The Marlinspike Sailor

Hervey Garrett Smith was the foremost marine illustrator of the 1950s and 1960s, and his wonderful drawings of traditional ropework quickly propelled @lt;i@gt;The Marlinspike Sailor@lt;/i@gt; to cult classic status when it was published in 1956. With the addition of a section on modern, synthetic rope in the 1970s, its popularity has continued undiminished to this day. It teaches a few basic knots--the bowline, sheet bend, and rolling hitch, among others--and splices in three-strand and braided rope. But its real business is decorative rope and canvaswork--the traditional arts of the sailor--and here it has no equal. For a rope mat, a rope ladder, a sea chest, a ditty bag, a canvas bucket, a mast boot, and the best-looking rope fenders or heaving line in the marina, this is the book of choice.