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.
Seamanship Nav Rules
Navigation rules refer many times to good seamanship, The best advice we can give here around seamanship is to get experience...
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.
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!
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...
The Job of a Sail Trimmer
Sail trimmers in world-class regattas spend years reading and understanding the wind relative to the sails. Sometimes they trim the sheets only a few inches/cm...
Electric Windlass
An electric windlass is a powerful electric winch that greatly helps in the lowering and raising the anchor.
The Nautical Chart on a Charter
Even though most sailboat charters are within island groups where the next landfall is typically within sight, every boat should be equipped with complete large-scale charts of the area.
Charter Freezer and Fridge Management
Freezers are typically top-loading and very deep. Take from home 4 -5 fabric shopping bags to stow similar items in the freezer. In doing this you...
Sailboat Mooring Procedures
The procedure for tying to a mooring is theoretically very easy. You simply motor up and using a boat hook, grab the float and attach to it to your boat. It sounds simple but you will see many dismal failures when watching others try it.
Sail TellTales
"Telltales" attached to the sail in strategic positions to "tell" us what the wind is doing at that exact location.
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.
Boat Safety Sound Signals
Sound signals are defined and prescribed in the Navigation Rules for International and Inland Waters. Sound has an advantage over light signals, in that it can be used when vision fails.
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...
Anchoring Courtesy
After safely and securely anchoring your vessel, there are certain factors to contend with - most are common sense.
Sailboat Battery Charging
Like a water bucket, batteries have a specific storage capacity and must be refilled/recharged when their contents of energy are depleted.
Narrow Channels and Traffic Separation Schemes
Rules 9 and 10 deal with narrow channels and traffic separation schemes, and mainly refer to larger commercial traffic...
Aids To Navigation (ATONS)
Aids to Navigation include buoys, lights, lighthouses, and markers, among others...
Standing Rigging
To keep the mast from toppling over, an array of rods, cables, ropes (lines), and wires are attached at various spots on the mast and run down to the bow, stern, and sides of the vessel.
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.
Generators on a Charter Boat
Some charter boats have generators. These are small diesel engines that convert fossil fuel to DC electricity that is stored in the battery banks and AC electricity that is used to run the air conditioning, microwave, and AC outlet plugs around the boat.
Galley Stove on a Charter Boat
The vast majority of vessels in charter fleets are equipped with propane-burning galley stoves.
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.
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 Safety Equipment
There is a plethora of equipment specially designed for a variety of emergencies at sea. Some are inexpensive...
