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.
Risk of Collision when Sailing
The Rule of Risk of Collision is that every vessel shall use all available means appropriate to the prevailing circumstances...
Typical Boat and Battery Wiring Schematic
Here is a typical wiring schematic of how your batteries are connected into your boat and charging system.
Clouds, Fog, Thunderstorms
Clouds can give a relatively easy and quick look at what might be coming in the future. These clouds then are a good indication of possible changing weather in the next few days.
Sailboat Design
Surely, the first sailboat was invented by a five-year-old child with a block of wood. He or she stuck a twig through a piece of animal skin and then down into a knothole in the wood.
Safe Speed Nav Rule
The Rule Every vessel shall at all times proceed at a safe speed so that she can...
Some Navigation Rules Terminology
Understanding Navigation Rules begins with learning some basic Navigation Rules terminology...
Sailboat Running Rigging
A sailboat’s running rigging consists of those items controlling the sails and helping the sails to capture the wind’s energy.
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.
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.
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...
True Wind vs. Apparent Wind
Learn the basic difference between True Wind and Apparent Wind...
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.
Mediterranean Mooring with an Anchor
Another factor when Mediterranean Mooring with an anchor is that the wind direction determines who is in control...
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...
Water and Water Making on Bareboat Charter
Aboard, drinkable water is indeed a limited supply - very limited.
Seamanship Nav Rules
Navigation rules refer many times to good seamanship, The best advice we can give here around seamanship is to get experience...
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.
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?
Securing Your Sailboat
It is convenient to have dock lines that are pre-set to the right length with loops on the end and are permanently mounted onto the marina cleats. Now, when you return to the dock you simply slip the loops over your vessel cleats.
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
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...
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...
