Most the damage that happens to boats occurs while the boat is on the shore or being taken too or from the water. A boat must fit the trolley it is on. It must be straight on the trolley and secured to the trolley to prevent it accidentally falling off.
Other hazards to boats on shore are overhead and seabed cables, As well as leaving your trolley above the line where the tide will come into.
The stowage of all the boats equipment is very important. First of all you should to a basic check for and worn out equipment and either mend it or report it to an apropiate person. This is so it wont spoil the next time the boat is used.
Single hander sails on a freestanding mast are normally just wound round and round the mast
Sails should be dried if wet then stored in a dry warm place so they don?t grow mould. The average sail costs £200 +. Sails need to be rolled.
Double handers have two sails the jib and the main sail.
The jib has wire sewn into the sail along the leading edge.
Starting at the top of the sail, coil the jib along the wire until you end up with a tube then roll the jib along the tube so that the ropes stick out the end, then secure the ropes round the cloth to make into a neat bundle.
The main sail is normally wrapped round the boom in training boats. The main sail isn't a flat triangle of cloth, it is a 3D curve, therefore it won't just wrap round the boom. You have to take a tuck up to the first batten then roll it. Securing it into place with the main sheet.
For a boat to sail as fast as it is able too the sailor must be applying the five essentials. The five essentials are
Sail setting
This is as it sounds. If your sails aren't pulled in and are flapping then they are not driving the boat forward so you aren't sailing as fast as possible
Balance
Trim
Trim is the back and front movement of the boat. If you sit right at the back of your boat the nose will lift up but the back will drag along in the water, likewise if you sit too far forward then the front will nosedive and dig in and slow you down. You need to sit as near to the centreboard as possible
Centreboard
The centreboard is there to stop the boat getting blown sideways. So when the boat is sailing towards the wind the wind has the greatest sideways force so we need the centreboard all the way down. When we go across the wind we only have 1/2 the sideways force so we only need 1/2 the centreboard down. When we go downwind the wind is behind you pushing you forward so you don?t need it to stop you going sideways so you can lift it all the way up.
Course Made Good
Basically means sailing the quickest route from A to B. Normally a straight line unless going to windward where you do 'zigzags'.
This is one of the most testing skills of sailing. Proberlly because it is most likely to happen when it is really windy.
Despite the many rules defined in the "International Regulations for Prevention of Collisions at sea" there will be time when you find yourself on a collision course with another boat which is not giving way as it should. 'Take early evasive action to avoid damage or injury which might result from a collision'.
All power craft are supposed to give way to boats under sail, and most do. However, some power craft are restricted in their ability to manoeuvre, and you should show courtesy to the power craft by allowing them sea room whenever possible.
The larger the large boat, the more true this is! For example, the crew of an oil tanker may not see a small sailing dinghy in its path. Even if sighted, the tanker would take a considerable time to turn or stop. It may be in a narrow deep water channel and unable to take avoiding action without running aground. The rules (and common sense) says keep clear.
A sailing boat is on a PORT TACK when the wind blows over the LEFT side of the boat (looking forward) causing the sails to set on the RIGHT side. The opposite is called a STARBOARD TACK. You may find it helpful to remember this expression
There's some red port left over
Red is the colour associated with the port side (channel marks, navigation lights etc.) The drink port is also red in colour. "Left over" refers to the wind blowing over the left side of the boat.
When two boats are on the same tack (both on port or both on starboard) the one nearest the source of wind must give way to the one furthest away.
This rule belongs to racing rules, but as courtesy, keep clear when overtaking a slower boat
Not everyone may know the rules governing the rights of way, although they should! Allow for ignorance, inexperienced and downright rudeness (sadly this sometimes happens) and leave yourself an escape route. Aim for the gap which is opening, rather than the one which is closing!
If you are sailing in coastal waters you are likely to see many different floating marks and coloured posts. As a dinghy sailor you only need to know about a few of them so as to make an educated guess where other bigger craft are going.
Red cans. These are port markers and mark the left hand side of the deep channel going into a port
Green cones. Mark the starboard side of the channel going into a port.
Yellow buoys are generally racing marks and sometimes have a cross on them
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It is important to get a forecast before you go out in a boat so you know what to expect while you are out there. It?s the difference between an enjoyable cruise or an expensive salvage claim, between getting a suntan or being freezing cold and wet.
Where can we get a weather forecast from ?
Radio 4 broadcasts the shipping report 4 times a day and gale warnings are broadcast as soon as they are received. Inshore weather reports can be heard twice a day on Radio 3, and local radio stations are probally the most useful for dinghy sailors.
Most ITV and BBC channels provide weather reports around news time. There is also Navtex which is available to everyone who has teletex on their TV. A general overall picture can be seen as well as specific areas.
Forecasts and up to date weather reports are available for all sea areas by phoning either marine call or weather fax. These reports are very detailed and accurate but all calls cost 50p a minute and the reports on the phone are read out at normal speed and it is very difficult to write down all the details
There are hundreds of sites that provide weather. The main one is the met office at Bracknell, where up to date reports and charts are provided free for anyone with the right equipment to download.
All national papers carry weather charts but these are normally out of date as they were printed at least 24 hours ago.
The harbour masters office will have a board outside where they will post the latest weather report. If you have a VHF radio you can call up the coastguard and ask for a weather report but they do broadcast them at regular intervals and wont be amused if you ask for a report 5 mins after they have just given one.
Why we capsize
Righting Technique
Stage 1
Stage 2 Stage 3 Stage 4 Stage 5 Stage 6 Things to Remember
Two separate services are provided on these lines, you can either get a 24 hour one or a 2-5 day report. These maps are drawn from the data collected from over 60 weather stations around the UK.
In edition to this anyone with a mobile can get the weather via a text message to their handset.
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