A Guide to Life Rafts, Their Equipment, Storage and Deployment
Jan 21, 2015 · By Administrator · On January 21, 2015. Here’s the first part in a two part series on life rafts: Nationally known safety-at-sea expert Chuck Hawley gives us a comprehensive guide on life rafts, their equipment and care…. Life rafts are designed to keep the crew of a vessel alive for a short period of time after the vessel becomes ...
Calculating the True Wind and Why it Matters
May 9, 2017 · There are several ways to define the wind. For weather work at sea we care only about the true wind. This true wind is the speed and the direction of the wind relative to the fixed earth under the ocean. Tied up at the dock, we feel the true wind. Once we get underway, however, our own motion changes the wind we feel, and then it is called the ...
Heaving-To: a Useful Maneuver Worth Practicing
Aug 26, 2015 · Simply put, heaving-to is a maneuver used to slow a sailboat’s progress and calm its motion while at sea. When successfully “hove-to,” a sailboat will gently drift to leeward at a greatly reduced speed. The reasons for heaving-to are numerous and often situational. When teaching students the maneuver, I impart the three Rs of heaving-to ...
A Guide to Equipping Your Boat with a Windvane
Sep 10, 2015 · A Guide to Equipping Your Boat with a Windvane. By Administrator · On September 10, 2015. Daniel Collins provides a summary of the major choices involved in the purchase of new self-steering gear. A common piece of equipment found on the modern offshore cruising sailboats is the autopilot. Whether it is an electronic unit, a windvane, or both ...
A Guide to 10 Great Blue Water Boats | Cruising Compass
Mar 27, 2024 · A Guide to 10 Great Blue Water Boats. Every veteran cruiser has his or her list of favorite cruising boats and, because cost is often an issue for many sailors, a lot of those boats will fall in the under-40-foot category. There are certainly many sweet designs under 40 feet that range from the venerable Crealock 37 to the futuristic Outremer ...
How to Splice Your Double Braid Lines | Cruising Compass
Sep 15, 2015 · Now you’re ready to splice. Step One: Marking the Cover (fig: 1,2) Measuring and marking the cover and core is absolutely essential to getting your splice to work correctly. Using a fid that is the same diameter as the line, measure one fid length from the end of the line and make your first mark (Mark A).
Rustler 42 | Cruising Compass - Blue Water Sailing
Sep 6, 2018 · Rustler 42. The Rustler 42 is a classic looking yacht with moderate height to the topsides, a sweet sheerline, pleasing overhangs and a long, wide and low cabin top. The Rustler 42 adds a performance element to other essential blue water attributes like directional stability, stiffness and good load carrying ability.
Choosing the Right Fabric For Your Sails: Part One
Aug 31, 2016 · The real advantage of a laminate, other than the fact that it’s a lot lighter and stronger for the same strength and stretch resistance as Dacron, is that you can use the fabric to build a radial sail, either a bi-radial or a tri-radial sail. This way you can use fabrics of different weights in the same sail.
Know Your Seabed Symbols for Safer Sailing Navigation
Jun 6, 2012 · Look at the second column at the bottom two abbreviations. Many charts show so or sft; h or hrd –alone, without a bottom type. Locate the closest bottom type within a mile. For example, if you see S within a mile of a hrd abbreviation, there’s a good chance the bottom consists of hard sand. An M would mean hard mud.
The Advantages of a Parasailor, a Modified Symmetrical Spinnaker
Jan 4, 2017 · When flying a spinnaker, one of the common problems is planting the bow of the boat. On the Parasailor, the wing provides lift which actually pulls the bow up. The wing also serves as a structural beam to support the sail and hold it open. If the winds die for a moment, the sail does not collapse as quickly as a normal spinnaker.