Questions tagged [sailing]
For questions related to wind-powered boats
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How many boats have been found encased in ice but still accessible?
I was watching National Treasure again today and the scene in which Cage and his team discover and explore the Charlotte made me curious. They find the ship buried under ice and snow, yet, though ...
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Lake Ontario boating restrictions near Darlington nuclear plant?
Are there any boating restrictions near nuclear power plants on the shore of Lake Ontario (Canada side)? For example, is there a law that says you should stay back a certain distance from Darlington ...
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Locations of origin for castaway on Papua New Guinea
I'm sketching a scene in a story involving a castaway washing up on the shore of Papua New Guinea. It would work best if he made an involuntary ocean voyage from a long way away, perhaps having been ...
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What do they call a rope for holding something in the context of the navy?
I am reading an entry in a French dictionary and translating it into English. This entry is “sauvegarde.” In a general context, this term is translated as “safeguard,” “protection,” or even “...
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What is the best way to plan an inland sailing trip?
I want to organise an inland trip (on the IJsselmeer) next year, but I have no experience in planning a trip however I have a sailing licence (so the sailing should be no problem). We are 5 people and ...
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automated system for detection of "problems" and waking up from sleep on a yacht at night
So I want to travel across Atlantic Ocean alone in my boat.
And I like to sleep good..8h if possible
My question is, is there an automated system, radar (or some vessel detection system) that can wake ...
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Sailing an age-of-sail sloop with 2-man crew
For writing a story, I'm trying to figure out if 2 people could crew an age-of-sail (15th/16th-19th century) sloop and sail it effectively. Various sources give various crew numbers for various types ...
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What do you do if you discover a leak in a sail boat?
I remember seeing the following question somewhere:
If you discover a leak, in what order should you do the following: A) notify the crew about the leak B) identify the source of the leak C) activate ...
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How long does it take to sail up the Mississippi?
The head of navigation of the Mississippi River depends on the type of craft and on the source you look at. For large oceangoing ships, it seems to be Baton Rouge, but otherwise, seems to be the Coon ...
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Free Online Text Books For Sailing
The FAA has a website to download free text books to learn all the things required to become a pilot. https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/aviation/
Is there a similar website ...
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Why is nautical navigation still exclusively taught with paper charts?
I have recently read some books and courses on nautical navigation. All of these start teaching how you use paper based navigation charts, and teach the usage of protractors and such. There is even ...
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Special trimaran design for extra power [closed]
First time posting on this particular forum so the usual about directing me to another stack exchange if applicable. I found most related questions to boats here, so I hope I'm at the right place.
I'm ...
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Why did Lewis and Clark use square rigged boats?
The best way to travel across wilderness with a lot of gear depends on the exact nature of the terrain; in particular, if it contains rivers, the best solution may be a boat. Lewis and Clark ...
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Why is sailing straight downwind considered dangerous?
I've been watching a video on learning to sail, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6DEToYI-7w&ab_channel=ClintonLakeSailingAssociation and much of it is clear, but it has left me with a couple of ...
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Is the head of navigation same for sailing and motorboats?
Rivers are often described as having a 'head of navigation', the furthest upstream point you can reach in a ship coming from the sea. Does this equally apply, regardless of propulsion method?
In ...
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Fix/patch a leaky through-hull fitting below the waterline
I have a small (21') sailboat with a bilge pump hose that outputs to a through-hull that, depending on the weight distribution in the boat, is sometimes slightly below the waterline (not a great ...
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True wind angle from true wind direction and heading
Is it possible to find a closed form formula to calculate the TWA (true wind angle), in the range [-180, 180), from the TWD (true wind direction) and the heading angle, both relative to north and in ...
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When driving a power driven vessel heading towards the port beam of another vessel underway what is the correct proceedure to pass on the stern?
This mock exam question from the hong kong marine department marksheet says option A is correct, however i think option A would cause a collision.
Refering to all of the materials i have, I feel this ...
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Please help identify this sailcraft
I live on the east coast of Australia, and we've had frequent flooding this year. We have a creek on our property and after our most recent flooding event we found this in our creek:
It's obviously a ...
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Passing Hull-down
(I previously submitted this question in its full form to Literature SE but later realized it most likely was not appropriate for this question)
In Joseph Conrad's short story Youth: A Narrative, ...
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How long to sail from the Yucatán Channel to Belize City?
In an approximately 90’ long, two masted topsail schooner how long would it take to sail from the Yucatán Channel to Belize City in July/August?
My best guesstimate, assuming an average cruising ...
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replace Sunfish flotation blocks
My sunfish got to be over two hundred lbs.I opened up the forward deck to find only expanding foam. No Styrofoam. I see pics of the Styrofoam but need the specs/dimensions of the Styrofoam. I have ...
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Drawbacks and advantages of using a trimaran instead of a monohull for sailing in the arctic?
Which would be the main advantages and drawbacks of trying to sail a cruising trimaran in summer from the Azores to the Arctic, well past Svalbard but not quite to the pole?
From the experienced ...
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Sailing rules within three boat length circle
When you are within the three boat length circle in a race, do other rules of racing apply? So, if two boats are within the circle, one boat has overlap, is on the inside, and is on starboard tack (...
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Help me interface these two nautical devices
I'm crew on a boat (wooden 8.5m from 1973) which has a GPS and a tiller pilot that seem to work fine separately, but don't seem to want to talk to one-another. My captain is adamant this combination "...
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Specific Chinese carabiner QA?
Several offshore sailors are considering the use of specific Chinese locking carabiners with personal tethers, to keep us attached in violent conditions. Specifically...
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/...
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How much heel is optimal on a small katamaran in low wind?
I am a novice sailor (at best) and natively German-speaking, so the question might contain incorrect use of sailing terms and further misconceptions - thanks for any pointers in comments.
In high ...
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What to do with a yacht when a stronger wind blast comes?
When you're sailing upwind (in close reach) and there comes a stronger blast of wind, how should a skipper behave?
One approach is to turn away from the wind because modern yachts are constructed so ...
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What is this protrusion on the bottom of the sailboat?
I recently acquired a sailboat and noticed a small protrusion under the starboard side of the hull in front of the keel. Does anyone know what this is?
The boat is a 1976 hunter 25. I have not put it ...
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What is head/lift indication in a digital compass on a sailboat?
A simple explanation would be great.
I am reading a manual for digital compass and there is a paragraph with the following words:
The SpeedPuck automatically detects when a sailor is trimmed to a
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Will a Sunfish mast and rigging fit any other dinghy models?
I find myself in possession of an extra set of everything Sunfish minus the hull. I was wondering if any of this gear would fit any other models of small craft, or if I absolutely need a bona fide ...
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What are the differences between boats and "ice yachts"?
A comment on a different question suggests that an ice yacht (or iceboat), a boat made for going over ice instead of through water, is not merely a water boat with skates strapped on for ice, but that ...
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What do the numbers on a sail boats sail represent?
Many but not all sailboats have numbers displayed on their sail, what do those numbers mean?
I am looking for a general answer, not one specific to the random example image below.
example image from ...
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Does "Ice Sailing" Count as Boating?
As seen in the picture, this sail boat is sliding over ice rather than sailing through water.
If I were to try this ice sailing, would I need to follow boating regulations?
This might not be the ...
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How to "pump" my sail to go upwind or when becalmed?
I see lots of mention on sailing forums about standing on the bow and "pumping" the sail on a sunfish or other small boat to get going under your own power. However, I can't seem to find any videos ...
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Beginning sailing
Assume I am completely naïve about boating concerns, that I know the following:
There are things that float and carry stuff across the water called boats.
A boat needs something to make it move. Some ...
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What should a beginner look for in a sextant?
I have an interest in sextants and how they work, mostly from reading the Horatio Hornblower novels.
I know that sextants are still sold, and while I am sure that are not nearly as precise as GPS is ...
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Contacting a yacht on IJsselmeer (Netherlands)
I'm going on a long sailing trip in Netherlands. I would like my family to be able to contact me in case of an emergency, but we'll be outside of mobile network range most of the time.
Along the ...
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How did/does shrinking canvas effect sailing ships?
When canvas gets wet and then dries, it shrinks. Sails get wet from rain and from spray, and it was even done on purpose to increase the speed of sailing ships.
For canvas tents, this has to be taken ...
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When a sailing ship is pursuing another upwind, why does the distance gained to windward matter so much?
In one of the Hornblower books,
"We're weathering on her" said Hornblower; his eye was aching with staring through the glass, and his arms even were weary with holding the telescope to his ...
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Is there a point at which one is committed to a tack?
In the same Hornblower story that inspired this question, Hornblower tricks the French captain by acting as if to tack, but stopping and swinging back. When the French try to do the same they are ...
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How do you determine the optimum time to tack?
In one of the Hornblower novels, he is being pursued by a French frigate on the first day of war.
During the chase, both the British and French ships are sailing upwind, and it is mentioned that the ...
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What is the purpose of being close-hauled when sailing upwind?
When referring to a sailing boats course relative to the wind there are some clearly defined terms like "beam-reach", which is exactly perpendicular to the wind. A broader range like "close-reach" is ...
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Do square-riggers also use 'aircraft-wing-style' propulsion?
These questions (one, two) about sail wetting/trimming raised another question for me. Disclaimer: I'm at best a novice sailor, and I've never sailed on a square rigger.
As far as I understood (see ...
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When trimming my sails, why would I want them to stand flat, versus having some belly?
The other day, this question (Why did wetting down canvas sails increase the speed of a sailing ship?) was asked regarding the historical practice of wetting down sails. The current answer quotes ...
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Why did wetting down canvas sails increase the speed of a sailing ship?
In some of the Horatio Hornblower novels, when they want to get the last bit of speed out of a sailing ship, the crew will wet the sails down in order to go faster.
For a real example consider,
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What's the hardest wearing multibraid rope type?
I'm looking to replace the line in a traveller on a catamaran and I need a very hard wearing sheath due to the nature of the setup. Is dyneema the way to go here?
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Sailing from the Wash, UK to France during World War II.
Would it have been possible to sail a small boat from The Wash, Norfolk, UK to Dunkirk in WWII? Could it be done in one go? If not, where would you stop en route?
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Is it legal to sail a personal-size boat in the ocean in Massachusetts during a thunderstorm?
When I was younger, during the late 1960's and 1970's, my Dad had a personal-size sailboat, called the Sunfish. He loved it because it was lightweight, easy to sail on his own, and had room to ...
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How to manage the sail of a sunfish when paddling?
The sunfish is a small sailboat with a lateen sail. Realistically you can not raise the sail while in it. Usually raising and lower the sail is done at shore.
It is occasionally necessary to ...
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