New boaters and old should have two books in their carry-on bag: Dockmanship by David Owen Bell, and the Boater's Pocket Reference by Thomas McEwen. Dockmanship covers how to dock (and undock) under almost every situation. The Boater's Pocket Reference contains all the reference material needed 99 percent of the time; boat design, knots, nav rules, trailering, conversion tables, mechanical, electrical and weather, to name a few.

– William Case