You probably know the rules of thumb. Something like 7:1 scope if you’re staying overnight, 5:1 if you’re just there for a few hours. But where do these rules come from, and what if you can’t lay that much scope – say you’re up against the shore line, or the swing radius is too big. I took an engineering approach to calculate what scope you actually need, depending on the relevant variables.
As we’ve seen, a sailboat cannot sail directly into the wind. The “no-go” zone covers approximately 45° on either side of the wind, so how does a sailboat move toward a desired point that is located upwind? The answer is by tacking back and forth on a zigzag-like path. While Read more…
You don’t need to be an Eagle Scout to sail. There are entire books written on how to tie knots for everything from baiting a fishing hook to decorating your living room. Fortunately, there are a handful of knots that you can learn that will cover just about any situation Read more…
Maybe you’ve heard the phrase “It’s not like driving a car. It’s like driving a boat.” If you sail a few times you will understand exactly what that means. You might even start using the phrase yourself after you see how perfectly the analogy applies to so many real life Read more…
One of the most beautiful and majestic experiences in sailing is using the spinnaker, also known as the “chute” or “kite.” You may have had the chance to see a picturesque ocean horizon filled with the colorful teardrop shapes of distant spinnakers. If so, it will be tough to resist Read more…
Larger, more stable boats that have a keel tend to keep you fairly dry under most conditions. If you should choose to sail on smaller boats from time to time for practice or the occasional thrill, there are a few special tactics that you’ll need to know. For our purposes, Read more…
Sail trim refers to the various means by which the sails are configuration to harness power from the wind. Sheeting Angle As discussed earlier in the section on wind forces, the primary variable used to control the sails is the sheeting angle, which in combination with the boat heading controls Read more…
The best way to deal with strong winds is to avoid sailing when winds are dangerously strong, as discussed earlier. However, if you do find yourself in high winds, you will need to reduce sail area to prevent the boat from being overpowered. Reefing is the process of lowering the Read more…
On a cruiser, the sails are typically down at the dock and they stay down until the boat is at sea. Of course, if you have no motor, the sails must be used to cast off, but we’ll discuss that later. For now, we’ll assume that the boat is out Read more…
Motors and Propellers A motor drives a boat by turning a propeller which displaces and redirects water underneath the boat. Much like our earlier discussion of wind aerodynamics, this movement of water creates forces that are reacted by the boat, propelling it through the water. The movement of the propeller Read more…