Electrics Afloat
Review Date:
19/05/2002 Publisher: Adlard Coles Nautical, 2002 £ 19.99 .
Alastair Garrod was the competent illustrator of my 3 articles for PBO (1995/96) on the cat rig so I was a little surprised to find him the author of a book on electrics! However, he has also shown himself a competent journalist in Electrics Afloat.
He seems to have given himself an excellent course on marine electrics by soliciting the help of PBO’s Andrew Simpson and the seven electrical/electronic engineers he has credited in his ‘acknowledgements’. Alastair’s clear coloured illustrations accompanied by a plain english text make Electrics Afloat an excellent primer to electricity on a yacht. His coverage of battery technology, including keeping one charged, is particularly good, as is the chapter on AC power from Marinas.
As I read through the book, I thought what a wonderful textbook it would make for a course on Electrics Afloat. A subject every bit as important, for yachtsmen, as Diesel engines or RADAR, for which the RYA has already developed courses. - IG
