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Sails: The Way They Work and How to Make Them
This book contains all the information a boatowner needs to fully understand how sails work, and how to design, make, repair and modify them. The do-it-yourself sailmaker can save as much as three-quarters of the cost of small boat sails by making them or recutting old ones, using a little more than a tape measure, scissors and a simple sewing machine.
188 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 1997
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 2, 2024
I got this book because I wanted an intro to sails- like the title said, how they work and how to make them. By and large this is what the book provides.
The section on the theory of sails is very abstract and difficult to understand- I can't fault the author for this very thorough explanation, though, since I would prefer a difficult and accurate answer to an easy and reductionist answer. I'll have to read this section a couple more times to really get it.
As for the practical side- I do have a bone to pick. One common flaw that professionals-turned-authors tend to do is to take an average project (neither beginner- nor expert-level) and cover it from beginning to end with the tools they have on hand. This is a logical way to go about writing, but I take issue with the enormous amount of tools and experience that the author has to take for granted. Instead, what I would prefer is a simple-to-complex approach. It is based on the question: what is the easiest and least costly victory I could achieve in this pursuit? In this case, I would say sail repair would be the logical step to take from the theory chapter. Since most sails are designed and manufactured by professionals, the best way to 'cut one's teeth' is to repair something that's already been made. From there an amateur could slowly progress into more advanced territory while postponing the bigger and more expensive investments (such as a sewing machine and a lofting space) until they have decided that they really want to do it.
Beyond that, I would say that though the author has sufficiently covered their subject with excellent material, there are a number of subjects that the author could have included to help get an amateur to the point where they can cut and sew a set of sails for a boat up to 45' in length (the author's acknowledged limit). For the subjects that the author covered in this book, I would say that the amateur will be equipped to make sails for a dinghy with great confidence, a small sailing boat with courage, and for a 45' boat with reservations.
All in all this is a good book and worth reading. But if you want to get into the profession of sail-making, you'll need considerably more information than this book provides.
Oh and I didn't ask for a floppy disk on the software offer- though maybe I should. I have no idea how I'd get the software to work on my Surface Pro, but it would be really interesting to see.
The section on the theory of sails is very abstract and difficult to understand- I can't fault the author for this very thorough explanation, though, since I would prefer a difficult and accurate answer to an easy and reductionist answer. I'll have to read this section a couple more times to really get it.
As for the practical side- I do have a bone to pick. One common flaw that professionals-turned-authors tend to do is to take an average project (neither beginner- nor expert-level) and cover it from beginning to end with the tools they have on hand. This is a logical way to go about writing, but I take issue with the enormous amount of tools and experience that the author has to take for granted. Instead, what I would prefer is a simple-to-complex approach. It is based on the question: what is the easiest and least costly victory I could achieve in this pursuit? In this case, I would say sail repair would be the logical step to take from the theory chapter. Since most sails are designed and manufactured by professionals, the best way to 'cut one's teeth' is to repair something that's already been made. From there an amateur could slowly progress into more advanced territory while postponing the bigger and more expensive investments (such as a sewing machine and a lofting space) until they have decided that they really want to do it.
Beyond that, I would say that though the author has sufficiently covered their subject with excellent material, there are a number of subjects that the author could have included to help get an amateur to the point where they can cut and sew a set of sails for a boat up to 45' in length (the author's acknowledged limit). For the subjects that the author covered in this book, I would say that the amateur will be equipped to make sails for a dinghy with great confidence, a small sailing boat with courage, and for a 45' boat with reservations.
All in all this is a good book and worth reading. But if you want to get into the profession of sail-making, you'll need considerably more information than this book provides.
Oh and I didn't ask for a floppy disk on the software offer- though maybe I should. I have no idea how I'd get the software to work on my Surface Pro, but it would be really interesting to see.
August 15, 2012
very interesting book
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews