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 The Marlinsike Sailor to cult classic status when it was published in 1956.

With the addition of a section on synthetic rope in the 1970s, its popularity has continued undiminished to this day.

The Marlinspike Sailor 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 ropework and canvas work - the traditional arts of the sailor - and here this book has no equal.

For a rope mat, a rope ladder, a sea chest, a ditty bag, a canvas bucket, a mast moot, and the best-looking rope fenders or heaving line in the marina, this is the book of choice.

Author: Hervey Garrett Smith