Product Description

Anyone dreaming about owning an affordable sailboat will love this comprehensive introduction to trailer-sailing, which proves that cruising on a small boat one that can be kept at home and towed behind the family car is a satisfying and relatively inexpensive endeavor. Sailors and would-be boat buyers will learn to evaluate and equip boats in the 22- to 26-foot range with an emphasis on careful planning and getting maximum enjoyment out of minimum investment.

This new second edition has been updated to include several new models and a chapter on buying used boats.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #367045 in Books
• Published on: 2007-03-16
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 240 pages

Review
"Learn how to evaluate boats in the 22- to 26-foot range and what equipment and what accessories will enable them to sail BIG, and allow you to get the most enjoyment from least investment. This is the third edition, updated and expanded to include newer models to the small boat market." -- Lattitudes & Attitudes, July 2007

"The author of this book has the easy job of convincing you that a small sailboat is cheap and easy to maintain, especially if you can live with a secondhand boat. This book is a well-detailed training manual for boat buying...This book also contains a list of first-aid needs, a list of tool-kit needs, and instructions on caring for your trailer." -- The ENSIGN, March 1999

"Trailersailing is often an affordable way to get into cruising. This book will help you evaluate boats in the 22- to 26-foot range and covers equipment and accessories for this size range that will make your sailing adventures more enjoyable. Includes a chapter on buying used boats." -- Cruising World, July 1998

"Learn how to evaluate boats in the 22- to 26-foot range and what equipment and what accessories will enable them to sail BIG, and allow you to get the most enjoyment from least investment. This is the third edition, updated and expanded to include newer models to the small boat market." -- Lattitudes & Attitudes, July 2007

"The author of this book has the easy job of convincing you that a small sailboat is cheap and easy to maintain, especially if you can live with a secondhand boat. This book is a well-detailed training manual for boat buying...This book also contains a list of first-aid needs, a list of tool-kit needs, and instructions on caring for your trailer." -- The ENSIGN, March 1999

"Trailersailing is often an affordable way to get into cruising. This book will help you evaluate boats in the 22- to 26-foot range and covers equipment and accessories for this size range that will make your sailing adventures more enjoyable. Includes a chapter on buying used boats." -- Cruising World, July 1998

Jerry Cardwell took the title of his book Sailing Big on a Small Sailboat from his first law of sailing big: You can sail big on a small sailboat far more easily and for much less money that you can sail small on a big sailboat.

Buyers and sailors learn to evaluate boats ranging 22 to 26 feet, including Catalina, Hunter and McGregor, and to select the boat and accessories for the most enjoyment from the smallest investment. The entries are complemented by both black-and-white photos and line drawings. The third edition of the book, revised by Dieter Loibner, has been expanded to include several new models, including the Com-Pac, Etap, Rhodes and the Santana. Also included is a chapter on safe and smart trailering and ramp launching.

Jerry Cardwell sailed for more than 20 years, always in sailboats under 30 feet, and authored several books, including the first two editions of Sailing Big in a Small Sailboat. Dieter Loibner is a small-boat sailor, author of The Folkboat Story and Sailing editor for Soundings. --Soundings

Learn how to evaluate boats in the 22- to 26-foot range and what equipment and what accessories will enable them to sail BIG, and allow you to get the most enjoyment from least investment. This is the third edition, updated and expanded to include newer models to the small boat market. --Latitudes & Attitudes

Of all the nautical books that come along, very few relate to the type of smallboat sailing we do. Rarer still is the book that actually focuses on trailersailing. This book is one of the rare ones.

Originally released in 1993 (this is an updated 3rd edition by Dieter Loibner), Sailing Big on a Small Sailboat is 240 pages dedicated exclusively to the selection, purchase, outfitting and safe handling of a trailerable sailboat. Readers with an interest in boats in the 22-26- foot range will find this book particularly appealing, as the author offers mini reviews of the Rhodes 22, Com-Pac Eclipse, Mac 26M and others.

Geared more toward the novice than the expert, Sailing Big is the perfect introduction to the small-boat cruising lifestyle. Cardwell is right on when he says, 'You can sail big on a small sail boat far more easily and for less money that you can sail small on a big sailboat'. --Small Craft Advisor

An excellent book for prospective boat owners, this newly revised third edition will help aspiring sailors get started in a fully equipped small boat for less than $30,000. The author includes everything, including how to find good used boats for a third of the price of a new boat.

--Burrage Warner --The Ensign, July/August 2009

Jerry Cardwell took the title of his book Sailing Big on a Small Sailboat from his first law of sailing big: You can sail big on a small sailboat far more easily and for much less money that you can sail small on a big sailboat.

Buyers and sailors learn to evaluate boats ranging 22 to 26 feet, including Catalina, Hunter and McGregor, and to select the boat and accessories for the most enjoyment from the smallest investment. The entries are complemented by both black-and-white photos and line drawings. The third edition of the book, revised by Dieter Loibner, has been expanded to include several new models, including the Com-Pac, Etap, Rhodes and the Santana. Also included is a chapter on safe and smart trailering and ramp launching.

Jerry Cardwell sailed for more than 20 years, always in sailboats under 30 feet, and authored several books, including the first two editions of Sailing Big in a Small Sailboat. Dieter Loibner is a small-boat sailor, author of The Folkboat Story and Sailing editor for Soundings. --Soundings

About the Author
Jerry Cardwell was an enthusiastic sailor for over 20 years, always in sailboats under 30 feet long. An academic and the author of several books in the social sciences, he completed the revisions for this manuscript in 1996, before dying of a heart attack.

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Customer Reviews

The Case for the Trailerable Sailboat
I have a copy of the second edition published in 1997. This is book for people who are considering buying a trailerable boat in the 22' to 26' range that has some overnight sleeping accomodations. "Sailing Big on a Small Sailboat" builds the case for a trailerable sailboat and reviews the features of four popular trailerable sailboats. I think the author has done a excellent job in his narrow focus. Some of the specs of the four boats he uses as examples have changed in recent years and could use a bit of updating.

I have a concern in that Cardwell only has four pages (pages 115 to 118) on the subject of "Heavy Weather." On Lake Erie where I sail, we get squalls and other sudden storms with rapidly building wind and waves. There would be value in a book that explicitly gives more information on what happens on these types of boats when the wind rises to over 16 knots and waves start running over 3 feet, in other words Force 5 conditions.

I have friends who sail and cruise on Lake Erie. They are McGregor 26X owners. Caldwell gave high marks to the McGregor. My friends get very nervous when the wind goes over 16 knots and head for the nearest harbour. They have owned the boat for 3 years. They are in the process of upgrading to a larger and non-trailerable fixed keel sloop. They are tired of running for the nearest port when a squall blows through or the wind picks up. I generally agree with what Cardwell wrote, however I think he underplayed the challenges of being able to handle these types of boats in Force 5 conditions. I read the book and seriously considered a trailor sailor, but I bought a used Catalina 30. I do not regret my choice.

A wonderful book on getting the most out of 22'-25' sailboat
This is a wonderful book for those that own or are looking to own a sailboat in the 22' to 25' range. Mr. Cardwell covers all aspects of selecting and outfitting a sailboat of this size.

His main point: Spend fewer dollars on a smaller boat and have enough money left over to fully outfit it rather than spend your last dollar on a somewhat larger boat.

I really enjoyed Mr. Cardwell's conversational tone and his many anecdotes. This updated edition also gives a short review of the Catalina 22MKII, the Catalina 250, the McGregor 26x and the Hunter 240. I highly recommend this book.

Sadly, J.D. Cardwell's wife tells us in the closing note to the book of her husband's untimely death from a heart attack while doing one the things he loved most: Sailing.

Too opinionated for it's own good
While the subject matter is excellent, the authours opinion is too prevalent.

JD Cardwell considers all sailboats under 22' as "not really cruisers". There are many on the water that would disagree. While a bigger trailerable may be more comfortable, it's also harder to tow, and more expensive.

The authour needlessly runs the risk of pushing the dream beyond the scope of those with limited resources.

This book may be considered valuable by those with or considering boats between 22 to 26 feet, but probably not to others.

Lastly, the authour obviously places more importance on creature comfort than seaworthiness, O.K. for the marina crowd, but offensive to the true cruising sailor.