Book Storage

[denverd0n]

Originally Posted by ViribusUnitis

We have basicly a whole room in our current house set up for books.

That would be called a library. 100 years ago the homes of the well-educated quite often included a library.

Originally Posted by ViribusUnitis

What are good recomendations for storing books on a boat?

In a word, don't. Yes, it is possible to setup some way of storing a few of your books onboard so that they won't get too damaged too quickly. But you are not going to be able to take anywhere near all of them anyway, and the ones you do take are going to suffer from the experience, even if not too terribly. If you really CARE about your books, a boat is simply not the place to keep them.

The best options are to find a friend or family member who will keep your books in the manner that they ought to be kept, or to rent a climate-controlled storage unit and store your books there.

As others have made clear, nowadays an e-book reader is the smart way to carry books onboard a cruising boat.

[Svdestiny]

E readers are great for recently released books and the classics. My tastes run to older, esoteric, and frequently out-of-print books so I have quite a few on board our 34 ft Morgan.

It's quite the challenge....I find there's a certain Darwinism at work, only the strong survive. I frequently cull my selection to allow new additions but sometime nature (leaks, "rogue" waves) does it for me. I have found that If wet, many (not all) books will dry out in the sun if you catch it in time. Dri dek works well to provide ventilation. And of course, taking them out and reading them keeps my books healthy.

[Vasco]

We went to e-readers a few years ago. Got two Kobos. No more smelly books. The beauty is that I can borrow books from the Toronto Public Library which has tons of e-books. Do this from anywhere with an internet connection. The books are good for 21 days and then magically disappear. I usually read a book every other day when cruising so no more scrounging books or looking for book exchanges.

[Wanderlust]

Most of the responses here seem to be based on fiction books, and for these the answer is easy ... electronic readers or swap paperbacks when ashore. I usually only read fiction books once, so once read, they can go, and there is no need to allocate much storage space for them.

But what about reference books or other non fiction books? A cruiser's library would typically have quite a few of these. They are often expensive and may not be available electronically, or the transfer to electronic media is not good. I have the same dilemma as the OP .... too many to keep onboard, and for those that I do, how do I keep them in good condition?

My solution is not ideal, but seems to work OK. For storage, I wrap a few at a time in plastic and put them in smallish plastic boxes in underfloor compartments. The boxes are not airtight, but the plastic wrap seems to keep them OK. Long term or special books would need something better.

I just have to compromise on what I can bring onboard versus leaving at home.

[denverd0n]

Originally Posted by Wanderlust

But what about reference books or other non fiction books? A cruiser's library would typically have quite a few of these.

This may be the very BEST use for an e-reader. There are very few of them that are not at available in some electronic format, and instead of cluttering up your boat with a bunch of these you just keep all you need right on your Kindle.

[JPA Cate]

For those who find they want to store books on monohulls, your shelf should have a lip to stop the bottom of the book from moving, and a bar across about mid-height to help retain them when the boat heels. It is nice if they are under the deckhead, so cannot escape if the boat is rolled. As long as you have a dry boat, your books keep okay. If they get salt water on them, they may mold, curl, expand, smell bad, and even get damaged by book worms.

Ann

[colemj]

Originally Posted by Svdestiny

My tastes run to older, esoteric, and frequently out-of-print books

Do you know of Project Gutenberg? Free ebooks - Project Gutenberg

Mark

[Svdestiny]

Colemj. Yes I know them! But last I looked they don't have Herb Payson or Richard Henderson. That's what I mean by esoteric....not classics like Slocum, (or jane austen.) i bet that they dont have authors like Emma Lathen or Richard Lockridge either (but I'll check.)

My tastes seem to be unusual.

[Svdestiny]

Thread drift ... Anyone heard from Herb Payson or his wife? Is he still writing? Still sailing?

[chubby]

(if this was mentioedn a zillion times already. sorry...i didnt read thread)

but..
i just bought a well review industrial guillotine and then scanned all my books into PDF form using that high speed fujitsu scanner.

quick, relatively easy...and hellava portable.

now i have my entire library on all tablets, in all computers (and on online backup and timemachine)

[Cormorant]

This waterproof Kindle Paperwhite would be a fantastic device for boat life:

This Waterproof Kindle Paperwhite Is Humanity’s Greatest Achievement | TechCrunch

[Tom and Maje]

Or if you already have a Paperwhite, you can get a waterproof cover for it.

Maje