Product Description

Learn how to design, make, repair, improve, and maintain sails

If you want to produce sturdy sails for daysailing and cruising, built of low-tech materials you can repair with a few simple tools, The Sailmaker's Apprentice can show you how. Emphasizing the handwork that distinguishes the highest-quality, most durable sails, sail pro Emiliano Marino tells you how to select a rig, introduces you to sail shape and theory, and then shows you -- step by step, with the help of over 700 detailed illustrations -- how to sew patches, hand sew rings, fix tears or frayed edges, and stitch seams, not to mention how to make your own sails, canvas sailcovers, and sailbags from scratch.

A visual feast for the sailor as well as an indispensable guide for the mariner comprehensive apprenticeship, this hands-on reference is an illustrated tour of the world's rig and sail types, contemporary and historical.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #19114 in Books
• Published on: 2001-03-09
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 494 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780071376426
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Review
"... a clearly illustrated, superb step-by-step guide to traditional sailmaking." -- Cruising World

"... not just a new standard reference for designing, making, and using traditional sails, but a virtual epic poem about traditional sailmaking... Safe to say that The Sailmaker's Apprentice will dominate the shelf on books on sails and sailmaking far into the future... The best and most comprehensive book on sailmaking and sail repair to be published in a long time." -- WoodenBoat

"The author's depth of experience is make clear... through the excellent reorganization of the material and the remarkable clarity of the writing. There is also a playfulness about the book that reveals more than a sense of humor; it reveals true mastery... While we can take guidance from others, ultimately we must rely on ourselves for fulfillment. Many roads lead there, and with this book, Marino has surely proven that sailmaking is one of them." -- The Northern Mariner

From the Back Cover
"A clearly illustrated, superb step-by-step guide."--Cruising World

More than a how-to guide to designing, making, repairing, and improving sails, The Sailmaker's Apprentice combines 700 detailed drawings with a witty, wise, and philosophically probing commentary that is as much about living a life of self-reliance and harmony as it is about making sails. Here you will find a visual feast for the sailor as well as an indispensable guide for the mariner.

"The basics of traditional sailmaking . . . are artfully, lavishly, even passionately elaborated and enriched. . . . The author has created not just a new standard reference . . . but a virtual epic poem. . . . The best and most comprehensive book on sailmaking and sail repair to be published in a long time."--WoodenBoat

"Reveals true mastery."--Northern Mariner

"The accepted standard volume on sailmaking."--Ensign

About the Author

Emiliano Marino is a lifelong sailor and has been making sails since 1974. He has written about sailmaking and sail care in Small Boat Journal and WoodenBoat.

Christine Erikson, also a sailmaker, illustrates for Threads, among other magazines.

Customer Reviews

Nice, well-illustrated history of sailmaking .
This book shows you the way to build sails the old fashioned way, although some of the techniques shown are not really the way they were built in the "old days". It has lovely illustrations and and clear instructions on how to make sails with an eye on the craftsmanship of the past. The modern world of computer-designed and cut sails has no place here! If you are a novice and want this book to learn the art and craft of modern sailmaking, the book is not for you, as the construction details shown are needlessly complicated and redundant. Modern sails are actually easier to build than most of the techniques shown in this book, and most of today's sailmakers do not build sails using the book's methods. There are other books on how to make sails that are better and easier, but this is a great book for those who like the old ways of doing things. Nice photos and instructions on how to repair sails, and good basic advice for sailors who want to try their hand at a bit of palm-and-needle work. The author is holding onto the old way of designing and building sails, but has neglected alot of modern advances in the art of sailmaking.

Helping you to be self sufficient
This wonderful book isn't intended to teach you about modern, complex, computer designed sails, or how to make them. Marino wants you to be able to repair and maintain your sails yourself. He wants you to understand how to sew a flat tabling, how to stick a cringle, how to sew on a boltrope. If you are adventurous, he will tell you how to completely make a sail for your boat, one that will last many, many years, but frankly very few people will ever make their own sails. But starting with a great beginner's project, the ditty bag, he shows you that traditional sailmaking is just a collection of readily understandable tasks, and then the repetition of those tasks, done with care and patience. Highly welcome and recommended in this age of multiple laminate fabrics and computer designed sails cut out by lasers. If that's what sailing is to you, look elsewhere.

A good read; lots of details
The book seemed quite comprehensive on the subject of sailmaking. A good thing, but it took multiple readings to pick out what I did need vs. what I did not need when I started making my own sail. Having compared the techniques in the book to what I have seen in use among most so-called "production" sails, it was obvious to me this book was written for an audience who appreciates attention to details. It's a book for those serious about their sails, not for those who want to put together a quick and dirty sail that will last them only a couple of seasons, nor is it for those expecting nicely laid out patterns to follow.