Fast Powerboat Seamanship: The Complete Guide to Boat Handling, Navigation, and Safety (Hardcover)

How to handle your fast boat for maximum performance, pleasure, and safety

Getting the most out of a fast powerboat requires specialized knowledge and skill as well as a healthy respect for the environment in which you operate. Fast Powerboat Seamanship, the ultimate guide to handling and navigating fast boats, covers crucial topics such as hull design and construction; engines and propulsion; coping with extreme conditions; collision avoidance; communications; and much more. You’ll learn everything you need to:

• Adjust to the faster pace of events at 25 to 100 knots
• Understand the effects of high speed on boat handling
• Negotiate waves safely and effectively
• Master high-speed navigation
• Control tight, high-speed turns
• Coordinate trim tabs, drive angle, and throttle for optimum results
• And much more

Operating a powerboat at high speed is both a great thrill and a serious responsibility. As your speed increases, you ride a constantly narrowing line between safety and danger, and the consequences of an accident can be disastrous—to you, to your passengers, and to other boaters. It is your responsibility to learn the skills and acquire the knowledge needed to keep your boat firmly under control.

In Fast Powerboat Seamanship, one of the world’s leading authorities on high-speed piloting and navigation shows you how to operate any fast boat for maximum thrill at minimum risk. Dag Pike, author of the U.S. Coast Guard’s Fast Boat Seamanship Manual, describes the effects of hull design on performance and gives you a better understanding of how your boat is built. He explains how fast boats respond under a variety of conditions, and he walks you through everything you need to know about engines, propulsion systems, trim tabs, and the other controls that give you complete command of your craft.

Pike provides a step-by-step tutorial in the techniques of fast-boat driving and spells out the measures you can take to ensure comfort and safety for yourself and your passengers. He also explores the things you need to know about the sea itself: how waves are generated, how they move, and how to assess and adjust to changing conditions on the water. You’ll learn how to adapt to the faster pace of events at 25 to 100 knots; navigate at high speed; and control a high-speed turn. You’ll also learn techniques for avoiding collisions, operating in extreme weather, and much more.

The better you understand your boat and how to control it, the greater the pleasure you will get from high-performance boating. Fast Powerboat Seamanship is the source for the specialized knowledge and skills you need to get the most out of any fast boat.

Dag Pike has more than 50 years’ experience in powerboating and has written 21 books on the subject, including the Fast Boat Seamanship Manual (U.S. Coast Guard, 2002). He is a Fellow of the Royal Institute of Navigation and a member of the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers.

How to handle your fast boat for maximum performance, pleasure, and safety

Getting the most out of a fast powerboat requires specialized knowledge and skill as well as a healthy respect for the environment in which you operate. Fast Powerboat Seamanship, the ultimate guide to handling and navigating fast boats, puts you in total command.

Author Dag Pike covers crucial topics such as hull design and construction; engines and propulsion; coping with extreme conditions; collision avoidance; communications; and much more. You’ll learn everything you need to:

• Adjust to the faster pace of events at 25 to 100 knots
• Understand the effects of high speed on boat handling
• Negotiate waves safely and effectively
• Master high-speed navigation
• Control tight, high-speed turns
• Coordinate trim tabs, drive angle, and throttle for optimum results
• And much more

Complete with tips, anecdotes, and illustrations, the fast-boat wisdom in this book will make you a better, safer driver.