The Marlinspike Sailor
by Hervey Garrett Smith
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Book Reviews of The Marlinspike Sailor
Book Review: Great addition to your ropework library and skills
Summary: 5 Stars
It is not for beginners, as a how-to so much of basic sailor knots, for that you need a basic to advanced knotbook, but it shows complex knots, a very easy way to learn to the Turks Heads and a myriad of sea/sailor related projects, both inventive and traditional. The illustrations are very good and the text is very interesting reading. It is like Herman Melville in tone, to me, reminding me of the age-old uses of rope, though it fits nicely in the modern realm, of a knot-work book, and can greatly add to your skills as you learn and improvise on the various projects mentioned. Some go beyond knot-work in sailing and other practical things. So if increasing your knowledge (it has nice descriptions of the Star Knot, Matthew Walker, and various others) and gaining some insight into the days of old, and ways to make projects that still have use and beauty in the modern time this is ONE great book to own. I was very pleased for the price. Hervey Garrett Smith did a great job and the illustrations as he points out he put them in his book because others he found were not clear, and they are a beauty too look at too. If you are just getting into Marlinspike Seasmanship/Ropework Crafts, this is a great book. I take about three with me or keep them close at hand, along with my ropeowork kit, and this is one of them.Book Review: Fun to read but not a how-to book
Summary: 4 Stars
Pros: It's well written and fun to read. It's full of historic information and anecdotes. The illustrations represent a wide variety of interesting projects .
Cons: The book is very uneven. Some projects are explained in details with patterns and step-by-step diagrams. Some have little or no explanation. I also noticed that some knot-tying diagrams are inaccurate and near-impossible to follow.
I recommend the book as a fun and engaging overview of marlinspike seamanship, but if you want to learn the craft, this book alone is not sufficient.
Book Review: Down To The Sea In Ships
Summary: 5 Stars
THE MARLINSPIKE SAILOR, now in its 46th year, is one of the half-dozen or so "essential" books in any sailor's working library. Just a bit less cumbersome than THE ASHLEY BOOK OF KNOTS. THE MARLINSPIKE SAILOR is an excellent book to keep on board to teach yourself or your crew the fundamentals of working with rope, so critical a part of sailing.
I find Mr. Dupre's criticism of the use of nautical terminology in THE MARLINSPIKE SAILOR to be a bit ironic; after all, that's like saying a cookbook makes too many references to kitchen utensils.
Book Review: a bit of irritation goes a long way
Summary: 3 Stars
I have no one large criticism of this book; however, the author has the irritating habit of sprinkling this volume with too many maritime terminology and sailor slang with which most of us are not familiar. I do not appreciate getting up every few minutes to look up an archaic or highly specialized term whose usage is rare and in a fairly isolated environment.
For an instructional book this is not helpful. People who know this terminology probably know how to make the knots already.
Book Review: A Time Honoured Classic
Summary: 5 Stars
As live-aboard cruisers, we have frequent uses for knots, bends and hitches. We have several instructional books on knotting and splicing, and the best remains "The Marlinspike Sailor" by Hervey Garrett Smith, published in 1956. Smith's explanations and illustrations stand the test of time. They are the clearest and easiest to follow of any instructions we've found. Invariably, we always pull out "The Marlinespike Sailor" when we're at loose ends!