Clear And Practical

Guide For The

Boat Owner

The scudding upsurge of in vest in boating, both power and

sail, during the past couple of

fears in Australia, NZ and the [slands, has produced a crop of

ceen but often inexperienced

veekend boatmen. Small Boats ?y J. H. Prince (Angus &

Robertson Ltd.; $2.50) is de

signed to assist them in boat landling, maintenance and navi

gation.

An American professor now living n Sydney, Mr. Prince, has drawn leavily on how-to-do-it books and nagazines, and has come up with a :ompact guide for boat-owners that las few frills but is long on corn nonsense and practical knowledge.

The advice given impartially to hose two daggers-drawn fraternities —sailing and hot-water boats—can lot, of course, take the place of jersonal experience out in the bay >r offshore. But his counsel, par icularly on safety at sea and the lading of boats in bad weather, could vith profit be learned by rote: After ill, you usually don’t have time to urn to page x of a textbook when 'our “donk” won’t kick over as the leas are rising and a cumulonimbus itorm builds up; or as a slip on ipray-wet varnished decks brings a ihout of “man overboard”; or as :arelessness starts fire in the galley m refuelling.

Everything you want

If you are new to the game, the mthor will lead you on from choos ng a small boat, to equipping it, hen getting it smoothly away from he jetty and heading for the line vhere sea and sky meet. He deals ilso with towing and handling boat railers (for these days not every joatowner has a waterfront), general lavigation, position calculation, and brows in a bit of “met”.

The numerous line drawings are dear and instructive. There are dates, too, of typical cloud forma ions and of cruisers and sailboats, hough some of these appear too rammed with smallish illustrations.

SH.