We love marine books at Practical Sailor, but we recognize their shelf life can be limited. After you’ve read, enjoyed and absorbed, they might sit on a bedside stand, then migrate into a yard sale, a swap bin or a discount remainder pile. This sad fate was scarcely envisioned when talented writers put pencil to paper and started scribbling. Exceptions to this dismal trajectory are the fine, helpful guides penned by Dan Spurr and Doug Logan, former editors of Practical Sailor who have written marine books of lasting value.
Along comes Christopher Birch, out on a circumnavigation with his wife aboard their Morris 36, who has authored a book that’s more Swiss Army knife than literature. But I will wager his 200-page, eight-by-eleven page-turner will be a welcome addition to your boat’s kit for years. More of a ratcheting screwdriver or a box wrench than a book, Birch’s Bible will be sitting in your nav station or tucked in a shelf over your berth, ever ready to yield its secrets.
It’s the kind of book that invites both a quick skim and a deep dive. You can sink yourself into a chair with a drink and open it on any page and find something interesting and useful. Sailors are inveterate list-makers, and Birch has translated this predilection into valuable, actionable lists organized by the seasons.
Built on Experience
Birch comes to the task honestly. At the age of 16 he founded Birch Marine, a boat maintenance and repair business located on Long Wharf in Boston. He built his business by offering quality service, and that began with an eye toward efficiency that Birch calls “the ordered approach.” He is a contributing editor at SAIL Magazine.
What’s Inside
For instance, you’ll want to wax the topsides before you paint the bottom. Do the reverse and you’ll find out why. All his checklists in “Four Seasons” are built on simple, “do this, then that” axioms that offer detailed checklists, parts lists, tools lists and even sub-sections called “Pro Tips” where he might delve into the mysteries of your smelly head, the weird list that’s sullying your waterline, or why your bilge pump is running unbidden.
Spring commissioning gets top billing and begins with the proper way to remove and dispose of shrink-wrap (we’re in the weeds here, right where we should be), and he spends a lot of time with prepping the bottom for paint. You’ll read admonitions like, “Never leave any masking tape on overnight—anywhere, ever.” He even offers advice on setting out dock lines and fenders for boatyard staff prior to launch day.
Hard-Earned Knowledge
You can land anywhere in “The Four Seasons of Boat Maintenance” and pluck out good advice. Some examples:
- “Before launch, double-check to be sure the quarter gallon of bottom paint, along with its accompanying brush, glove, and $20 bill, is under the boat, waiting for the yard crew to paint the block spots on the bottom of the keel once she’s up in the slings.”
- “If you struggle to fully scrub away a bird dropping, you might be pleasantly surprised to see that same spot washes clean easily after sitting in the sun for a week. Give the sun a shot at solving the final remnant of a bird problem before ramping up to more aggressive soaps that will be hard on your wax finish.”
- “I have tons of varnished brightwork on my boat, and I spend forever tending to it. Fortunately for me, this is something that I enjoy doing. My number one piece of advice is, do it right or do nothing at all. There is no shame in stripping the varnish off the exterior teak trim of your boat and leaving it as bare wood to age to gray in the sun and salt, just like you would with a teak deck. “
You could buy this book just for the Safety Checklist on page 167 and get your money’s worth.
Bottom Line
The reason I like “The Four Seasons of Boat Maintenance” is the eternal nature of the work Birch has undertaken. This is not a book that will molder on a shelf or get discarded in the recycling. It will live with your ship’s papers, owner’s manuals, wiring diagrams and other arcana and be ready to go work when you are.
It’s as good a stab I’ve seen at getting to the true heart of the “how” of moving across that tumultuous boundary between sea and sky. As Christopher Birch so aptly puts it: “Ninety percent of seamanship is maintenance.”
“The Four Seasons of Boat Maintenance”
by Christopher Birch
Eagle Seven Maritime Press
Eaglesevensailing.com
$37, paperback
