on the 15th and 16th centuries...so I had to return it.

The author meticulously describes the procedures used to operate sailing ships. To help readers understand the terminology and configurations, these are exhaustively described as well. The book includes lots of drawings, which are also of outstanding quality.

Just beautiful book received in great condition, I'm very happy!

Wenn sie jemals in die Situation kommen ein dreimastiges, rahgetakelten, 50 Meter langes Holzsegelschiff mit 200-500 Seeleuten Besatzung kommandieren zu dürfen, dann ist ist dies ihr Buch.Alternativ könnten Sie auch hoffnungslos den Romanen von Patrick O'Brian verfallen sein und wollen endlich herausfinden, was da wirklich auf dem Schiff passiert.If you find yourself in the situation of commandig a threemasted, square rigged, 150 feet long wooden man of war with something beteween 200-500 hands, than this is definitely your book.Alternatively you might be addiceted the the novels of Patrick O'Brian and want to find out, what is really going on on the ship.

Everything you want to know about handling a ship is clearly explained in this well-illustrated insight into the craft of seamanship, where unlike most land-based crafts, the very survival of ship and crew could very well depend on getting it right first time. And there is also a comprehensive bibliography.

Il testo è in inglese e durante la lettura è necessario consultare un buon vocabolario; alcuni vocaboli tecnici non sono di uso frequente per chi non è un addetto. Per chi ama il genere è un libro che spazia nella descrizione delle varie attrezzature in maniera ampia. Le molte immagini aiutano piacevolmente e facilitano la comprensione del testo.

帆船の航海術が詰まっている。図版も多いので、絵や写真を見ているだけでも楽しい。帆船模型を作ると帆の形をどうしようかと、よく悩む。そんなときにきっと役立つだろう。帆船模型製作者には必須の本だと思う。