Used Boat Notebook: From the Pages of Sailing Magazine, Reviews of 40 Used Boats Plus a Detailed Look at Ten Great Used Boats to Sail Around the World

by John Kretschmer

If you plan on buying a used boat, this book is a necessity. ― Latitudes & Attitudes

Genres: Nonfiction

240 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2002

Reviews

[Sean Sexton · Rating 5 out of 5]

John Kretschmer has become one of the old reliable salts whose opinions on sailboats are widely respected. His thoughts on the sailing characteristics of honest to goodness bluewater boats are also quite well respected, given the number of oceangoing miles that Kretschmer has racked up in his sailing career.

"Best Used Boat Notebook" is a collection of Kretschmer's reviews from the pages of Sailing magazine. As with many sailboat reviews, John breaks his thoughts into the areas of Construction, On Deck, Down Below, Engine, and Underway. At no extra charge, we get First Impressions, What to Look For, and Conclusion.

Best of all, we get a great rating system where Kretschmer rates each boat in the areas of: price, design quality, construction quality, user friendliness, safety, typical condition, refitting, support, availability, and investment/resale. Finally, the ratings in the various categories are rolled up into an overall rating.

Kretschmer's reviews are right on the mark, pointing out the strengths and weaknesses of each boat and happily sharing his expert opinion on many features with us. For anyone contemplating buying a user sailboat, this book is a must-read/must-have.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really like this author, but felt that the reviews were a bit lopsided. Some boats had much more information than others. I realize they are a compilation of reviews from Sailing Magazine, but as a book it was a bit uneven.