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 Types of Sailing Charters
There are two types of sailing charters; captained and bareboat. The captained charters have a professional captain on board to navigate and operate the vessel, and usually...
Sails – Getting Familiar with a Charter Boat
We’re pretty certain here that you know how to operate sails on a sailboat, however – chances are that you’re chartering a boat much bigger than you’re normally used to.
Sailing to a Mooring Ball
Sailing up to a mooring ball is an advanced skill. It will definitely prove your finesse for handling the boat and managing the crew.
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!
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...
Getting the General Feel of Maneuvering a Catamaran
Some have compared maneuvering a catamaran with driving a bulldozer. Well . . . perhaps!
The Fuel System – Getting Familiar with a Charter Boat
While it is reasonably rare to have a fuel problem on a charter it can certainly happen and you should be prepared to apply the (sometimes simple) solution below.
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...
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...
Diesel Raw-Water System
Raw-water means that the water is straight from outside the boat. It might be seawater - it might be
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.
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...
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.
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.
Sail Trim
While setting the sails to general rules of thumb will get you really close to a good sail set,
Water and Water Making on Bareboat Charter
Aboard, drinkable water is indeed a limited supply - very limited.
Action by a Give-Way Vessel
The Nav Rule Every vessel which is directed to keep out of the way of another vessel shall...
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.
DC Electrical System on a Charter Boat
Batteries power the 12 Volt DC “house” electrical system. There may be one or several batteries linked together to supply power...
NED Sailing Simulator
Before you play with NED, the sailing simulator, read this first. The graphic below is representative of a real wind meter on...
Basic Sail Telltale Control
Controlling the Telltales by Trimming the Sail. The concept here is actually pretty simple. The golden rule is, when...
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.
Holding a Straight Course in Sailing
Holding a straight course is an imperative skill to master as you learn to sail. As an experienced sailor, nothing is more distracting to a good day out sailing than a novice helmsperson swinging the boat in all directions.
