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Dragged Aboard: A Cruising Guide for the Reluctant Mate | 
 enlarge | Author: Don Casey
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Category: Book
List Price: $35.00
Buy New: $17.01
You Save: $17.99 (51%)
New (20) Used (14) from $8.98
Avg. Customer Rating:  8 reviews
Sales Rank: 824873
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1st
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 196
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 9.3 x 6.3 x 0.8
ISBN: 0393046532
Dewey Decimal Number: 797.1
EAN: 9780393046533
ASIN: 0393046532
Publication Date: July 1, 1998
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: New hardcover,fast shipping thanks 227
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com Review
Here's the fantasy: lots of people dream of sailing the world without a care. And here's the reality: hesitant partners scuttle the vast majority of these reveries. Casey's genial primer, born out of the clash between his own sea legs and his wife's preference for land, is, essentially, a guide for sailing couples, but it addresses issues faced by anyone a little antsy about hoisting anchor. And with gentle, encouraging, and useful advice, it casts doubt off the end of the gangplank. Casey writes quite nicely of cruising's joys--"To those with sufficient imagination, a boat with overnight accommodations is much more than just a floating second home. It is a magic carpet, a gold pass to the world beyond the horizon"--but this is less an ode than a presentation of pragmatics. Dragged Aboard addresses the fears that attend setting sail, and it explores the emotional ties--and potential eddies--between skipper and mate: "Don't expect sailing to bring out latent good qualities; it won't happen." It carefully ticks off the range of cruising practicalities, from preparation, communication, safety, and first aid to basic seamanship, keeping clean, and traveling with children. "There is no thrill on the planet quite like seeing your destination appear on the horizon after days at sea," he writes, and there is "only one way to truly know what that is like." Better, of course, to know it without being chained to the mast. --Jeff Silverman
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| Customer Reviews: Read 3 more reviews...
 All cruisers should read this book January 7, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I have extensive experience cruising and sailing- and am female. This book should be included with every cruising boat that is sold AND all people cruising should read it. I am very picky and I could not find any fault with Don's recommendations. He really "gets it" when it comes to cruising. A great gift for the prospective cruisers!
Fun and inspiring, my kids loved it May 12, 2005
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
I read the introduction and first chapter of Dragged About to my kids (11 and 12), and they laughed out loud several times. Both continued reading it and taking notes all on their own. Can't say that about too many cruising guides!
Casey's writing style is terrific, and he addressed many of the issues that I've been nervous about (communicating with family back home, medical care, adequate provisioning, storms). But my favorite sections were the glimpses into the cruising lifestyle, its potential effects (good and bad) on relationships, and the friendships that develop between cruisers. I've sailed the tropics enough to know that it can be exactly as idyllic as he describes, and I found his glowing descriptions reassurance that the idyllic times far outweigh the difficulties and inconveniences even on a long cruise.
Required reading if you want to drag your wife aboard. November 8, 2004
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
Don Casey and his wife were a typical cruising couple: he wanted to live aboard, she wasn't eager to put up with the discomforts. This book is an eager sailor's description of the joys of cruising, and what makes the discomforts worthwhile. What makes this book, and the Caseys, different is that Don learned to listen to his wife, and heard why she was unhappy. This book is the result.
This book isn't the typical cruising book: it's not about sailing or seamanship. As I said, Don Casey listened to his wife. This book is about living on a boat. The reluctant partner usually has a long list of questions like: ``How will we do laundry?'', ``How will we fit in a tiny boat?'', ``What about safety?'', ``What about the children?'', ``How can we stay clean?'', and, most difficult of all: ``Is it worth it?''. This book gives some answers to some of these questions, but what's more important, it helps the eager partner to hear those questions, and see that they have to be satisfactorily answered.
One thing which this book omits is the ability to live far more simply aboard than is possible ashore. I suppose that for the typical North American housewife, that's not a big selling point. My wife and I would both like to reduce the clutter in our lives, and living aboard can de-clutter lives like a cabin in the Arctic, without the frostbite and nine months of darkness. If simple living sounds attractive, check out Voyaging on a Small Income.
I'm the eager partner, and my wife is the reluctant one. We're still ashore for a few years yet, but I think that the advice in this book is going to help me hear my wife's objections and help us find answers that satisfy her. If you are the eager partner, I recommend that you buy and read this book, often. I think it'll greatly increase your chances of staying married. If your husband has been bitten by the cruising bug, I hope you'll buy this book and give it to him. There may be better books for you, but he needs this one. Make him read it, and talk it over with him.
The Title says it all March 30, 1999
11 out of 11 found this review helpful
This is the third Don Casey book I've read and I like them all. Don has a easy going infomative style that doesn't come of as Mr. Know It All. His other books I've read were on maintenance related issues. This book is all about the emotions and realities of cruising. The chapter tiltes tell it all. "What is cruising really like?" "Confronting fears" "stocking the galley" etc. I have a hard time giving books five stars, but this is definitely a 4-1/2 star. It's only 170 some pages I'd like to see more. Would I buy again? Absolutely- If this title appeals to you the book will deliver. A two thumbs up!
 Empty promises February 9, 1999
20 out of 20 found this review helpful
As a reluctant mate, I found this book disappointing. Despite the refreshing title, once again, we have an enthusiastic male sailor rattling down the same old story. I recommend Diana B. Jessie's "The Cruising Woman's Advisor", in which cruising women, some of whom started out reluctantly, share their experience and give advice. If you're already hooked on sailing, this book does not tell you anything new, and if not, this definitely is not going to convince you of the opposite.
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