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.
Sail Trim
While setting the sails to general rules of thumb will get you really close to a good sail set,
Good Captainship
Being a good captain on a bareboat charter is a real skill. It is very unlike being a good captain on a military or commercial ship or even a captain in a local yacht race.
Head-on Nav Rules Situation
The Rule (a) Unless otherwise agreed when two power-driven vessels are meeting on reciprocal or nearly reciprocal...
Heads on a Charter Boat
You don’t need trouble with the waste system, especially when on vacation.
Risk of Collision when Sailing
The Rule of Risk of Collision is that every vessel shall use all available means appropriate to the prevailing circumstances...
True Wind vs. Apparent Wind
Learn the basic difference between True Wind and Apparent Wind...
Names of Thingys in Sailing
There's a lot of terminology in sailing, and to get started with sail trim we recommend beginning with some key sailing "thingy" terms.
Charter Local Area Familiarization
Once you’ve arrived at the charter base, the company will give you an extensive briefing on the local area, where to sail, where not to sail, and they’ll also give you a recommended route to take for the time that you have allotted.
Wind
Winds can be gentle, hardly felt, like zephyrs flitting about in a local area, or they can be vast movements of air moving swiftly across oceans and continents at low and high altitudes.
Boat Safety Sound Signals
Sound signals are defined and prescribed in the Navigation Rules for International and Inland Waters. Sound has an advantage over light signals, in that it can be used when vision fails.
Helpful Hints about Wind
Since the existence of wind is the primary reason we can sail, it is prudent to know all we can about it.
Sailboat Solar Power
Solar panels produce DC power and are used to charge the batteries. A relatively small solar panel such as 1 square foot (0.1 m2) can produce about 1½ amps at...
Sailboat Wind Power Generators
Wind-power generators are typically installed only on ocean-crossing vessels, where the vessel is away from the marina for extended periods of time and where there is a need for conserving onboard fuel.
Motor Sailing
If the wind is light and your time is short you might want to consider motor-sailing—using your auxiliary engine...
Sailboat Diesel Water Systems
Diesel engines run hot because of high compression and therefore need to be cooled. Fortunately, ample cooling is readily available from the water the vessel is sailing in.
Sails – Getting Familiar with a Charter Boat
We’re pretty certain here that you know how to operate sails on a sailboat, however – chances are that you’re chartering a boat much bigger than you’re normally used to.
Sails
Sails are sophisticated objects. It is not only the materials they are made from that are important, but also, the way they are cut and sewn.
Sailboat Battery Usage
Batteries are a vessel’s major source of power for many essential functions both when in the slip and while sailing.
Sailing Personnel Emergencies
As the skipper of a vessel, you are expected to be able to handle situations thrust upon you at a moment’s notice. Many of these situations are boat-related issues, but there are also crew injury issues for which you should be prepared to assess and handle at least enough until professional assistance arrives.
Action by a Give-Way Vessel
The Nav Rule Every vessel which is directed to keep out of the way of another vessel shall...
Understanding How Airflow Creates Lift
Understanding how Airflow creates lift and the need for smooth airflow when sailing...
Anchoring Basics
Anchoring is not simply throwing a "hook" and letting out a line. Although by watching some sailors this seems to be their theory. The best way to approach anchoring is to dissect it into a series of individual steps.
Non-Electronic Communications
Sailing has been around for thousands of years. Electronic Communications has been around for less than 100 years (not counting the telegraph).
Diesel Fuel
The search, discovery, refinement and resource control of fuel has a rich and very sordid history. But just like...
