Boats are expensive and they are complicated-unless you are going to pay a professional to carry out a survey (at yet more expense) it is invaluable to be able to:

-Quickly assess a potential purchase for signs of trouble without paying for lengthy reports
-Carry out a detailed check on your own boat the end of the season
-Identify problems and get them dealt with before they get serious
-Get to know your boat in a lot more detail, so if a problem develops at sea you will be more able to cope

Organized into chapters covering: Tools of the trade (basic tools, moisture meters,...