There is a discussion going on in the Technical Forum about self-steering methods and gears. Very interesting too. There have been several mentions of Bill Belcher's book - the other Bible. I tried to buy a copy recently, from a NZ outfit that has the copyright. The people who printed the book, Boat books (crew@boatbooks.co.nz) said:
Hi Annie,
Unfortunately the book is now out of print and we have no plans to reprint at this stage.
We have 1 copy in our own library and you are welcome to peruse it if you are ever in Auckland but it is no longer for sale.
We do buy and sell second hand books and I am happy o contact you if we ever get a copy.
Kind regards,
Marianne Bosman
I pointed out that the book is for sale for squillions of dollars on both Amazon and Abebooks, so some people are prepared to pay for it. (Even at squillions of dollars, it's still a lot cheaper than going out and buying a self-steering gear off the shelf.)
This was in September 2013 and they haven't come back to me. I suggest we contact these guys and ask if we can digitise the book. If they jump up and down squealing, we could offer to act as a conduit for selling it, if they will run a reprint. Or offer to buy the copyright. They surely can't be so dog-in-the-manger can they? Or can they?