Motor / power boating & cruising – The Bell Bookshop

The narrowboat guide

Emma — Thu, 06 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0000

A fully revised and expanded edition of the only resource you’ll need for choosing, owning and maintaining a narrowboat.

The UK has over 2000 miles of navigable canals and rivers which are home to an estimated 35,000 licensed boats. Although canal boats can look much the same to the novice, there are some very important differences to be aware of. If you’re new to boating you have some important choices to make.

This comprehensive book examines the options available to different types of boaters. From those who choose to live aboard their boats and constant cruisers to fair-weather cruisers, hire boating and share boat syndicates – each will need a different type of boat if they are to fully enjoy their time afloat. Packed with case studies and advice from real boaters with years of experience to share, this second edition has been thoroughly updated throughout and includes new information on liveaboard costs and considerations, eco-friendly boating options, shared ownership and tax-free boat building, as well as:

– The cost of boating
– Choosing the ideal boat for your boating profile
– Buying a boat and the legalities of purchase
– Choosing suitable internal fittings and features
– Heating, lighting, toilets and hot water options
– Boat electrics and solar power
– Finding a mooring
– Boating health and safety
– Locks, swing-bridges and the boating ‘highway code’
– Boat maintenance
– Boating etiquette and best practice

Channel Coast of France

Emma — Thu, 26 May 2022 00:00:00 +0000

‘a very useful companion for anyone planning a trip across the Channel’ – Sailing Today

Make the most of your time ashore with Adlard Coles Shore Guide to the Channel Coast of France

With the sailing behind you, you’ll be looking to explore your destination, asking questions such as: How far to the nearest shops and where are the places to eat? You’ll also need help to solve practical problems, such as finding fuel, repairs and laundry facilities. Once you’re fed and watered, what is there to see and do, and how can you keep the family entertained? You need a different kind of pilot book and this guide is the answer.

Packed with beautiful photographs and practical information on local facilities, places to visit and hidden gems within reach of the marina, Adlard Coles Shore Guide to the Channel Coast of France will steer you towards the essentials and pleasures that can be easy to miss along this alluring coastline. Find out where you can taste the sweet onions from Roscoff that are so good you can eat them like an apple, or try the to-die-for croissants in a bakery just inside the city gates of St Malo, as well as where you can sample Normandy cheese, washed down with Normandy cider or Calvados, of course.

Paul Heiney, a hugely experienced sailor, journalist and author, describes the marinas, big and small, worth visiting as well as the welcoming harbours to explore. Written especially for sailors planning their cruises, this hand-sized travel guide is the perfect resource for anyone cruising this coastline.

The Boatyard Book

Emma — Thu, 02 Sep 2021 00:00:00 +0000

The Boatyard Book is a practical, comprehensive reference manual that provides sensible, accessible advice for boatowners on planning and carrying out annual maintenance, repairs, upgrades and refits of sailing yachts and motorboats, up to 20 metres in length. Beginning with all the information owners will need to care for their boat, including how to budget and plan tasks to be done through the year, The Boatyard Book goes on to help them choose the best boatyard for their needs, then provides essential how-to reference material and ideas for a comprehensive range of projects large and small to be carried out ashore. There’s advice and tips from highly respected boatyard owners, specialists and surveyors, as well as from the author’s own 25 years’ experience of boat ownership, all fully illustrated with step-by-step photos and illustrations. Topics covered include:- laying up – hull and deck care – mast and rigging – sail care – engines – electrics – maintenance of plumbing and gas systems – more complex projects, including re-wiring a boat, overhauling an engine, how to treat osmosis and how to go about a complete refit. This is a book to be kept at the yard, or on the boat, and used time and time again by those who are either happy to keep things ticking along with the minimum of effort or by those who want to get stuck into bigger projects.

Farewell Mr Puffin

Emma — Thu, 08 Jul 2021 00:00:00 +0000

‘It would be hard to imagine a more thoughtful, intelligent and companionable person to go to sea with than Paul Heiney.’ Bill Bryson‘High comedy on the high seas. Informative and warm and freezing. It’s quite a combination.’ Griff Rhys JonesThe writer and broadcaster Paul Heiney set sail from the east coast of England bound for Iceland, propelled by a desire to breathe the cool, clear air of the high latitudes, and to follow in the wake of generations of sailors who have made this often treacherous journey since the 13th century. In almost every harbour he tripped over maritime history and anecdote, and came face to face with his own past as he sailed north along his childhood coastline of east Yorkshire towards the Arctic Circle.But there was one major thing missing from this voyage – the sight of puffins. They are remarkable birds, uplifting as a ray of sunshine after a storm. To see them and share their waters was also part of Heiney’s ambition. Imagine then his disappointment when, first, no puffins appeared off the Farne Islands, then none to be seen on puffin hotspots like Orkney. When he failed to see puffins on Iceland, Heiney still held out the hope that he would see the ‘joker of the seas’.With inspiring travel writing, social and maritime history, and good-humoured reflections on his sailing journey, Heiney brings us this delightful book – a love letter to the puffin, to Iceland and the north, and to the pure pleasure of being at sea.

The canal guide

Emma — Thu, 04 Mar 2021 00:00:00 +0000

This attractive guidebook shows off just how rich our waterways heritage is. This fully updated new edition highlights 55 of Britain’s most beautiful and interesting canals, with new photography, updated text throughout and a new ‘places to visit’ feature for each canal (picking out 3 places within walking distance, and another 3 slightly further away). In each of the 55 chapters, Stuart Fisher gives a lively background to the history, wildlife and pubs alongside each waterway, as well as a handy map and useful information for visitors.

Through the beautiful cities of London, Bath and Oxford, traversing stunning countryside and national parks, and exploring some of the best Victorian engineering and industry, this book is an inspiring and thoroughly enjoyable read, as well as a perfect resource for anyone thinking about a day out or holiday along Britain’s wonderful canals.