Twenty Small Sailboats to Take You Anywhere

The book was in excellent condition…packaged well…shipped quickly. Everything exactly as promised! Thank you!

Good collection of some small, mostly solid boats. I enjoyed the brief background, boat/layout descriptions and stats. All of which can be found in various formats online, but for those who enjoy it in book format, this is a good little book!

Perfect book for anyone entertaining the thought of circumnavigating or even coastal cruising in a boat shorter than 30' LOD. Vigor guides you through 20 small boats capable of tackling bluewater. He isn't a salesman and cautions readers that even though the Catalina 27 is in the book it might not be wise to take it around the world without serious outfitting and preparation. Likewise he is conscious of the light wallet problem, and offers estimates for the cost of the vessels new and used. The pages of this nifty little starter book turn quickly and like bellows spur on the little dream we have of cruising without paying for it. On the downside I wish he'd included additional costs related to outfitting - something yachts in this size range certainly need. Also the illustrations are bare bones. Some three dimensional cross sections would have been appreciated and gone a long way to augmenting his prose descriptions. Lastly I was hoping for am epilogue or conclusion with Vigor's personal favorite or closing remarks, but instead you're shown the door by an unannotated bibliography. Note that this book is aging. What he calls old is now about 15 years older as of 2015. Overall it's an informative, enjoyable book for anyone whether you want to sail in bluewater or in daydreams.

Not all these boats are inexpensive and none are cheap, but John Vigor gets a gold star for walking the potential skipper through many choices available for those who dream of doing more than daysailing, but who have not managed to command a Fortune 500 retirement nest-egg.The treasure of the book is not just the specific choices Vigor recommends (some I yearn for, some I can pass on...), but rather because he describes in good detail why he made each selection. What is the type of ballast, construction, comfort available and storage capacity -as well as, very importantly, what is the vessel's actual track-record for voyaging. Although these are all smallish boats but contemporary standards, where one seemingly needs at least 50ft to be acceptable to make the jump across from Florida, Vigor is not writing about blue-water sailing as a trivial exploit or cheap stunt, but as a serious seamanlike endeavor worthy of serious contemplation and using serious tools - which the vessels he recommends generally are.This is a pocket-sized book, but crammed with useable information for a skipper researching reality-sized craft for whatever reason, and is highly recommended for those on a budget or those who have done their time on larger craft and are returning to something a bit more gracious, nimble and enjoyable - all without giving up on the penchant to see what is over the horizon.

Though this book is "older", it's still applicable as many of these boats are still afloat and likely - even more affordable than they were 10 years ago.Since we're looking forward something larger, none of the boats reviewed will work for us, but many of the factors the author notes as important in small boats do translate into larger ones.What would be more useful is a definitive list and description of exactly what factors make a good bluewater cruiser.Also, most of the boats listed in this book are not readily available used in the USA. Perhaps that is because they don't stay on the market for long - or rarely get sold.

An extension of your Sailboat research program. It reads like your buddy taking you down to the local marina and walking through 20 sailboats that can carry you around the lake, or around the world if you choose. Often and accurately said - every boat is made up of compromises - this book presents a good narrative of the compromises for the twenty craft reviewed.I gave it 4 stars, b/c I really like the book. I'll come back and give the 5th star when part two "twenty more boats" is created so I can read it too! : )

This is a great book if you're on a budget and want to go world cruising. That's not really me, not at this point anyway. Either way, I learned a lot reading this book, about what makes for a sturdy and safe boat at sea. While I probably won't use 95% of the knowledge I read in this book, there are some common sense and safety items that I definitely will be using when I get my first boat. I'll also have a better chance of identifying real quality boats in the marina or when I go shopping.I would have given it four stars, but the author is a tiny bit full of himself and really heavy on jargon. While this might appeal to the salty veteran sailor (which i don't argue this books is probably more targeted at) it is off-putting to the casual sailor who wants to learn more or fantasize about crossing oceans.

This book is valuable for any sailor who wants to sail out of sight of land. I learned what really matters in a blue water boat. Given the goals of many builders of sailboats, especially maximizing comfort and space below decks, this book focuses on elements of safety in boats that can weather anything. It is a great armchair book too! Even if you don't sail, it will intrigue and engage your imagination. I love that each of the twenty boat reviews is just right to read while you eat lunch! The information Vigor gives is very helpful.

An attractive subject, but the book seems a very personal review, not particularly deep or authoritative. Perhaps the choice to describe just industrial products, rather than intriguing designs at all, may narrow the perspective.

Das Buch ist in amerikanischem Englisch verfasst. Das sollte man berücksichtigen. John Vigor beschreibt Boote, die auf dem deutschen Gebrauchtbootmarkt überwiegend nicht erhältlich sind. Jedoch hat man an einem Sonntagnachmittag so viel über Langfahrt taugliche Cruiser erhalten und vor allem Fähigkeit zu deren Einschätzung gewonnen, dass ich dieses Buch nur wärmstens empfehlen kann. Ich habe es über Amazon in den USA für ca. 20 Dollar nahezu neu bezogen. Versand hat ca. vier Wochen gedauert!

il venditore è stato preciso e puntuale e l'articolo corrisponde a quanto richiesto.il libro descrive tecnicamente le imbarcazioni a vela di una certa tipologia e di una determinata fascia di grandezza.lo consiglierei agli interessati alle barche a vela piccole ma con elevate doti di marinità.

It could be a good book but the quality of the printing is poor and, most importantly, the quality of the plans is so bad that the details can be appreciated, making it a very useless book. I can't recommend it to anyone

Good book.