Boating Knowledge Archives

Boat Safety Sound Signals

October 25, 2023/by Grant Headifen

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.

Sailing Vessel Preparation

October 25, 2023/by Grant Headifen

Sometimes it is a good idea to get nasty stuff out of the way first as well as prepare your boat and crew.

Navigation Tools

October 25, 2023/by Grant Headifen

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…

Non-Electronic Communications

October 24, 2023/by Grant Headifen

Sailing has been around for thousands of years. Electronic Communications has been around for less than 100 years (not counting the telegraph).

Sailboat Solar Power

October 24, 2023/by Grant Headifen

Solar panels produce DC power and are used to charge the batteries. A relatively small solar panel such as 1 square foot (0.1 m2) can produce about 1½ amps at…

Sailboat Design

October 24, 2023/by Grant Headifen

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.

Using Spring Lines for Docking

October 24, 2023/by Grant Headifen

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.

Anchoring is not simply throwing a “hook” and letting out a line. However, after watching some sailors, this seems to be their theory. Successful anchoring requires a plan considering all the factors.

Rigging

October 24, 2023/by Grant Headifen

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.

Sailing and Wind Forces

October 24, 2023/by Grant Headifen

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?