The Best Used Boat Notebook: From the Pages of Sailing Mazine, a New Collection of Detailed Reviews of 40 Used Boats plus a Look at 10 Great Used Boats to Sail Around the World

by John Kretschmer

With the used boat market growing and becoming more complex, here is the book that all boat buyers have been waiting for: John Kretschmer's Used Boat Notebook has long been one of the most popular features in Sailing Magazine where Kretschmer provides a hard hitting, detailed review of a well-known boat each month.

In this new collection, Kretschmer dedicates each chapter to an individual boat, providing the same fine details and updated information that made his magazine column a success. The thoroughly researched reviews of the 40 most popular boats include owner insights, a guide to common problems and suggestions on where to find parts, advice and support. There are plenty of books that offer general information on what to look for in an offshore boat, but only this book focuses on the specifics a prospective buyer is looking for.

Genres: Nonfiction

238 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2002

Reviews

[Sean Sexton · Rating 5 out of 5]

John Kretschmer has become one of the old reliable salts whose opinions on sailboats are widely respected. His thoughts on the sailing characteristics of honest to goodness bluewater boats are also quite well respected, given the number of oceangoing miles that Kretschmer has racked up in his sailing career.

"Best Used Boat Notebook" is a collection of Kretschmer's reviews from the pages of Sailing magazine. As with many sailboat reviews, John breaks his thoughts into the areas of Construction, On Deck, Down Below, Engine, and Underway. At no extra charge, we get First Impressions, What to Look For, and Conclusion.

Best of all, we get a great rating system where Kretschmer rates each boat in the areas of: price, design quality, construction quality, user friendliness, safety, typical condition, refitting, support, availability, and investment/resale. Finally, the ratings in the various categories are rolled up into an overall rating.

Kretschmer's reviews are right on the mark, pointing out the strengths and weaknesses of each boat and happily sharing his expert opinion on many features with us. For anyone contemplating buying a user sailboat, this book is a must-read/must-have.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really like this author, but felt that the reviews were a bit lopsided. Some boats had much more information than others. I realize they are a compilation of reviews from Sailing Magazine, but as a book it was a bit uneven.