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.
Starting the Diesel Engine
Prior to starting the diesel engine: Become familiar with how and when a vessel’s transmission gear shift...
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...
Heave To
Heave To in sailing is a way to stop the boat with full sails still up. You might do
Waves, Swells, and Depth
Since waves are primarily the result of surface wind action, they can be accurately predicted. Waves have troughs and crests.
Bilge Pumps on a Charter Boat
Boats have two types of pumps to empty bilge water; electronic and manually operated.
Learning sailing while on a Yacht Charter Vacation
Learn to sail while on vacation with the Instructional Skipper Program. Gain real-world skills and practical experience in beautiful destinations.
Using Spring Lines for Docking
A spring line is just a dockline that is placed strategically from the boat to the dock to help maneuver and turn the boat in place - get it safely into the dock or safely away.
Basic Telltale Control continued
Controlling the telltales by making course adjustments - when making the woolies fly by making course adjustments the rule is...
Anchoring Rode and Scope
To hold a sailboat, the anchor must naturally be attached to the vessel. This is accomplished by using “rode,” which is either all chain or a combination of rope (nylon line) and chain.
Propwalk – The Wash Lift effect
The wash-lift effect has been documented heavily by Dave Geer who is one of the worlds leading propeller engineers.
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.
Crew Overboard
Crew ("Man") Overboard (MOB) is fortunately relatively rare, but chances are that in your sailing career it will happen.
Fairlead Control
The fairlead is the first control device that the jib sheet passes through on its way back to the cockpit. You can move the fair lead forward or backward.
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 Gear and Throttle Controls
Sailboats, and boats in general, use their gears and throttle to control momentum. It’s unlike driving a car in that you have no brake! Instead, you use your forward and reverse gears and throttle to both increase and decrease speed...
Navigation Introduction
The history of navigation is fascinating and dates back to as many centuries as we can imagine.
True Wind vs. Apparent Wind
Learn the basic difference between True Wind and Apparent Wind...
Deploying the Anchor
It is important that the person deploying the anchor and the helmsperson are in agreement about the anchoring plan first. Discuss the placement, the direction, the depth, the desired scope, and the setting plan.
Diesel Raw-Water System
Raw-water means that the water is straight from outside the boat. It might be seawater - it might be
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.
Know Your Chart!
Always familiarize yourself with any chart before using it for navigation and plotting of positions; there are significant differences between charts that could lead to mistakes.
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.
Typical Boat and Battery Wiring Schematic
Here is a typical wiring schematic of how your batteries are connected into your boat and charging system.
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...
