Book referral please

[Eric.B]

My ever growing interest in sail boats is now at the point of why as much as how. Example What shape makes a hull efficient? Why does the mast go there? Where is the dagger board in relation to the mast and what size? Where and why are the forces on the hull? I don’t have a engineer degree so a book written in laymen terms would be best for me.

Thanks for any help
Eric

[johnw]

Skene's Elements of Yacht Design. Especially the editions redone by Kinney.

[Eric.B]

might have found it does this sound right john

Skene's Elements of Yacht Design, Eighth Edition (Hardcover)
by Francis S. Kinney (Author)

[Bruce Hooke]

That is the correct book but there is a newer edition:

http://www.amazon.com/Elements-Yacht...1824848&sr=1-5

A few other books to consider:

1. If you want the real nitty gritty: The Aero and Hydrodynamics of Sailing by C.A. Marchaj. You don't need an engineering degree to read this, but it is just short of that -- you will get a fair amount of math and other technical information thrown at you.

2. Understanding Boat Design by Ted Brewer. I've never read this book but I've heard good things about it. Unlike both Skene's and Aero and Hydro, Understanding Boat Design is written to explain the whys of boat design to people who are interested in boats but are probably not planning to sit down and start designing boats. So, it might be a good place to start.

3. Principles of Yacht Design by Lars Larsson might be considered a modern version of Skene's. Like every book I've mentioned other then Brewer's book, it is targeted at people who are interested in actually sitting down and starting to draw boat plans. Skene's, at least in the edition I have, dates from well before computerized design and mostly focuses on traditional wood construction but does mention glass and metal in passing. It is not truly old school (half models and all that), but it is not exactly modern either.

[kc8pql]

That is the correct book but there is a newer edition:
http://www.amazon.com/Elements-Yacht...1824848&sr=1-5

I have this addition. It is a reprint of the 6th addition of Skenes before the Kinney revisions. It does not contain all of the data of the Kinney editions and is not nearly as useful. Find a Kinney edition from a used book seller.

[Bruce Hooke]

In that case the 8th Edition should be a good choice. That is the edition I have and it has Kenney's material. I do still think that Brewer's book might be better for someone trying to understand the concepts, as opposed to someone who wants to actually sit down and calculate various parameters. However, Skene's is a classic and it would be hard to go wrong by having it on your shelf. It is certainly one the more well thumbed books on my shelf.

[Lance F. Gunderson]

I enjoyed "Sailboat Design, Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow" by Meade Gougeon & Tryus Knoy, Collier Books, 1973. Also PCB's "103 Rigs" is informative. And then there is L.F.H's "Common Sense Of Yacht Design." R.D. "Pete" Culler and D. C. "Bud" McIntosh also have a fair amount to say about what constitutes a good boat.

[JimConlin]

by Dave Gerr

[Eric.B]

Thank you all, with list in hand I will hit the book stores/library and if need be order 1 or 2 suggested. I guess I never really never liked “because” as an answer when I was a kid and still don’t.

[Ron Williamson]

I found this helpful
http://www.tedbrewer.com/yachtdesign.html
A Kinney edition of Skenes is on my bedside table.
Sweet dreams.
R