Sailing For Dummies (For Dummies (Sports & Hobbies)) | 
 enlarge | Authors: J. J. Isler, Peter Isler
Publisher: For Dummies
Category: Book
List Price: $21.99
Buy New: $11.82
You Save: $10.17 (46%)
New (30) Used (11) from $11.82
Avg. Customer Rating:  26 reviews
Sales Rank: 16115
Media: Paperback
Edition: 2
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 432
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.4
Dimensions (in): 9.2 x 7.4 x 1
ISBN: 0471791431
Dewey Decimal Number: 623.88223
EAN: 9780471791430
ASIN: 0471791431
Publication Date: June 6, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand new item. Over 3.5 million customers served. Order now. Selling online since 1995. Few left in stock - order soon. Code: W20080502052520Y
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
Attention landlubbers: If you don't know your port from your starboard, tacking from jibing, then you need to experience clear sailing with the Dummies. With the usual cargo of good humor and demystifying tone, this mast in the Dummies armada lifts the fog on confusing nautical language, teaches the basics about maneuvering a sailboat from dock to open ocean, floats important safety information, and offers advice and info on a variety of related issues (knots, racing, sailboards, how to buy a sailboat). Whether you want to learn to sail or just talk like a sailor, Sailing for Dummies is your anchor to life on the water.
Product Description
Interested in learning to sail but feel like you’re navigating in murky waters? Sailing for Dummies, Second Edition introduces the basics of sailing, looks at the different types of sailboats and their basic parts, and teaches you everything you need to know before you leave the dock. In Sailing for Dummies, Second Edition, two U.S. sailing champions show you how to: - Find and choose a sailing school
- Use life jackets correctly
- Tie ten nautical knots
- Handle sailing emergencies (such as capsizing and rescuing a man overboard)
- Launch your boat from a trailer, ramp, or beach
- Get your boat from point A to point B (and back again)
- Predict and respond to water and wind conditions
- Read charts, plot your course, use a compass, and find your position at sea
Sailing for Dummies shows you that getting out on the water is easier than you think. The authors keep the sailor-speak to a minimum where possible, but give you a grasp of the terminology you need to safely and effectively communicate with your crew. A textbook, user’s manual, and reference all in one, this book takes the intimidation out of sailing and gives you the skills and confidence you need to get your feet wet and become the sailing pro you’ve always wanted to be. Anchors away!
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| Customer Reviews: Read 21 more reviews...
 Perfect book for a new salt May 2, 2008
After deciding to try my hand at sailing this season, I decided to purchase this book; it was the best thing I could have done to learn! In adition to knowing what terms are for what (jib, keel, etc), I was able to learn about how to sail safely and handle common disasters. Thanks for a great book :-)
Great book for beginning sailors April 28, 2008
This is a great book; well-written and informative, and I recommend it highly.
Here is my "how I learned to sail" story:
I accidentally ended up in possession of an O'Day Sprite (10 foot dinghy), but knew nothing about sailing. I put it at my buddy's house; he had a place on a lake, and he promised to teach me how to sail. One day, he walked in, tossed me a bag of parts, and said "Go rig your boat!" He came down with me and taught me equipment terminology, and showed me how to rig the mast. We ended up replacing the mast stays, but everything else was okay.
We got it rigged and got the sails on. He looked at the sails, then looked at the boat; then he said, "That's an awful lot of sail for that boat." He took it out for a quick spin to make sure everything was working, then he put me in the boat and had me try to sail it, while he shadowed me in the Whaler, shouting instructions. The one thing I learned that day was that accidental jibes can cause death rolls (I didn't actually "learn" it until later, but that's what happened). We ended up towing the Sprite back in with the Whaler, and that ended my first lesson.
I went out and bought "Sailing for Dummies", spent a week reading and re-reading it from cover to cover, went back to the lake, and successfully sailed the boat for hours. I never did capsize it again, although I've had it darn near horizontal in a strong breeze. My friend likes to tell people he taught me how to sail; I always correct him and say he taught me how to capsize, which was just as valuable a lesson.
I spent several summers sailing both the Sprite and and my buddy's Hunter 170, then "graduated" to keelboats. He kept telling me that that the Sprite was the hardest boat I'd ever sail; bigger boats are easier.
I got a combination membership/keelboat class at a local sailing club in Boston, learning how to dodge the freighters coming in and out of the harbor, navigation, mooring, anchoring, etc; all the stuff that has less to do with the act of sailing, but necessary for sailing out in the real world. From time to time, I'd go back to "Sailing for Dummies" to brush up on items I hadn't needed prior to that point. I ended up taking additional classes and got a number of certifications.
Best beginners' manual March 11, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I've used the "Sailing for Dummies" 2nd edition as a text in my University Continuing Education class, because I can find no better for the purpose. For those adult students who might be shy about taking such a book home for their children or others to harrass them about, I provide a nice fake cover that reads something like "Advanced Nautical Navigation Techniques for Exceptionally Bright Mariners."
Well done !!! October 6, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book is well written. I continue to buy this book for friends who want to learn more about sailing. As a result, I get better and better crew members on my Catalina 36.
 First half of it very good September 2, 2007
While not as good as Gary Jobson's Sailing Fundamentals, this is a good beginning book for sailors.
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