Reference Companions

A compact, handy summary of all you need to know when cruising; the perfect reference guide to keep onboard. From lights, shapes and sound signals to knots, ropes and engine troubleshooting, this practical companion covers everything the skipper and crew need to know – or find out quickly – when cruising. With diagrams and illustrations throughout, this quick reference guide will help to keep you safe when out at sea.

A compact, handy, on-the-water reference guide containing all the essential information about keeping your marine diesel engine running for when you need it most: the perfect quick reference guide to keep onboard. The book covers the parts of the engine and has checklists for monthly, weekly and daily checks. It outlines what to do if the engine won’t start, or stop, if it overheats or there are problems with the fuel system. It tells you about servicing, the electrics and winterisation.

This is a handy, quick reference guide to boat electrics. It covers formulae, tools, anodes, protection, multimeters, soldering, AC power, testing, wiring, batteries, connections and power consumption. This little companion serves as a great reminder of crucial information. It is laminated to stand up to frequent use and serves as a useful aide-memoire that will fit into your jacket pocket.

This concise book covers most of the first aid emergencies you will come across afloat, including drowning, unconsciousness, external bleeding, immersion, hypothermia and more. This little companion is laminated to stand up to frequent use and serves as a helpful aide-memoire that will fit into your jacket pocket

This companion contains every calculation you need for coastal and offshore navigation. It includes all the frequently needed (but often forgotten) equations and formulae you need afloat. Each topic is followed by a worked example to show you how it should be done, and line drawings help you understand the process. 

This book tells the navigator how to find out where they are and how to proceed to their destination. Navigation is one of the cornerstones of cruising and this book covers the essentials for easy on-board use.

This is your guide to writing a clear, easily understood, logical passage plan. Topics covered include routing, pilotage, points of departure, landfalls, weather, tides, currents, safe havens, lights, communications, watch keeping, safety, rations, fuel supplies, stowage for sea, and crew briefing.

This pocketbook is designed as an aide-memoire with checklists to make life easier for busy skippers and a must-have reference for first-time skippers. It should also prove an invaluable reference book for the RYA Yachtmaster syllabus. The book has been helping skippers for nearly 20 years and has now been edited and thoroughly updated by Yachtmaster Instructor and Examiner, Sara Hopkinson. (RYA and Yachtmaster are registered trademarks of the Royal Yachting Association.)

This is probably the most comprehensive book written as a guide to learning the rules of the road. The layout is very easy to follow, the reader can study at their own pace, and you seem to learn the subject with little effort. This book should be on every sailor's book shelf, and is an ideal present for any seamen you know.

It sets out to de-mystify electronics used in navigation, which are now widely accepted as tools of small-boat navigation. Covers radar, chart plotters, echo-sounders, log and compass.

All mariners need a comprehensive knowledge of the buoyage rules and should be able instantly to identify a mark at first sight

Each card shows a flag of the International Code in colour on the face, with the signal letter or number and the meaning of the signal flag on the reverse. The phonetic spelling of the letter is also shown, making the set doubly useful.

n extremely useful set of cards which makes a difficult subject much easier. Each card shows a vessel's display of night-time navigation lights (in colour) or daytime shapes, as seen from your position. In the case of the cards showing lights the vessel's silhouette is just discernible. The meaning is shown on the back of the cards as usual. This set has been a "best seller" for over 20 years because learning the lights and shapes is a major part of a mariner's study and without Flip Cards it's not easy. 

36 cards showing the Morse symbol, both letters and numerals, with the back of the card giving the meaning. Also in the set is a useful instruction card. For those mariners needing a knowledge of Morse these Flip Cards have proved to be a quick and simple method of learning and checking.

These cards show the view forward from the deck of various vessels (power, sailing and fishing) of developing traffic situations at sea. In each case the mariner has to decide the correct course of action to navigate his vessel through the hazard. The reverse of the card gives the proper course and also quotes the relevant collision rule. 

This pack of Flip Cards illustrates the signals made by ships at sea, and covers lights, fog signals and the usual distress and search and rescue signals. They differ from the Lights and Shapes cards in that they show signals rather than navigation signs. The meaning is shown on the back of the card as usual.

Every boatowner needs to manoeuvre their boat in harbour - whether in their home marina or when visiting another marina along the coast. And it's when entering or leaving harbour that good boat handling skills have to be faultless - otherwise expensive damage can ensue.

Learn to Navigate has been the bestselling introduction to navigation for almost 20 years. With its refreshingly new approach, it introduces the basics in non-technical language, and takes the reader through each step with explanatory illustrations, chart extracts, screenshots and photographs. It is the ideal handbook for anyone wanting to learn the elements of navigation and how to put them into practice on the water.

Bryan Willis’ Racing Rules Companion is the invaluable pocket reference guide to the essentials of the racing rules, updated for the latest 2021-2024 Racing Rules of Sailing.  Every racing sailor should have a copy! It will build their knowledge and make them more confident on the race course. 

The Reeds Skipper's Handbook, now in its 6th edition, has been a bestseller since first publication 20 years ago. Now for the first time, here is the Reeds Crew Handbook for skippers to hand to new and aspiring crew. It will give them all the essential knowledge they need to undertake the tasks traditionally handled by crew aboard any size of yacht

All boaters need to have a repertoire of reliable knots and splices they can call upon in many situations, both on board and at the dockside. This handy pocket guide, part of the bestselling Reeds Skipper's Handbook series, is a quick aide memoire for experienced sailors, but also provides novice sailors with all they need to know to master the most useful knots and splices they will need on a regular basis when going to sea.

Every yachtsman or motorboater has at some point entertained the idea of catching their own supper, but until Sea Fishing there hasn't been a book to guide them through it. This unique handbook fills the gap.

Stress-Free Engine Maintenance is an accessible and practical guide to understanding what is going on with your boat's engine, how to look after it, spotting the signs when all is not well, and how to fix it. Learn how to change a filter and impeller, how to ensure the engine doesn't overheat, and much more.

The book covers the basic introductory elements clearly and simply for novices, and progresses through more advanced techniques for experienced navigators, so that there is something for everyone, whatever their skill level. Diagrams, quick-reference tables and flowcharts, explanatory step-by-step photographs, box features, top tips and QR codes – giving access to explanatory videos – are all features that have been much appreciated by readers of Duncan's other top-selling titles.

The only handbook devoted to splicing today's ropes, this bestselling reference covers every kind of splicing project a boater will ever need. Featuring step-by-step illustrations and explanations for the most useful and popular splices in traditional twisted and modern braided ropes as well as wire

This is a selection of the best practical articles from the pages of Yachting Monthly magazine, and will help sailors at every level. Each chapter deals with a specific skill and is highly illustrated with step-by-step photos, ranging from dropping anchor to planning a passage, and from sailing harmoniously with your partner to using onboard electrics. There’s advice on fixing an engine to recovering a casualty from the water – and much more!

The ideal companion for anyone new to sailing, or those looking to remind themselves of the essential skills. Written in a friendly and approachable way, it assumes no nautical knowledge and uses diagrams and photographs to demystify the art of sailing.