This book offers information on how to select, outfit, and operate a boat for coastwise cruising or long-distance voyaging. "Stapleton's Powerboat Bible" is the equivalent of talking with dozens of experts: naval architects, boatbuilders, maintenance and repair professionals, dealers and brokers, bankers, insurance agents, plus experienced powerboat owners, and skippers. For more than thirty years, Sid Stapleton has traveled all over the world in a wide variety of powerboats and motor yachts. The accumulated wisdom he presents in this book will make your voyage a relaxing adventure instead of a nerve-racking, expensive ordeal. With "Stapleton's Powerboat Bible" you get practical, no-nonsense information on: shopping for, buying, financing, and insuring the right boat for you; choosing the equipment you need, from GPS receivers to water makers and anchors to medical kits; navigating and communicating; boat handling in routine and emergency situations; seamanship in coastal waters and offshore; long-distance and international voyaging; and, much more. "Stapleton's Powerboat Bible" will prepare you for the challenges and excitement of the cruising life. 'Sid has written a much-needed book for anyone who is buying a boat and wants to go cruising' - Bruce Kessler, West Marine's Passagemaker of the Year for his powerboat circumnavigation, 1990-93. 'Don't even think of buying and outfitting a powerboat for long-term cruising until you've read this book' - Milt Baker, trawler yacht liveaboard and founder, Bluewater Books & Charts. Sid Stapleton has been a powerboat cruiser and marine journalist for more than three decades. In 1993-94, he and his wife, Anne, made a 15,000-mile voyage from Maine to Alaska via the Panama Canal in American Odyssey, their 49-foot Grand Banks motor yacht.