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The Cruising Life: A Commonsense Guide for the Would-Be Voyager (Hardcover)

by Jim Trefethen (Author) "There are those among us who would be cruisers and those who would be dreamers of cruising ..." (more)

3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (16 customer reviews)

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Product Details

Hardcover: 256 pages
Publisher: International Marine/Ragged Mountain Press; 1 edition (Dec 31 1998)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0070653607
ISBN-13: 978-0070653603
Product Dimensions: 24.4 x 16.8 x 2.8 cm
Shipping Weight: 590 g

Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (16 customer reviews)

Amazon.ca Sales Rank: #37,689 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)
Popular in these categories:
#6 in Books > Outdoors & Nature > Outdoor Recreation > Sailing > Excursion Guides
#6 in Books > Sports > Water Sports > Sailing > Excursion Guides
#54 in Books > Sports > Water Sports > Boating

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Product Description

The Cruising Life: A Commonsense Guide for the Would-Be Voyager, Jim Trefethen. The funniest, drollest, wisest book on the shelf for the would-be cruiser. Trefethen pulls no punchesÑhe tells you just what will be involved if you and your family decide to "let slip the surly bonds of earth" and set sail. How to get ready, how to finance the voyage, how to live on your boat with maximum peace of mind and minimum hassle, and what equipment you do and don't need. (What you don't need may surprise you.)

From the Back Cover

How to make your dream of voyaging come true (without winning the lottery).

No, you don't need to be rich to sail around the world. You don't even need to have a boat (yet!). What you need most is to know what you don't need--if and when you and your family decide to "let slip the surly bonds of earth" and set sail.

So says the author of the droll, practical, and highly enjoyable Cruising Life: A Commonsense Guide for the Would-Be Voyager. And he speaks from personal experience.

Jim Trefethen tells how his family managed to simplify their life, cut shore ties within just two years, and sail around the world. You too can realize your dream, he says, one step at a time. He tells you exactly how to

Get the money for your "cruising kitty," and determine how much you'll need
Find out if the cruising life is right for you--before you go
Pick the best boat for you, and sort out real value from misleading claims
Live aboard comfortably--tips and tricks that will save you headaches
Find out what you need (and what you don't need) aboard your vessel

and much more. Jim Trefethen's wise and funny account of his own voyage is full of instructive anecdotes about his family's adventures aboard their 40-foot ketch Sultana. Most important, he says, successful cruising means embracing the joys of the simple life.

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Inside This Book (Learn More)

First Sentence
There are those among us who would be cruisers and those who would be dreamers of cruising. Read the first page

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	54% buy the item featured on this page: The Cruising Life: A Commonsense Guide for the Would-Be Voyager 3.8 out of 5 stars (16) CDN$ 18.24
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Customer Reviews

16 Reviews

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

Average Customer Review

3.8 out of 5 stars (16 customer reviews)

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I wish I bought it before I bought my boat, Sep 7 2002

By	Ewen Wallace (Sydney, NSW Australia) - See all my reviews

This is the book you should read before you buy a boat, before you make up your mind to go sailing, before you take that job and shove it.

I like Jim's book a lot. It is opinionated - good, I was looking for opinions. He does favour the old woodies but that is because he has a lot of experience with them. My boat is "plastic" and I'm sure he wouldn't fire torpedoes at me if I were to offer cocktails.

It is good about the philosphy of why you should go, or stay, and good with how to stash the necessary loot. I find most of these books biased towards the reasonably established crowd - 40-ish. Most of the books don't consider the cut-price option of shoe-horning yourself into a small, sturdy boat and roughing it a little. You don't need $100k+ to do this. It all depends on how much luxury you are prepared to sacrifice for your cause.

Like most would-be cruisers, I thought owning the boat is the most important part of cruising. Wrong, wrong ... at least I like my boat but has sunk more money than it should have.

I went cruising ... with about US$15k (give or take) of floating equity . We had a few problems in the 2 months or so we managed to sail for but it was all a hoot (except getting the engine out). The last problem put us ashore for the next year or so but it is entirely unrelated to cruising so we can't begrudge the boat for that one. We will be back.

Terry from WA - the wiring diagrams are fine - get a fire extinguisher &/or electrician if you are a boat owner ;-).

fair winds

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Save your money, Jun 2 2001

By	Marjorieoliver "slandbu" (Wilsonville, Oregon USA) - See all my reviews

This book starts with a couple of very good chapters, but then goes downhill fast. Mr Trfethen is an ad man who jumps from point to point giving the reader the "sound bites" of his profession and then quickly moving on with little solid information. He's stuck with double ended, full keel boats who days of glory are properly gone.

There are lots of well written text out there on crusing, but this is not one of them.

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars There are much better books on this topic., Aug 3 1999

By A Customer

I found the book to be like reading a bunch of commandements, "if you.... you will never go cruising", or "don't ever.... or you will never go cruising". If you like to be lectured to or preached at, you will probably enjoy this book. I, and I guess that I am like most people who would be interested in reading a book like this, would rather hear about other peoples experiences, and judge for myself how they might apply to my situation, than be told there is only one way to do things, and that is the authors way. A better book is Jim Howard's Handbook of Offshore Cruising.

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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Cruising for people with more sense than money.
This is a book about how to go cruising.
What he is really dealing with in this book is the fear of what might go wrong if we go cruising, and how to plan for the best possible... Read more

Published on Jun 15 2004

1.0 out of 5 stars self indulgent &very opinionated
This book is so full of waffle and technical innacuracies, dangerous ones at that, see the chapter on wiring a battery. Read more

Published on Jun 12 2003 by david bledisloe

4.0 out of 5 stars If you need help 'getting gone', start here.
I bought this book when my wife and I were selected to crew on an 80 ft motorsailer for two years, which was to be our honeymoon. Read more

Published on Nov 1 2001 by James Carter

4.0 out of 5 stars "Boat - check, Money - check, Reality - check..."
My wife and I recently began seriously considering cruising as a way to depart from the 9-5 working world, before we were too old to enjoy it. Read more

Published on Aug 22 2000