Know Your Boat - Paperback

by David Kroenke (Author)

Know Your Boat is here to rescue the millions of boaters who have always been afraid to peer into their boat's innards for fear of what they'll find. Here at last is the humorous, user-friendly guide that will give a timid skipper the courage to grab a wrench and tame the savage beast in the bilge (or at least make its acquaintance). Assuming no mechanical aptitude, David Kroenke provides readers with an easy-to-read introduction to the use and maintenance of the many systems found on today's typical power or sail boat, including: engine, electricity, electronics, plumbing, refrigeration, windlasses, pumps, and steering system.

Back Jacket

The owner's manual for the mechanically impaired sailor or powerboater

The simplest, least threatening guide to boat maintenance and repair ever written, Know Your Boat is dedicated to these propositions:

• that simply praying that nothing breaks on your boat doesn't prevent it from happening
• that things don't often break when you're at the dock and help is convenient
• that the things that go wrong are most often things you can solve
• that you don't have to be a mechanical wizard to solve them
• that solving problems yourself will give you more confidence in your seamanship and more satisfaction from your boating
• that self-sufficiency is addictive
• and that reading about all of this ought to be fun!

So take this tour of basic troubleshooting and repair procedures for your engine, electrical, plumbing, refrigeration, and steering systems, then grab your wrench and prepare to tame the savage beasts behind your boat's electrical panel and engine hatches--or at least make their acquaintance.

Author Biography

David Kroenke has been a sailor since 1971 and currently owns a Mason 44. He has cruised the West Coast extensively, roamed the Inside Passage and the coast of British Columbia, and sailed to Mexico and back. His next Big Trip is a voyage to the Marquesas. Although he holds a Ph.D. in engineering, he claims his chief qualification for writing Know Your Boat is the self-education process he undertook after spending piles of money in boatyards.