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.
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...
Tacking and Gybing Maneuvers
Tacking when you want to sail in a direction to exactly where the wind is coming from— guess what—you can’t! The best we can do is to follow a zig-zag course by sailing at about 30 to 40 degrees off the wind...
Personal Flotation Devices
The terms “life jacket” and “PFD” are interchangeable, with the latter used in the USA and the former used in most of the rest of the world.
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.
Air Flow over the Sails
Similar to steady flight, we've got to keep the air flowing over the sails smoothly...
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.
Crew Overboard
Crew ("Man") Overboard (MOB) is fortunately relatively rare, but chances are that in your sailing career it will happen.
Sailboat Generator or Large Battery Bank?
Dedicated electric generators on board sailboats are usually only reserved for large sailboats because of their weight and size. Unless there is a desire for large amounts of electricity...
Starting the Engine – Getting Familiar with a Charter Boat
Regarding the starting procedure, we’re assuming that since you’re actually commanding a sailboat you pretty much know how to turn the key and all the other safety precautions.
Diesel Fuel
The search, discovery, refinement and resource control of fuel has a rich and very sordid history. But just like...
Vessels in Restricted Visibility
What is the safe speed at night, in fog? As safe as it needs to be under good seamanship.
Narrow Channels and Traffic Separation Schemes
Rules 9 and 10 deal with narrow channels and traffic separation schemes, and mainly refer to larger commercial traffic...
Operating the Engine – Getting Familiar with a Charter Boat
Many modern sailboats are equipped with integrated engine throttle and transmission shift systems; called the push-pull cabling system.
Using Prop Walk
You can use prop walk to turn your boat in a tight marina by applying forward and reverse gears at appropriate times, leaving the rudder locked to starboard.
Sailing Directions
Directions are super important because while sailing, you will always be in communication with others regarding directions of obstacles, wind changes, your destination, water current, and other boat traffic.
How to Transport a Boat After You Buy It
Learn how to transport a boat after you buy it with three effective methods that fit your budget and experience level.
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.
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.
Kids on a Sailing Charter
If you're considering a charter and considering taking your kids - DO IT.
Electricity and Charging Your Devices on a Charter
It’s a given, we can’t live without electricity. At home, we have all the conveniences and all the chargers we need. But what about on a boat on a sailing vacation? What can I charge and what voltage is available?
Typical Boat and Battery Wiring Schematic
Here is a typical wiring schematic of how your batteries are connected into your boat and charging system.
Winged Sail Vector Diagrams
Sail and Winged Sail Wind Force Vector Diagrams. And it's highly relevant right now because of the America's Cup AC45 catamarans using winged sails.
Galley Stove on a Charter Boat
The vast majority of vessels in charter fleets are equipped with propane-burning galley stoves.
Advanced Catamaran Maneuvering – Using the Rudders
There are some other cool things you can do when you consider the propeller thrust over a Catamaran's rudders.
