Sailmaker's Apprentice

This book is well written and illustrated. Very interesting to read and learn the skills of a sailor. I would recommend this book.

Expert or what!?! This was absolutely excellent in every way. Great to have as a reference and well beyond my expectations. The author is a guru and dove deep into every area of the subject. I really enjoyed this book. It’s well written and very immersive, instructive and relevant to someone wanting to learn, to maintain, built or further their sail and canvas work. I didn’t expect to geek out so much over sewing, but this got me there.

A great book for anyone with an interest in traditional maritime skills and wooden boats. It is written in a lively style with plenty of excellent drawings to illustrate points. It covers just about everything you need to know for small boat rigging and sailmaking. There is an excellent index at the back of the book as well as lists of resources and suppliers. Paired with The Arts of the Sailor by H.G. Smith, there is everything you need to know about rigging, canvasing and sailing traditional wooden boats.

Dad said that it was a good thing he didn't see this as a kid or he would have become a sail maker. That is high praise from someone with a lifetime of sailing and racing.

This book has everything a cruising sailor needs to know for doing his own canvas work, and then some. There is a good balance in the treatment of traditional and modern techniques and materials, although high-tech stuff is almost completely omitted. The illustrations are amazing and gorgeous, and the text is a pleasure to read. Along with Bowditch and "Ar Vag" (by Bernard Cadoret et al), this is one of the most prized treasures of my shipboard library. I only wish it were available in hardcover.

I am not a sailor nor have any inclinations to make sails. I have been involved in a project on 19th century sailmaking. This book was one of my most important sources to learn about the principals of sailmaking. The history can be found in archives etc. but how sails are actually put together can be found in this book. I highly recommend it for anyone studying historic sailing ships or sailmaking. Well written, clear explanations, and super diagrams make this a valuable book for anyone interested in maritine history.

This book is amazing, and covers so much ground. My only complaint is that the kindle version is completely riddled with typos, to the extent that some sentences are unclear. As this is a pretty technical book I don’t want to miss any details! I’ll likely try to get my money back for the kindle version and order the real thing.

Great book. Lots of info. More than I can handle but it is a joy to read.. Great book for sail making even if you aren't gonna make sails.

What a valuable book this is for anyone interested in sailing and sails. It is very informative, clear and readable. From the design of sails and how they were devised using for example how the shape of birds' wings make them fly to all the materials and methods used for top class sail making. How the early apprentices learned their trade by making their own bag using all the basic techniques of sailmaking and repair and going on to choose materials and design your own sails. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in nauticalia.

Es un libro muy practico, desde mi punto de vista, con dibujos y gráficos detallados, que permiten seguir paso a paso las explicaciones

was ich gesucht habe. Dieses Buch trifft ins Schwarze. Auch wenn die Lieferung etwas laenger dauert, warten lohnt sich. Gleich zu Beginn ein Anleitung wie eine Tasche herszustellen ist, dies um die Naehtechniken zu erklaeren, welche auch bei der Segelherstellung genutzt werden. 1/3 generelles zu Segeln, 1/3 Segeldesign, 1/3 Praxis mit Herstellung und Reparatur. Buch komplett in Englisch.

The print quality of this book sold and shipped by Amazon US is so poor I will be checking with the publisher McGraw-Hill/International Marine to confirm if it's genuine. Pages are printed off centre, a 'seal' on the cover is more oval than round. Cover itself is off centre. As this book is meant to be used as a reference, quality matters.

Very informative and beautifully illustrated, The Sailmaker's Apprentice will guide a novice in making and repairing sails, covers or any canvas goods aboard a boat.