In 2003 Paul met with the RYA to discuss
writing the RYA Powerboat Handbook for them. At that stage the RYA had
just started its RYA Handbook series and the stable included just the
RYA Navigation Handbook and the RYA Weather Handbook. Paul had
already written for a number of magazines for some while and was asked to
propose the structure of the book and produce a sample chapter. In about May
2003 the RYA signed Paul up to write the book. The deadline for the text was
October 2003 so the race was on, as he was travelling a lot at the time pretty
much every night in a hotel and most weekends were taken up writing the text.
The struggle was never what to write so much as how to write very little to say
lots.
Any good book in this market is only as
good as the images and this is where this handbook comes into its own. Paul
sketched out all of the images for the book so that they linked directly to the
text. He then met with Pete Galvin the illustrator who the RYA had decided would
artwork all of the images. As anyone who has seen the book will agree Pete did
an amazing job and managed to bring to life in an attractive and vibrant way
such difficult to draw subjects as using springs to bring a boat alongside and
helming a craft with twin engines. With this in hand the next job was the
photos. Paul produced a list of about 100 photos that were needed and agreed
with the RYA that he would take about 60% of them. Many hours were spent
photographing boats (mainly at out home base at Cobbs Quay) and a few on water
photo shoots arranged to fill in the gaps, manufacturers supplied some images
and local chandlers and engine dealers provided kit for some of the photos.
The German translation of the book
The text was submitted on time in
October and the process of reviewing and refining Pete's work, choosing and
sourcing photos continued well into 2004. The text was reviewed by a mixture of
Jon Mendez, Paul Mara, Simon Jinks and Phil Williams-Ellis at the RYA for
technical accuracy and to give an 'alternate perspective' and was artworked in
about mid 2004. It was then sent to a different artwork company to be further
improved resulting in just missing the 2004 Southampton Boat Show. All was
ready for London 2005 though and in January 2005 the book launched.
The book was well received by the
boating press and received some very good write ups across a number of
magazines.
Many of the images, a number of photos
and some of the text have gone onto be used in the RYA's most recent
powerboating publication Start Powerboating by Jon Mendez. Start
Powerboating focusses on boating handling and the RYA courses up to and
including Level 2 and is a direct replacement for the RYA Powerboat Practical
Course Notes. It too is available from the RYA website or Amazon.
As Paul would agree writing the book was
hard work but great experience and huge fun. Would he do it again? - we think he
would!!
The Original RYA Press Release reads as
follows:
The new 'RYA
Powerboat Handbook' is the latest title in the RYA's best selling handbook
series. Encompassing the expert knowledge that has made RYA training courses
revered worldwide the 'RYA Powerboat Handbook' is essential reading for anyone
who goes day-cruising in a sportsboat, day-fisher or RIBs.
The handbook provides easy to follow instruction on how to launch successfully,
berth, boat handling at low and high speeds, navigation and other essentials
such as weather, rules of the road, and how to recover at the day's end.
The 'RYA
Powerboat Handbook' is written by Powerboat Trainer,
Paul Glatzel
who has been passionate about the water since his teens. Paul runs a powerboat
school in Poole (www.powerboat-training-uk.co.uk)
provides a valuable source of training information via his contributions to
www.powerboat-training.co.uk
and he also writes for Sportsboat & RIB Magazine.
With a forward by 6 times world powerboat racing champion Steve Curtis the book
already has the stamp of one powerboater. Curtis said "No matter what type of
powered craft that you use, RIBs, fast planing craft, dive boats, fishing boats,
or a boat for waterskiing, you need training and knowledge and this is where
this book comes in. It will prove to be not only a perfect learning tool but an
invaluable reference.
If you have any comments on the book,
questions that you would like answered or for that matter have a book you want
written then feel free to contact us on the number below
Regards
Paul & Viv Glatzel & the 'Team'
