| CHAPTER I. |
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| Preliminary Hints to an Amateur with Ambitions Toward Owning a Boat—Why He Ought Join a Yacht—Club Handiness of the Cat-Rig | [15] |
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| CHAPTER II. |
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| The Choice of a Boat—Advantages of Stationary Ballast and a Centerboard—How to Avoid Being "Done" in a Boat Trade—Bargains at the Navy Yard—The Way to Cure a "Nail-Sick" Craft | [22] |
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| CHAPTER III. |
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| Trial Spin in a Cat-Boat—How to Get Under Way, Beat to Windward and Run Back, with Instructions How to Act if Caught in a Squall or Stranded on a Shoal, and How to Avoid Collisions and Come to Anchor | [28] |
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| CHAPTER IV. |
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| Advantages of the Yawl-Rig for General Cruising Purposes, especially when "Single Handed," with a Description of a Representative Craft—Disadvantages of the Ballast Fin for All Purposes Except Racing—The Fin in Model Yachting Years Ago | [37] |
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| CHAPTER V. |
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| The Popularity of the Knockabout as an Excellent Cruising Craft, with Some Observations on the One-design Classes from Schooners to Dories | [55] |
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| CHAPTER VI. |
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| Keep Your Weather-Eye Open All the Time When Afloat—How to Handle a Boat in Heavy Weather or a Summer Squall—The Use of the Sea Anchor in Riding Out a Gale, and How Shipwreck May Be Avoided by the Judicious Use of Oil | [65] |
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| CHAPTER VII. |
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| Overhauling the Yacht—Practical Instructions for Cleaning and Painting the Craft Inside and Out, with Hints on the Care of Hull, Spars, Canvas and Running gear | [88] |
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| CHAPTER VIII. |
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| Fitting Out for a Cruise—Hints on Equipping and Provisioning a Boat so as to be Prepared for All Emergencies—A Sailor's Solution of the Culinary Problem—Hot "Grub" in a Gale | [115] |
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| CHAPTER IX. |
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| Beating to Windward—The Theory and Practice of Sailing a Vessel Against the Breeze | [128] |
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| CHAPTER X. |
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| Combination Rowing and Sailing Boats—The Jib and Mainsail Sprit, Leg-of-Mutton, Cat, Balance Lug and Sliding Gunter-Rigs—The Folding Centerboard | [140] |
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| CHAPTER XI. |
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| Rigging and Sails, with Some Impartial Remarks on the Lanyard and the Deadeye, as Opposed to the Turnbuckle—Standing and Running Gear, and the Bending and Setting of Canvas | [155] |
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| CHAPTER XII. |
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| Laying Up for the Winter—Practical Suggestions for Protecting a Boat and Her Gear from the Stress of Our Inclement Climate—A Plea for Trustworthy Skippers and Engineers | [168] |
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| CHAPTER XIII. |
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| Useful Hints and Recipes, with Some Remarks on the Buying of a Binocular Marine Glass, from the "Brain-Pan" of a Practical Sailor | [175] |
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| CHAPTER XIV. |
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| The Rule of the Road at Sea: Being a Digest of the Present International Regulations for Preventing Collisions on Oceans and in Harbors | [185] |
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| CHAPTER XV. |
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| The Mariner's Compass, with Remarks on Deviation, Variation, Leeway, etc. | [192] |
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| CHAPTER XVI. |
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| Charts, with Some Hints as to Navigation by Dead-reckoning—Lead, Log, and Lookout | [203] |
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| CHAPTER XVII. |
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| Marlinespike Seamanship: Being Practical Instructions in the Art of Making the Splices, Knots and Bends in Ordinary Use | [207] |
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| CHAPTER XVIII. |
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| Weather Wrinkles from the Scientific Point of View of Professional Meteorologists and also Jack Tar | [217] |
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| CHAPTER XIX. |
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| Sea Cookery for Yachtsmen | [223] |
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| CHAPTER XX. |
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| Nautical Terms in Common Use, from which all Obsolete and Antiquated Terms, such as were in use aboard the Ark, have been eliminated | [236] |
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| Addenda—Recent Changes of Sail Plan and Rigging in Modern Craft | [248] |