Boating Knowledge Base
Have a sailing question? Access NauticEd’s sailing and boating knowledge base, and gain in-depth answers to your sailing questions. If you’re interested in powerboating, visit our new powerboating blog.
Navigation Introduction
The history of navigation is fascinating and dates back to as many centuries as we can imagine.
Sailing Safety Equipment
There is a plethora of equipment specially designed for a variety of emergencies at sea. Some are inexpensive...
High Wind and Gust Management in Sailing
Professional sail trimmers deal with high winds and gusts by managing the traveler and mainsheet simultaneously. The fairlead position...
Air Flow over the Sails
Similar to steady flight, we've got to keep the air flowing over the sails smoothly...
Communications while Underway on a Charter
Contact between vessels, or a boat and a land station, is usually carried out using VHF (Very High Frequency) radios.
Types of PFDs
Types of PDF's Here is a graphical explanation between a lifejacket and a buoyancy vest. PFD Type ratings are being phased out...
Catamaran Maneuvering Mastery
As now learned, Cats can turn inside their own length, they can vector sideways, and using the bulldozer effect you can instantly rotate the Cat to point in any direction, you can do almost anything.
Seacocks – Getting Familiar with a Charter Boat
Seacocks are designed to let water flow out of the hull safely. They are not one-way valves so any loose clamps around the seacock itself create leaks around the hoses and can allow water to enter into the boat. This is usually bad – right?
Dinghy Safety!
When it comes to dinghy operations, the following is a dangerous attitude: “It’s only a short distance ashore—jump in...
Crew Safety Briefing
You can avoid many emergencies by conducting a proper safety briefing before leaving the dock.
Keeping the Telltales Flying Steady
As a sailor we are doing one of two things when it comes to sail trim, either holding a course or trimming to our sails...
Mooring a Sailboat
Mooring a vessel means attaching it to a float that is firmly and permanently anchored to the sea bottom.
Docking Force Alignment and Moment Balance
When you are docking, if your boat pulls on a line attached to the dock, the line pulls back on your boat. If the forces are aligned, then nothing really happens.
Crew Briefing Video
It is important to know how much experience your crew has before you embark on any sailing adventure. For our boat, we created a video walkaround introduction to the boat covering safety items and also just general items on how we want our boat looked after.
Clothing for Sailing
Dressing appropriately for weather conditions is an important but often overlooked topic. Weather in the marina may be considerably different from weather beyond the marina and conditions can drastically change during your venture.
Sailboat Design
Surely, the first sailboat was invented by a five-year-old child with a block of wood. He or she stuck a twig through a piece of animal skin and then down into a knothole in the wood.
Leaving the Dock – End Ties
Wind pushing you away from the dock - This is the simplest scenario. Once you are confident of your plan, release and stow dock lines, then allow the wind to push the boat clear of other obstacles.
Seasickness on a Bareboat Charter
Here is some education about sea sickness that can help you and your crew overcome it.
Maintaining a Lookout
The Rule Every vessel shall at all times maintain a proper look-out by sight and hearing as...
Understanding How Airflow Creates Lift
Understanding how Airflow creates lift and the need for smooth airflow when sailing...
Sailboat Diesel Engine Operation
As noted earlier, diesel engines are sturdy and highly reliable, and operating them today is straightforward.
Propwalk factors – The p factor
There are two combined reasons that work in unison to create propwalk.
Sailboat Inverters
Sailboat Inverters are devices used to convert 12-volt DC battery electricity to AC 110-volt or 220-volt electricity. Special electronics in
Key Sailboat Instruments
Sailboat Instrumentation can be very sophisticated and intelligent. Most electronic displays provide a wide range of menus of useful information...
