The Troller Yacht Book

Publisher: W W Norton & Co., 1999 $ US 25.95

At last a book that allows the motor boating fraternity to hold their heads up as a serious long distance cruising folk! Though the quote on the opening page, "Oh Lord, please forgive me. I went for a ride on a powerboat, and liked it!" probably still sums up the general positioning of motorboats on the serious cruising scene.

The author is the designer of a range of motorboats designed for extended live-aboard cruising, including trans-ocean cruising, in lengths from 38 to 46 feet. More remarkably the designs can be built for costs below those of most current volume built motorboats of the same size, mainly by following his alternative design philosophy: the "Troller" yacht.

Working from practical examples of Pacific fishing, or trolling, boats that were at sea regardless of the conditions, the design features long, narrow hulls with single diesel engines. A ruthless stripping away of additional fittings is used to simplify operational effectiveness and reliability, but not necessarily at the expense of comfort.

A book to make the heart of every committed motorboater beat faster in anticipation of the kind of cruising we would all like to be able to tackle. -- AJM

Page prepared 5 May 1999