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.
The Engine – Getting Familiar with a Charter Boat
While this is a sailing boat propelled by the wind and mostly without the need for burning fossil fuels the most devastating breakdown besides hull failure is the engine.
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.
Towing
The following diagram shows how you can tow another vessel. Form a “bridle” from the rear cleats...
Sailboat Diesel Engine Operation
As noted earlier, diesel engines are sturdy and highly reliable, and operating them today is straightforward.
Mediterranean Mooring – Long Line Ashore
The long-line-ashore is a useful Mediterranean mooring method. It is mostly used in the Mediterranean as a customary way of mooring a lot of boats along a shoreline.
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.
Basic Sail Telltale Control
Controlling the Telltales by Trimming the Sail. The concept here is actually pretty simple. The golden rule is, when...
Topping Up your Energy on a Sailboat
There are several methods to top-off your energy on a sailboat.
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.
Returning a sailboat to the Slip
Time flies when you are sailing. But sadly, the moment comes when you must return and put your vessel back in its slip.
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.
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...
Action by a Stand-On Vessel Nav Rule
Strangely enough, the written text for the action of a Stand-On vessel is longer than that of a Give-Way vessel.
Latitude and Longitude
The latitude and longitude coordinate system is the key navigational concept for sailing. It is the mariner’s coordinate system.
Action to Avoid Collision
When you reach the section on who is responsible to give way to whom - in certain circumstances...
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.
Sails
Sails are sophisticated objects. It is not only the materials they are made from that are important, but also, the way they are cut and sewn.
Using Multiple Anchors
There are occasions when more than one anchor will add safety and comfort. One possibility is to use one or two anchors...
Sail Trim
While setting the sails to general rules of thumb will get you really close to a good sail set,
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.
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.
Communications while Underway on a Charter
Contact between vessels, or a boat and a land station, is usually carried out using VHF (Very High Frequency) radios.
