Chapman - Chapman Piloting & Seamanship

From its first edition in 1917, Chapman has been a book for dreamers as well as doers. The dust jacket of the 1964 65 edition features a photo of a chart spread out on a desk. Dividers and parallel rules lie on the chart, ready for someone to plot out a coastal passage. In the background are a model square-rigged ship and a globe showing the Americas and the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, suggesting that a mariner could go anywhere in the world with this book and the right boat. Chapman then looked like what it was and still isthe doorway to a magic kingdom.

As it happened, 1965 was the year that Charles F. Chapman met with Elbert Mack Maloney in New York City and convinced Mack to take over the writing, organizing, and updating of Chapmanwhich Mack did for the next 42 years. In 2007, Mack stepped back to a consulting editor role but remained the indispensable member of the Chapman team. He was there to welcome us in 2012 and advise us in the preparation of the 67th edition. Nine years later, we are proud to be links in an unbroken chain stretching back to the first edition of Chapman more than 100 years ago. Notwithstanding the occasional confusions of two Johns and a Jon in a team of three (Whos on first?), working on this book is a rare privilege.

Preparing this edition amid a global pandemic has given us ample time to reflect on the role of boating in modern life. Our conclusionfrom statistics, anecdotal evidence, and what we see on the wateris that boating is thriving. And why not? Its an outdoor pursuit offering the freedom of waterborne exploration, the health of the open air, and family fun that can be enjoyed by children and grandparents alike. As an antidote for confinement, it has never been more relevant and enjoyable. Maybe thats the reason for an unprecedented increase in boat sales in 2020, as people took to the water for a form of recreation that places a premium on independence and self-guided adventure.

From stand-up paddleboards to sail-powered hydrofoils and jet-powered, joystick-controlled powerboats, boating is more varied than ever. Who knows what new trends will be in the wind for the 70th edition? We are glad that Chapman is here to ensure that seamanship and navigation knowledgewhat mariners call sea senseis available to a new generation of sailors and power-boaters. We know that boaters will continue to advocate for clean waterways and environmental awareness, as they always have. And we think its not just possible but likely that Chapman will still be the indispensable boating resource 100 years from now.

It is only fitting that Mack Maloney should have the last word. His preface to the 67th edition ended like this: Following in the true Chapman tradition, this edition remains clear, thorough, and always comradelya book designed to help you and everyone on board your boat stay safe, have fun, and become skilled as a boater. Above all, I wish you as much joy from your boating years as I have had from mine.