Sailing Theory and Practice

by C.A. Marchaj

Sailing Theory and Practice. A Scientific Analysis, with 335 Drawings and Photographs of the Aerodynamic, Hydrodynamic and Other Design Factors which Define a Yacht's Behavior.

451 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1964

About the author

Czesław A. Marchaj

Reviews

[James Morrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although more theory than practice Marchaj (how do you pronounce that?) has lots of charts and graphs showing how sails and boats react to wind and water. I have always been curious about the theory of aerodynamics of sails, and theories of wind and water acting on a boat. He also covers the yacht rating formulas and the evolution of the measuring formulas. So if you are interested in actual data from tests measuring pressure distribution on sails, effects of aerodynamic forces, effects of changes in angle of incidence, drag, resistance, sail tuning and that sort of thing you will like the book. It is an engineering approach the the problems in sailing that most people learn by doing. Most sailors don't know the formula for calculating the influence of the foresail on the mainsail, they just pull it in until everything looks good and boat is moving fast. But if you want to see the formulas for sail interaction expressed in nice little Greek letters and vector diagrams this is just the book for you.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

good read