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.
Sailboat Diesel Engine Fluids
Diesel engines make use of a variety of fluids, including raw and coolant water, diesel fuel, and lubricating oil. A problem in the flow of any one of these fluids can cause problems...
Sailing to a Mooring Ball
Sailing up to a mooring ball is an advanced skill. It will definitely prove your finesse for handling the boat and managing the crew.
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.
Sailboat Engine and House Systems
Perhaps the most important use of DC power on a vessel is for starting the engine. Considerable power is needed for this task and if the engine does not start immediately...
Weather Warnings
Weather services will also provide weather warnings, such as small craft or gale warnings for a certain area, as well as fog predictions.
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.
When Turbulent Flow Happens in Sailing
An airplane stalls and falls out of the sky when the wings stop producing as much lift, similar to when turbulent air flow happens in sailing...
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.
Maintaining a Lookout
The Rule Every vessel shall at all times maintain a proper look-out by sight and hearing as...
Springing a sailboat On and In
Coming up to a Tee-head is more the situation where you need to spring on. The need for accuracy in your maneuver is heightened when the space is tight.
Sailing Wind Velocity & Direction
The faster the boat sails into the wind, the more the apparent wind speed increases and the more it feels like it is coming from the front of the boat. They say "The apparent wind is forward of the true wind". This means the apparent wind feels like it comes from a more forward direction than the true wind.
Mediterranean Mooring Techniques
Mediterranean Mooring Techniques is where the rubber meets the road—or, in this case, where the gel coat does not touch the big bad hard concrete wall.
Vessel Lights and Shapes
Nighttime can be a beautiful time to sail. However, night vision is not the same as day vision and so rules have been established to ensure safety.
Galley Stove on a Charter Boat
The vast majority of vessels in charter fleets are equipped with propane-burning galley stoves.
Mast Head pull heeling versus wind heeling
Takeaways: Standing rigging isn’t the place to economize—it’s a load-management system. Use stretchy docklines for masthead pulls, avoid shock loads, and apply smooth, steady pressure. Snatch loads break rigs.
Securing Your Sailboat
It is convenient to have dock lines that are pre-set to the right length with loops on the end and are permanently mounted onto the marina cleats. Now, when you return to the dock you simply slip the loops over your vessel cleats.
Navigation Tools
No matter the chart in use, the navigator’s work largely involves the determination of direction and distances. The most useful tools for actual chart work are...
Sailing and Wind Forces
A sailboat moves in upwind and downwind directions. Downwind is intuitive; it just gets blown downwind. But just how does a sailboat move into the wind?
Selecting an Anchoring Spot
Selecting an Anchoring Spot - Charts, both electronic and paper will tell you where the reliable anchoring spots are.
Best Angle to the Wind when Sailing
Here's a diagram to show you what "degrees off the wind" means. Sails, unlike wings, get their shape from the wind pressure against the fabric....
Why Anchor?
There are many reasons for anchoring your boat...
Unfurling or Raising the Sails
You have motored your vessel from the slip into open water and are now ready to either unfurl or raise the sails, depending on your setup.
Plumbing and Tankage – Getting Familiar with a Charter Boat
A diaphragm pump below directs flow from the water tank(s) to various faucets throughout the boat. You'll always begin a charter with full water tanks but understand that water conservation is still required.
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.
