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.
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).
Boat and Equipment Emergencies
The character MacGyver in the TV show of the same name would have made a great sailor. Why? Because he could fix anything and a boat is a concoction of a kajillion gadgets busting to rot...
Rigging
At boat shows, we see folks huddled down in the vessel’s salon oohing and aahing at the leather cushions to sit on, and at the electronic gadgets for navigation and entertainment.
Seasickness on a Bareboat Charter
Here is some education about sea sickness that can help you and your crew overcome 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?
Dual Rudder Monohulls
When a monohull sailboat has dual rudders, the boat will act with different characteristics than with a single rudder. Thus, the point of this module is to help you maneuver a dual-rudder monohull sailboat.
Air Flow over the Sails
Similar to steady flight, we've got to keep the air flowing over the sails smoothly...
Terms Port – Starboard – Forward – Aft
In discussing sail trim, certain terminologies must be understood and so we are presenting a few basics to get you started
Lights on ATONS
Lights are installed on some ATONS. The lights are usually alternating on and off on some consistent interval to distinguish one ATON from another.
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!
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.
Docking onto End Ties
Wind blowing you off the dock end ties, plan a fairly steep approach so that you are facing more into the wind.
Leaving the Slip with a Sailboat
Wind coming into the slip channel and your boat is stern-to. This is best handled by steering out of the slip and then immediately downwind. Back out of the slip channel and well into the main channel before engaging forward.
Sinking
A boat sits down in the water until it has displaced the same weight of water as the weight of the boat. It is a universal arrangement between boat and water...
Sailing Vessel Preparation
Sometimes it is a good idea to get nasty stuff out of the way first as well as prepare your boat and crew.
Mediterranean Mooring with an Anchor
Another factor when Mediterranean Mooring with an anchor is that the wind direction determines who is in control...
Diesel Raw-Water System
Raw-water means that the water is straight from outside the boat. It might be seawater - it might be
Typical Boat and Battery Wiring Schematic
Here is a typical wiring schematic of how your batteries are connected into your boat and charging system.
Mast Head and Fractional Rigging
There are two variations on the standing rigging set up: Masthead and Fractional. On masthead rigs, the attachment point for the sidestays (shrouds), forestay, and backstay (if they exist) is at the top of the mast.
Getting Familiar with the Charter Boat
Prior to releasing the boat to you, the charter company will give you a reasonably extensive walk through the boat.
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...
