Posts tagged sailing
I have an interest in sextants and how they work, mostly from reading the Horatio Hornblower novels. I know that sextants are still sold. While I am sure that are not nearly as precise as GPS is n...
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 ...
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 s...
I am considering getting a used wet suit for sailing and canoeing in the early spring and next fall. What should I look for? Based on the related Q&A below, it looks like I will want 6-7mm (1...
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...
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 p...
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 combinatio...
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/...
I need a new mainsheet (the rope that controls the boom on the main sail) for my sunfish. Many of the online sailboat stores, are selling 8mm FSE Orion for the job. My local Hardware store does ...
When you're sailing upwind (in close reach) and there comes a stronger blast of wind, how should skipper behave? Should they turn away from the wind (because modern yachts are constructed so that w...
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 ...
I have an early 1970's Sunfish with the old style DePersia Bailer Ad from 1957 The plug is missing I have searched and it appears the old style old style DePersia Bailer is no longer made, t...
I have been considering adding a sail to my open 17 foot Coleman canoe. Browsing images on the internet show pretty much every imaginable configuration but they all share 3 or 4 combinations of ou...
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...
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 G...
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 t...
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 (se...
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 ...
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 ...
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 video...
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 th...
What should the crew and passengers do on a long voyage? If they do nothing, their attention is scattered and may become remiss. You can begin to wash the boat, but I do not think that is the best...
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...
Last fall I bought a sunfish, best I can tell is built in about 1974 (43 years ago) and has all original sails, sail rings (hold the sail to the spars), tiller, etc. Everything but the lines seem ...
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. ...
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 f...
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 t...
A kiteboat is essentially a boat that uses a kite instead of a sail for propulsion. This seems like an intriguing concept, and an interesting alternative to the traditional sailboat designs. As adv...
I would like to use the wind to propel my packraft on passages over lakes. Are there any lightweight and/or improvised sail systems? Especially: how do I erect a mast on the packraft without it be...
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 ta...
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, ...
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" ...
I'm about to get a Granada 24 sailboat and I can't really figure out what type of trailer I need. It would be awesome if someone could explain to me what I need to know to choose the right trailer....
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 eye,...
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 u...
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?
I was looking at GPS Trackers such as Spark Nano 4.0. I wanted to apply one of these devices inside my boat to exclusively use it for motion detection in case of theft. The battery life of this de...
When sailing I may anchor in a different bay each evening and take a dinghy in to land to sleep in a tent overnight. I always worry that when I wake up in the morning the boat may no longer be th...
I've been told that you should never ask for a tow when you are stranded at sea. The reason given is that the person towing can claim a huge share of the stranded boat, potentially all of it if it'...
I love sailing, and my wife loves the ocean, but she gets sea-sick often. Any advice on how to avoid sea-sickness in people prone to it? I'm looking for advice in terms of foods that are less of...
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 inc...
As pointed out in a comment by cobaltduck in the question What type of rope to use for the mainsheet of sunfish? the proper name for rope when used on a boat is line. If I go to the store and buy ...
When sailing a traditional twin mast ketch, what are the recommended crew requirements? Let's assume the following for simplicity: Captain has 6-pack maritime license. Captain and passengers t...
What are some good techniques to use (materials, knots, etc.) for building a raft by gathering wood in the local area? I'm talking about something to sail on still or slow moving bodies of water, n...
I am planning a homebuilt sailing craft that uses a sail similar to the Sunfish (image below) I have seen a few homebuilt sails that use metal electrical conduit for the mast and spars, and am work...
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?
I have a lelievlet and want to add a bowsprit/lignite and a mizzen mast. Therefore I need to know how much I need to change the shrouds, anyone can help me by explaining how? edit: What data do I...
In theory Styrofoam is a closed cell product meaning that is water proof. In practice it tends to absorb and hold water It can take months to dry out very saturated Styrofoam. As a rule Styrofoa...
Open 60 sailboats have a pedal-looking control in the middle of the cockpit. Does anyone know what it does and how it works? Image source: https://feelinknotty.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/dsc_07...
What and where will I find the builder's plate and CE marking on a boat in Europe? The CE marking obviously does not apply outside of Europe, but has anyone seen one of these and if so, where shou...
