Small Craft Home : My Books : Small Boat Cruising
Small Boat Cruising
A great interest of mine is the exploration of the rivers and waterways of England and Europe - particularly during the years just prior to World War One. I've been collecting books on this topic for a few years. Those by Charles Pears and E. Keble Chatterton are great favorites. I also highly recommend the Small Boat books by Roger Pilkington (those these are in post-World War Two timeframe). Also important is Toy's two volume Adventurers Afloat - an invaluable reference (and dangerous target to aim for...)
This list also includes various articles taken from magazines such as The Yachting Monthly and The Badminton Magazine - either as clippings from the magazines or as photocopies of the articles made when the original cannot be obtained. Obviously not books, they do give an insight into my interest.
The early books give a wonderful glimpse into the life and landscape of Europe before everything changed with the advent of the war. A prized book is Robert Southey's Journal of a Tour in the Netherlands which existed as a manuscript for nearly 100 years before being published in a limited run of 519 copies (with 500 being for sale). I have copy number 134.
Finally, I note that there are some duplicates listed where these are of interest - because of differing publishers (Canadian vs. British for instance), book-club issues vs. non, etc. Where I have duplicates that are identical, or where one is a modern reprint, I don't list them here.
Last updated 12:10 PST 19 January, 2006
| Author | Title | Publication Year | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hamilton's Broads Navigation Charts and Index | 1980 | Hamilton Publications | |
| Edward C. Allcard | Temptress Returns | 1953 | W.W. Norton & Company |
| William Atkin | Of Yachts And Men | 1949 | Sheridan House |
| Frank Beken; Keith Beken | The Beauty of Sail | 1954 | Adlard Coles Limited |
| Hilaire Belloc | On Sailing the Sea | 1951 | Rupert Hart-Davis |
| E.E. Benest | Inland Waterways of France | 1971 | Imray, Laurie, Norie & Wilson |
| Arnold Bennett | From the Log of the "Velsa" | 1914 | The Century Co. |
| Nathaniel H. Bishop | Four Months in a Sneak-Box | 1879 | Lee and Shepard |
| Peter Bontheron | My Holidays on Inland Waterways | 1919 | Thomas Murby & Co. |
| Dana Thomas Bowen | The Lore of the Lakes | 1940 | Dana Thomas Bowen |
| Kenneth Brower | The Starship and the Canoe | 1978 | Holt, Rinehart and Winston |
| T. Harrison Butler | Cruising Yachts | 1945 | Robert Ross & Co., Ltd. |
| R.B. Carslaw | Leaves From Rowan's Logs | 1940 | Robert Ross & Co., Ltd. |
| R.B. Carslaw | Leaves From Rowan's Logs | 1940 | Robert Ross & Co., Ltd. |
| Howard I. Chapelle | The History of American Sailing Ships | 1935 | Bonanza Books |
| Melville Chater | Two Canoe Gypsies | 1932 | Brewer, Warren & Putnam |
| E. Keble Chatterton | "Charmina" on the Riviera | 1937 | Hurst & Blackett, Ltd. |
| E. Keble Chatterton | "Charmina" on the Riviera | 1937 | Hurst & Blackett, Ltd. |
| E. Keble Chatterton | Down Channel in the Vivette | 1910 | Sidgwick and Jackson, Ltd. |
| E. Keble Chatterton | Sailing Ships and Their Story | 1914 | Sidgwick and Jackson, Ltd. |
| E. Keble Chatterton | Through Brittany in "Charmina" | 1933 | Rich & Cowan |
| E. Keble Chatterton | Through Holland in the Vivette | 1913 | Seeley Service & Co. Limited |
| E. Keble Chatterton | To the Mediterranean in "Charmina" | 1934 | Rich & Cowan Limited |
| E. Keble Chatterton | Valiant Sailormen | 1936 | Hurst & Blackett, Ltd. |
| E. Keble Chatterton | The Yachtsman's Pilot | 1933 | Hurst & Blackett, Ltd. |
| Sir Francis Chichester | "Gipsy Moth" Circles the World | 1967 | Coward-McCann, Inc. |
| Roy Clark | Black Sailed Traders | David & Charles | |
| Jamie Clay; Mark Miller | Albert Strange on Yacht Design, Construction and Cruising | 1999 | The Albert Strange Association |
| K. Adlard Coles | In Broken Water | 1925 | Seeley Service & Co. Limited |
| K. Adlard Coles | Sailing Years: An Autobiography | 1981 | John de Graff |
| Francis B. Cooke | Seamanship for Yachtsmen | 1923 | Edward Arnold & Co. |
| Francis B. Cooke | Yaching with Economy | 1960 | Edward Arnold & Co. |
| Morley Cooper | The Cruising Yacht | 1945 | Whittlesey House |
| Arthur E. Copping | Gotty and The Gov'nor | 1907 | E. Grant Richards |
| Frank Cowper | Cruising Sails and Yachting Tales | 1921 | J.D. Potter |
| Frank Cowper | Sailing Tours: The Yachtsman's Guide to the Cruising Waters of the English and Adjacent Coasts. | 1892 | L. Upcott Gill |
| Frank Cowper | Sailing Tours: The Yachtsman's Guide to the Cruising Waters of the English and Adjacent Coasts. | 1896 | L. Upcott Gill |
| Frank Cowper | Sailing Tours: The Yachtsman's Guide to the Cruising Waters of the English and Adjacent Coasts. | 1899 | L. Upcott Gill |
| William F. Crosby | Boat Sailing | 1935 | The Rudder Publishing Company |
| B.B. Crowninshield | Fore-and-Afters | 1940 | Houghton Mifflin Company |
| G. Christopher Davies | The Swan and Her Crew | 1888 | Frederick Warne and Co. |
| Charles G. Davis | How Sails Are Made and Handled | 1922 | The Rudder Publishing Company |
| Charles G. Davis | The Ways of the Sea | 1930 | The Rudder Publishing Company |
| Thomas Fleming Day | The Cruiser | 1906 | The Rudder Publishing Co. |
| Thomas Fleming Day | Hints to Young Yacht Skippers | 1904 | The Rudder Publishing Co. |
| Thomas Fleming Day | The Voyage of the Detroit | 1929 | The Rudder Publishing Company |
| Eric Devine | Down the Hatch | 1945 | Sheridan House |
| Eric Devine | Midget Magellans | 1935 | Harrison Smith and Robert Haas |
| Russell Doubleday | A Year in a Yawl | 1901 | Doubleday, Page & Co. |
| H.M. Doughty | Our Wherry in Wendish Lands | 1891 | Jarrod & Sons |
| Dick Durham | The Magician of the Swatchways | 1994 | The Yachting Monthly |
| Dick Durham | On and Offshore | 1989 | Ashford Press Publishing |
| Frank Dye; Margaret Dye | Open-Boat Cruising | 1982 | David & Charles |
| Weston Farmer | From My Old Boat Shop | 1979 | International Marine Pub. Co. |
| Negley Farson | Sailing Across Europe | 1926 | The Century Co. |
| Frederic A. Fenger | Alone in the Caribbean | 1958 | Wellington Books |
| H.C. Folkard | The Sailing Boat | 1853 | Hunt and Son |
| C.S. Forester | The Annie Marble in Germany | 1930 | John Lane, The Bodley Head |
| C.S. Forester | The Voyage of the "Annie Marble" | 1929 | John Lane, The Bodley Head |
| Uffa Fox | Sail and Power | 1936 | Peter Davies Limited |
| Uffa Fox | Thoughts on Yachts and Yachting | 1939 | Scribner |
| Peter Gerard | Who Hath Desired the Sea | 1962 | Arthur Barker |
| Alain Gerbault | The Fight of The Firecrest | 1955 | Rupert Hart-Davis |
| Alain Gerbault | In Quest of The Sun | 1955 | Rupert Hart-Davis |
| Robert Gibbings | Coming Down the Seine | 1953 | J.M. Dent & Sons, Limited |
| Robert Gibbings | Sweet Thames Run Softly | 1940 | J.M. Dent & Sons, Limited |
| Charles Gieg; Felix Sutton | The Last Voyage of the "Albatross" | 1962 | Duell, Sloan and Pearce |
| Maurice Griffiths | Little Ships and Shoal Waters | 1937 | Peter Davies Limited |
| Maurice Griffiths | The Magic of the Swatchways | 1932 | Edward Arnold & Son |
| Sir Arthur Grimble | We Chose the Islands | 1952 | William Morrow & Company |
| Norman R. Hacking | Annals of the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club 1903-1965 | 1965 | Evergreen Press |
| Charles H. Hall | An Introduction to Seamanship | 1938 | Kennedy Brothers Incorporated |
| Adrian Hayter | Sheila in The Wind | 1959 | The Companion Book Club |
| L. Francis Herreshoff | Sensible Cruising Designs | 1973 | International Marine Publishing Company |
| Nathaniel G. Herreshoff | Recollections | 1998 | Herreshoff Marine Museum |
| Thor Heyerdahl | Kon-Tiki | 1950 | Rand McNally & Company |
| John J. Hickey | The Life and Times of the Late Sir Thomas Lipton | 1932 | The Hickey Publishing Company |
| Arthur Sturges Hildebrand | Blue Water | 1923 | Harcourt, Brace and Company |
| Eric C. Hiscock | I Left the Navy | 1945 | Edward Arnold & Son |
| Eric C. Hiscock | Let's Go Cruising | 1946 | Robert Ross & Co., Ltd. |
| Eric C. Hiscock | Sou'west in Wanderer IV | 1973 | Oxford University Press |
| Eric C. Hiscock | Voyaging Under Sail | 1960 | Oxford University Press |
| Les Horn | Through Europe at Four Knots | 2000 | International Marine/McGraw Hill |
| John Scott Hughes | Told in the Watch Below | 1935 | E.P. Dutton & Co. |
| Robert Edgar Hughes | Two Summer Cruises with the Baltic Fleet in 1854-5 | 1855 | Smith, Elder, & Co. |
| John Irving; Douglas Service | The Yachtsman's Weekend Book | Seeley Service & Co. Limited | |
| Jerome K. Jerome | Three Men In A Boat | 1889 | A.L. Burt Company |
| F. C. Kempson | Misadventures of a Hack Cruiser | 1910 | Edward Arnold & Co. |
| E.F. Knight | The "Falcon" on the Baltic | 1889 | W.H. Allen & Co. |
| E.F. Knight | The Cruise of the "Falcon" | 1886 | Sampson Low, Marston & Company |
| John Leather | Albert Strange | 1990 | The Pentland Press, Ltd. |
| John Leather | Spritsails and Lugsails | 1979 | Adlard Coles, Ltd. |
| Robert C. Leslie | A Waterbiography | 1894 | Chapman & Hall |
| Charmian Kittredge London | Voyaging in the Wild Seas | 1915 | Mills & Boon, Limited |
| John MacGregor | The "Rob Roy" on the Jordan | 1869 | John Murray |
| John MacGregor | A Voyage Alone in the Yawl "Rob Roy" | 1867 | Sampson Low, Marston & Company |
| Miriam MacMillan | Green Seas and White Ice | 1948 | Dodd, Mead & Company |
| E.G. Martin | Cruising & Ocean Racing | 1935 | Seeley Service & Co. Limited |
| Donald Maxwell | A Cruise Across Europe | 1907 | John Lane, The Bodley Head |
| Donald Maxwell | The Log of the Griffin | 1905 | John Lane, The Bodley Head |
| R.T. McMullen | Down Channel | 1893 | Horace Cox |
| James McQuade | The Cruise of the "Montauk" | 1885 | Thomas R. Knox & Co. |
| Mulhauser, G.H.P. | The Cruise of the Amaryllis | 1924 | John Lane, The Bodley Head |
| Adrian Neison | Practical Boatbuilding for Amateurs | 1902 | Frederick J. Drake & Company |
| William Washburn Nutting | The Track of the "Typhoon" | 1922 | The Motor Boat Publishing Company |
| Conor O'Brien | Yacht Gear and Gadgets | 1945 | Oxford University Press |
| Lin Pardey; Larry Pardey | "Seraffyn's" European Adventure | 1979 | W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. |
| Lin Pardey; Larry Pardey | The Self-Sufficient Sailor | 1982 | W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. |
| Charles Pears | From the Thames to the Netherlands | 1914 | Chatto & Windus |
| Charles Pears | From the Thames to the Seine | 1910 | Chatto & Windus |
| Charles Pears | South Coast Cruising | 1931 | Edward Arnold & Son |
| Charles Pears | Yachting on the Sunshine Coast | 1932 | Southern Railway Company |
| Roger Pilkington | Small Boat Down the Years | 1987 | J.M. Pearson & Son Ltd. |
| Roger Pilkington | Small Boat in Southern France | 1965 | St. Martin's Press |
| Roger Pilkington | Small Boat on the Lower Rhine | 1970 | St. Martin's Press |
| Roger Pilkington | Small Boat on the Meuse | 1967 | St. Martin's Press |
| Roger Pilkington | Small Boat on the Moselle | 1968 | Macmillan and Co., Ltd. |
| Roger Pilkington | Small Boat on the Moselle | 1968 | Macmillan and Co., Ltd. |
| Roger Pilkington | Small Boat on the Thames | 1966 | Macmillan |
| Roger Pilkington | Small Boat on the Thames | 1966 | Macmillan |
| Roger Pilkington | Small Boat on the Upper Rhine | 1971 | St. Martin's Press |
| Roger Pilkington | Small Boat Through Belgium | 1959 | MacMillan & Co. Ltd. |
| Roger Pilkington | Small Boat Through France | 1964 | Macmillan |
| Roger Pilkington | Small Boat Through Germany | 1963 | MacMillan & Co. Ltd. |
| Roger Pilkington | Small Boat Through Holland | 1958 | St. Martin's Press |
| Roger Pilkington | Small Boat Through Sweden | 1961 | MacMillan & Co. Ltd. |
| Roger Pilkington | Small Boat Through Sweden | 1963 | MacMillan & Co. Ltd. |
| Roger Pilkington | Small Boat to Alsace | 1961 | St. Martin's Press |
| Roger Pilkington | Small Boat to Bavaria | 1962 | MacMillan & Co. Ltd. |
| Roger Pilkington | Small Boat to Bavaria | 1962 | MacMillan & Co. Ltd. |
| Roger Pilkington | Small Boat to Elsinore | 1969 | MacMillan & Co. Ltd. |
| Roger Pilkington | Small Boat To Luxembourg | 1967 | St. Martin's Press |
| Roger Pilkington | Small Boat to Northern Germany | 1969 | St. Martin's Press |
| Roger Pilkington | Small Boat to the Skagerrak | 1960 | St. Martin's Press |
| Roger Pilkington | Thames Waters | 1956 | Lutterworth |
| Roger Pilkington | View from the Shore | 1995 | The Book Guild Ltd. |
| Arthur Ransome | "Racundra's" First Cruise | 1927 | Jonathan Cape |
| Rogers, Stanley | Tales of the Fore and Aft | 1935 | George G. Harrap & Co. Ltd. |
| Henry C. Rowland | Across Europe in a Motor Boat | 1908 | D. Appleton and Company |
| Edwin J. Schoettle | Sailing Craft | 1937 | The Macmillan Company |
| Joshua Slocum | Sailing Alone Around the World | 1948 | Rupert Hart-Davis |
| Ralph Stock | The Cruise of the Dream Ship | 1921 | William Heinemann |
| Roger C. Taylor | The Fourth Book of Good Boats | 1984 | International Marine Pub. Co. |
| Roger C. Taylor | Good Boats | 1977 | International Marine/Ragged Mountain Press |
| Roger C. Taylor | More Good Boats | 1980 | International Marine Pub. Co. |
| Roger C. Taylor | Still More Good Boats | 1981 | International Marine Pub. Co. |
| Sir Edward Thorpe | The Seine from Havre to Paris | 1913 | MacMillan & Co. Ltd. |
| T.E. Thorpe; C.E.A.L. Rumbold | A Yachtsman's Guide to the Dutch Waterways | Edward Stanford Ltd. | |
| Ernest W. Toy | Adventurers Afloat | 1988 | The Scarecrow Press, Inc. |
| Ernest W. Toy | Adventurers Afloat | 1988 | The Scarecrow Press, Inc. |
| H. Alker Tripp ('Leigh Hoe') | Suffolk Sea-Borders | 1926 | John Lane, The Bodley Head |
| Claud Worth | Yacht Cruising | 1921 | J.D. Potter |