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.
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.
Diesel Raw-Water System
Raw-water means that the water is straight from outside the boat. It might be seawater - it might be
Electric Devices and Standards
A word of caution whenever using any home AC appliances on a vessel. Generally, these devices will work fine
Fishing on a Charter
Bring a fishing rod and reel with a 20 lb break strength line. Even if you’re not typically a fisher, few things in life are better than catching a fish for your crew, cooking it, and serving it that evening. It will increase your hero status.
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.
Maintaining a Lookout
The Rule Every vessel shall at all times maintain a proper look-out by sight and hearing as...
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...
The Nautical Chart
Safely maneuvering a vessel while using positions derived from various coastal and near coastal sources is called coastal navigation.
Mooring a Sailboat
Mooring a vessel means attaching it to a float that is firmly and permanently anchored to the sea bottom.
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...
Prop Walk Bests You
There is one situation where you are just going to have to suck it up, admit defeat, and work with the forces of nature.
Weighing Anchor
“Weighing the anchor” simply means raising it. If raising the anchor is to be done by hand...
Sailboat Diesel Engine
Thanks go to Mr. Rudolf Diesel who years ago in Germany cleverly invented an engine that today bears his name (luckily, they chose to use his last name)—the sailboat diesel engine.
Docking Maneuvers with Dual Rudders
With Dual Rudders there is no ability to spring the boat onto or off the dock! You have no water velocity over the rudders from either boat velocity or propwash.
Lifts and Knocks in Sailing
Lifts and Knocks are technical terms for how the direction of the wind changes, requiring changes in how you respond while sailing...
DC Electrical System on a Charter Boat
Batteries power the 12 Volt DC “house” electrical system. There may be one or several batteries linked together to supply power...
Bilge Pumps on a Charter Boat
Boats have two types of pumps to empty bilge water; electronic and manually operated.
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.
Towing
The following diagram shows how you can tow another vessel. Form a “bridle” from the rear cleats...
Sailboat Battery Usage
Batteries are a vessel’s major source of power for many essential functions both when in the slip and while sailing.
Sailboats vs Sailboats Nav Rules
Sailboats On The Same Tack The Rule 12 a(ii) when both have the wind on the same...
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?
Dock Slips Docking Techniques
Wind coming into the dock slip channel and your boat is to be docked stern-to, steer into the slip channel...
Momentum on a Sailboat
While sailboats are primarily powered by wind, the use of an engine (technically your sailboat engine is “auxiliary power”) is crucial for certain maneuvers and situations. All of this begins with understanding the momentum of a sailboat!
