The Troller Yacht Book

At last, safe, comfortable, ocean-going power cruisers that don't cost a fortune to own and operate.

The 21st-century update of yacht designer Buehler's popular guide to fuel-efficient and safe offshore cruising powerboats is loaded with detailed information about cruising design theory, building, and outfitting.

Everybody has the dream: Build a boat in the backyard and sail off to join the happy campers off Pogo Pogo, right? But how? Assuming you aren't independently wealthy, if you want a boat that's really you, you gotta build it yourself. Backyard boatbuilding has its problems. Building in fiberglass is itchy, smelly, and yields a product that yachting maven L. Francis Herreshoff once called "frozen snot." Ferrocement, once all the rage, has pretty much sunk from favor, if you catch the drift. But there's still wood, right? Ah, wood. Nature's perfect material. You can build in the time-honored traditions of the Golden Age of Yachting, loving crafting intricate joints in rare tropical hardwoods, steaming swamp oak butts to sinuous shapes, holding the whole thing together with nonferrous fastenings that cost a buck or better each. Does that sound like boatbuilding for everyperson? What about the currently fashionable wood/epoxy boatbuilding? You butter regular old wood with Miracle Whip, stick it together in the shape of a boat, and off you go, right? Epoxy works, but They don't exactly give it away; nor is it exactly a benign substance. Suiting up like Homer Simpson heading for a fun-filled day at the nuclear power plant isn't exactly the aesthetic boatbuilding experience many of us are looking for. Where does that leave us? In the capable hands of George Buehler, who honors the timeless traditions of the sea all right, but those from the other side of the boatyard tracks. Buehler draws his inspiration from centuries of workboat construction, where semiskilled fishermen built rugged, economical boats from everyday materials in their own backyards, and went to sea in them in all kinds of weather, not just when it was pleasant. Buehler's boats sail on every ocean and perform every task, from long-term liveaboards in Norwegian fjords to a traveling doctor's office in Alaska. This book contains complete plans for seven cruising boats--from a 28-foot sailboat to a 55-foot power cruiser. All the information you need is here, including step-by-step instructions honed by nearly 20 years of supplying boat plans to backyard builders--and helping them out when they get into trouble. Buehler is anarchic, heretical, and occasionally profane; his book is West Coast counterculture meets traditional hardchine workboat construction, leavened with hardnosed common sense and penny-pinching economy. This book is for those who look around them and see that much of what is done in the world today--whether in yachting or politics or economics or interpersonal relationships--is based not on logic but on conforming and meeting other people's expectations. This book is most definitely NOT about either. It is about the realization of dreams. If you believe that everyone who wants a cruising boat can have one . . . If you see beauty beneath the fish scales and work scars of a commercial fishing boat . . . If you want to build a simple, rugged, economical, good-looking cruising boat--power or sail--using everyday lumberyard materials and few skills other than perseverance, this is the book for you. Buehler's Backyard Boatbuilding tells you how to build extraordinary boats using the most ordinary skills and materials, with complete plans, instructions, and specifications for seven real cruising boats ranging from a 28-foot sailboat to a 55-foot power cruiser. "Build wooden boats the Buehler way, which is to say inexpensively, yet like the proverbial brick outhouse."--WoodenBoat Richly flavored with personal advice and anecdotes as well as a wealth of valuable information."--American Sailing Association "Everyone will revere this book."--The Ensign

In 2014 Matt Cerbin began to fulfill a dream by building a yacht in his mother's backyard located in Boulder City, NV. This may not seem to be the ideal location for building an ocean going boat but he had to do it where he could. Over the next six years he worked on the boat. He read several books, talked to several experts, and watched a lot of online videos. By the summer 2020 the project was ready to be moved to the ocean for final construction. He had the boat moved to San Diego because that's where the engine dealer and steering system dealer were located. It took 4 months to get the boat finished and seaworthy. The boat is now completed and sitting in her slip in Mission Bay. Matt took hundreds of photos during construction. This book uses many of those photos to document the build. Matt's goal with this book isn't to teach the reader how to build a boat but rather to show how he built his, the lessons he learned during the process, and hopefully entertain the reader who has an interest in boat building or the Diesel Duck line of trawler yachts.

The passagemaking bible updated to help you live your long-distance voyaging dreams First published in 1975, Robert Beebe's Voyaging Under Power revolutionized long-distance cruising, encouraging powerboaters to enjoy what was once exclusive to sailboats and their crews: crossing oceans to exotic, interesting, and beautiful places in comfort with a minimum of problems and expense. Now power-cruising couple Denis and Mary Umstot, whose interest in power voyaging was ignited by Beebe’s work, have updated Voyaging Under Power for the twenty-first century. The much anticipated Voyaging Under Power, Fourth Edition, includes Beebe's original wisdom and philosophy of passagemaking, as well as his groundbreaking thoughts on vessel stability and fuel monitoring. Fourteen new chapters provide insights into a range of additional topics vital for ocean passages and passagemakers, including: Seaworthiness, stability, and other design concepts Options for stabilizing passagemakers including paravanes, active and passive fins, and antiroll tanks Selecting and understanding the critical systems for long-distance voyaging A decision process for choosing a new boat or analyzing the suitability of a used boat An examination of passagemaking models from Nordhavn, Kadey-Krogen, Seahorse, and Dashew, as well as the designs of Stephen Seaton, Michael Kasten, George Buehler, Dave Gerr, and others Highlights of successful and proven passagemakers of the past, including examples from eleven builders and designers First-hand accounts from passagemakers around the globe, including the Mediterranean, Black Sea, South America, South Pacific, Madagascar, and beyond Tips on understanding and predicting weather and waves and what to do in a storm Understanding offshore safety issues, including how to avoid trouble and cross oceans in comfort Choosing and training crew as well as communication tips for a better cruising experience Preparing for and resolving maintenance problems at sea and in distant anchorages "The list of contributors shows the quality of experience in the pages of this fourth edition. Anyone wanting to join, or at least understand the elements of, the long-distance passagemaking lifestyle will find a great deal of knowledge that is realistic, useful, and timely. You'll keep Voyaging Under Power on your pilothouse bookshelf (or its electronic equivalent) for years to come." -- Bill Parlatore, Founder of PassageMaker Magazine "Captain Beebe applied Navy experience, technical creativity, and an open mind to his self-appointed task of inventing the long-range power cruiser. He embraced ideas that others discarded as readily as he rejected solutions others found indispensable. His path, like all innovators, was the uncommon one and his selfless sharing in Voyaging Under Power literally launched a thousand ships. This Fourth Edition of Beebe's classic draws on new ideas and the accumulated wisdom of today's yacht designers and experienced ocean voyagers to further Beebe's cause and liberate thousands more from the tyranny of dry land." -- Michael Jones, Ocean Traveler, Ship Design Collaborator, and Proud Parent of Google Earth

An overhaul of Robert Beebe's classic Voyaging Under Power, this book features the details of the developments of the intervening years. It features the work of other designers, including George Buehler, Jay Benford, James Krogan, Jeff Leishman, Nils Lucander, Charles Neville, and Steven Seaton.

The story of a young couple with no prior sailing experience who set out to circle the world. Four years later they return as circumnavigators. An inspiring look at what it takes to achieve the dream of sailing around the world, and proof that it can be done.

The best country-by-country assessment of human rights. The human rights records of more than ninety countries and territories are put into perspective in Human Rights Watch's signature yearly report. Reflecting extensive investigative work undertaken by Human Rights Watch staff, in close partnership with domestic human rights activists, the annual World Report is an invaluable resource for journalists, diplomats, and citizens, and is a must-read for anyone interested in the fight to protect human rights in every corner of the globe.