Tuesday, June 5, 2012

The Ultimate Guide To Sailing

By Kevin Arp


If you are planning to sail, you should have enough knowledge and skill to handle your boat on water. If you know how to twist your boat towards any direction, you would not have a problem handling your boat. Whatever the conditions at sea is, you have to be ready with your techniques and skills.

How to do Maneuvering

Essential techniques to maneuver are:

Techniques in Tacking

There is a technique called tacking that may be very simple for many, but one that is important to learn such as when to tack and how is it done. Technically speaking taking or coming about is when a sailing bells turns its bow across the wind in order to change the wind to the other side. When the helmsman says you have to perform a tacking maneuver the boat is steered to wherever the wind directs turning the bow of the boat.

Techniques in Gibing

You may need a little more experience in order to do gibing. Unlike other types of maneuvering techniques, this one needs everyone's effort and has to understand the instructions. This technique also needs to carry out their move properly at that specific moment when it is necessary. This is essential so that the boat will not capsize and the balance of the vessel is great while performing the maneuver. Also called a gybe or a jibe, this is when the vessel that is sailing at the wind's direction and good speed turns its strength through the wind so that the wind direction moves from one side of the boat to the other - the mainsail will then cross the center of the vessel to the other side. This will let the main sheet to be positioned in the right order and the wind will fill up the main sheet.

How to do Mooring and Docking

Another essential technique in maneuvering the sailboat is docking. Wind conditions like when it is too windy, ability of the boat to withstand challenges because of its features, whether it is low tide or high tide, the boats in the area where you are sailing - all of these affects how good you are in sailing.

If the harbor is clear and there are not much sailboats in the area, it might be the perfect time for your docking practices. Before you begin docking, you need to calculate your moves, consider the weather and look at the harbor scenario. Consider the wind when you think of docking. This will allow you to brake naturally if the maneuvering is not successful. The issue that goes when you are not careful with strong winds is that there might be some accidents that could happen when you move against other sailboats.

Presence of tides and tide movements play an important role in mooring techniques. Ensure that you have an adequate length of mooring line when tying up your boat. There are varying height of the high and low tide that could be from a few feet to forty feet. When you are not careful the boat will keep on swinging when you don't moor properly and the low tide is down.

When maneuvering to dock your boat, a short reverse would be sufficient to kill your forward momentum and thus, allowing you full control of your boat. Large boats or yachts usually have fenders that are hung over the sides during docking maneuvers. These fenders are essentially shaped like an oblong that are tied to the rails of the boat and hanging over the side. Whether you're docking or getting ready to sail, try to find out where the wind is coming from.

It would be sometimes wiser and easier to anchor your boat on a buoy rather than on a pontoon. One sure way to hook up to a buoy is to have your crew ready for it as you approach it from your bow. Your boat should be fastened to the buoy via your mooring cleat tied to the short length of the buoy rope. The buoy acts like an anchor since it is attached to a heavy block of concrete via a long thick rope.

This article is for people who just wants to educate themselves on how to maneuver a sailboat, dock it and moor it before deciding and finally stepping inside the boat ready to try his luck. Having the drive to study and learn the basic maneuvering essentials will help you become closer to your dream of sailing.




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