In World War II, aboard the aircraft carrier
Saratoga, Captain Robert Beebe dreamed of one day retiring and cruising the world in a small boat. At that time world cruisers voyaged exclusively in sailboats. But sailboats are confined to narrow lanes of predominantly favorable winds, which can be unpredictable and difficult. Beebe wanted to arrive at distant ports relaxed and on time, not battered and two months late. He wanted to voyage under power.
Back in the 1940s, no suitable long-distance powerboats existed. Beebe literally had to invent modern powerboat voyaging from scratch. The design parameters he developed for long-distance powerboats are still in use by naval architects today. The resulting boat, Passagemaker, was home to the Beebes for many years and more than 60,000 ocean-crossing miles. What Beebe learned in those years of voyaging became, in 1974, , still the most important and influential book ever published on long-distance powerboating.
Now, under the able pen of world cruiser Jim Leishman, Beebe's classic Voyaging Under Power has received its first complete overhaul. The core of the book is vintage Beebe; his designs, his research, and his wonderful cruising stories remain intact. What's new are details of the advances of the intervening years: electronic wizardry for navigation and communication; efficient new engines that wring more miles out of a gallon of diesel fuel; active roll-prevention devices that virtually eliminate seasickness; propeller nozzles and bow thrusters that improve maneuverability and ease handling for short-handed crews; bulbous bow extensions that improve speed, fuel economy, and sea-keeping ability. There's an all-new section featuring the work of other designers, including George Buehler, Jay Benford, James Krogan, Jeff Leishman, Nils Lucander, Charles Neville, and Steven Seaton. Mrs. Beebe has thoroughly revised her original chapter on provisioning the long-distance galley, and there are several new chapters, including Inland Voyaging, which covers long-distance cruising on American inland waterways; Watch-Standing; and A Passagemaker's Machinery.
Voyaging Under Power is the definitive guide for those who yearn to expand their cruising horizons, and cross oceans with speed and comfort.
Captain Robert P. Beebe was a boy in the Philippines when his father gave him his first boat, a native canoe. Boats and ships remained at the core of his life. His thirty-year career in the U.S. Navy spanned two wars. Between tours of duty he studied naval architecture, designed boats, and wrote many articles for boating magazines. After World War II he became interested in ocean-going motorboats. Years of research led to Passagemaker and her voyage three-quarters of the way around the world--and ultimately, to this book. James F. Leishman is an experienced ocean voyager in his own right. His firm, Pacific Asian Enterprises, builds some of the finest long-distance voyaging craft--power or sail--available anywhere.
