Powerboat Handling Illustrated: How to Make Your Boat Do Exactly What You Want It to Do

We bought this to loan out to friends of ours, so they can learn to handle a boat. Some of them want to help drive/dock the boat....others, we just prefer that they become a bit more familiar with boats and boating, given that certain friends of ours are "mainstays" on outings, so we figure it's important that they get some knowledge (just in case something happens to either of the co-captains, my husband and I). This is loaded with good info and easy to understand explanations. If you're looking to learn yourself, or have someone you need/want to teach but don't want to do every bit in person, this book is a good option.

This is a great book. It is short and concise enough to quickly reference. I pull it out all the time to take a refresh look at the diagrams. It's pretty basic stuff, but condensed and presented so you can absorb it quickly. Especially important for those of us who can't spend as much time on the water as we like, and don't want to look like a fool running into stuff.

We bought our first boat about three years ago, and I read a half-dozen books and dozens of online articles about boats, handling, navigation, etc... This book put all that info in one place. Easy to read, great illustrations and photos. I even pulled it out last night to show someone the difference between an inboard, I/O and outboard and how they handle. In 30 seconds, they totally understood and remembered. Even for experienced boaters, it's a great reference, and helps in explaining things to those new to boating. Get it.

This is a great book for first time boat owner or anyone who might operate your boat in my case I hadn't operated a boat for many years and wanted an easy to read with good illustrations of the basics and skills needed to operate any size boat. This book is one of the best I've seen to explain many of the terms and illustrate what and why the boat reacts to different conditions so anyone can have a basic understanding of boating. I would recommend this to anyone going out on a boat.

This book is totally perfect for what I am needing. I'm an old Sea Scout that needs a refresher in maneuvering a powerboat at the pier. This book has taught an old dog some new tricks. Additionally, my fourteen year old granddaughter wants to learn how to coxswain a boat and I bought a second copy for her. This book is an excellent investment for learning how to moor and get underway from a pier.

This was the book I was looking for. It had most of the information I was looking for to become a better boater, and more. Very good book for the beginning and/or intermediate boat handler. Concise information that touches on single-engine, multi-engine, and even thrusters. I will definitely look for more informational powerboat books from this author.

I have a chance to check out in a twin outboard power boat in the near future and needed reference to change from sail boat to power boat. I found Robert Sweet's Power Boat book the most comprehensive book on the market and met my needs 100% I highly recommend his publication.

I read the book as preparation for a ASA's close quarters powerboat maneuvering. Good book, I liked most of the content and the content was 95% of what was needed for the class (there was one question on the test that related to some other book, which the school or instructor did not mention). For what I needed (prepping for using multiple types of boats in charters) there was a little bit too much repetition as each section on inboard, outboard, twin, etc. ... repeated a lot of the material/principles - to the point where it was annoying. But I can also see how such organization of the book would appeal to a powerboat owner/about to be owner as they could simply read the relevant section (buying twin-screw? read just those sections/chapters). One would think that as an electronic book the layout/organization could be adjusted - say the first question a read answers is "chartering vs. own your boat + type?" and then the book would be laid out appropriately to remove the duplicated/unnecessary information. One more thing about the videos: somehow on my Kindle App on iPad Mini they rendered I thought in wrong places relative to the text (usually 2-3 pages earlier than the text). Not a big deal overall, but this added to the annoyance. Bottom line: this is the only book I've read as preparation and after the 2 day class I feel pretty confident driving and especially parking a 40 foot power boat (feels like driving a bus on the road btw).

The illustrations really help you quickly understand what actions to take in performing certain procedures steering your boat. This book is full of excellent tips for almost any boat handling situation you might come across including how to handle your boat in certain wave/weather conditions and docking in various weather/wind conditions, etc It was highly recommended and well worth the cost I would say.

Great book on boat handling and dynamics including docking. Well worth the read.

This Probably the only Boat Book you'll ever need if your taking up How too? in Motor-Yachting it shows you how NOT TO ARRIVE like a walley and Arrive as if Your Nelson's Nephew, lol 😆 😂 You get off yer Yacht looking very cool 😎 indeed Parked it' done, 😆 it also shows ya storm anchors, engine types, Hull shave even different waves? types! 😆

This book is wonderful for the novice boater, and even the experienced boater who wishes to have a better understanding of the 'how'' and 'whys' of safe boating techniques. The illustrations are easy to understand and really enhance the text. The book is easy to understand and grasp techniques.

This book is really very good. It covers the main types of hull shapes and drive/propellor configurations. From a new boat owners point of view, it is very easy to follow and packed with illustrations. I found the chapters on slow-speed maneuvering and departing/docking particularly useful. It has certainly given me a lot more confidence. Worth every penny.