Boating Books Make Great Gifts

Stumped on gift-giving ideas? If you know a boater, boating books or magazines make great gifts that will be enjoyed for years to come. Here are few literary ideas for the boater in your life:

• Chapman Piloting and Seamanship - the leading reference for boaters and sailors for over 100 Years. I recommend that every boater owns and reads a copy of this book to learn all there is to know about boating.

• Boating Magazines - These are my top five boating magazines. A magazine subscription makes a great stocking stuffer and will provide boating information month after month for a whole year.

• Coast Guard Navigation Rules - The official Coast Guard Navigation Rules, Inland and International. This book should be kept aboard a boat as a handy reference for the sailing and steering rules, lights and shapes and sound signals essential for safely navigating the waterways.

• An Embarrassment of Mangoes - My top pick for casual reading, especially for cruisers. This delightful book chronicles Ann Vanderhoof and her husband Steve's two year cruise in the Caribbean aboard their 42-foot sailboat, Receta - which means recipe in Spanish. Ann loves to cook, and shares recipes that she picks up from Caribbean natives they befriend among the 47 islands they visit.

• The Essential Book of Boat Drinks - A collection of boat drinks and frozen concoctions inspired by Parrot Heads, this is a great little book to have around when friends from two slips down the dock come calling.

• My First Picture Book of Boating Words - This little book is a perfect way to teach small children about boats and subjects common to the water. Suitable for children under age five.