Seamanship

Ground Rules: Anchoring in Three Dimensions

by Don Casey, Posted March 11, 2013

Anchoring involves more than dropping a chunk of metal overboard and fastening your boat to it. The best way to improve your technique is through practice, but this can be hard to come by if your boat is often on a mooring or dock.

Best Stern Anchors

by Peter Nielsen, Posted November 29, 2012

If you’re getting into serious cruising, there will be times when you want to set a stern anchor. Usually this involves emptying fenders, lines and whatnot out of a cockpit locker until you unearth the kedge and its rode.

Smartphone Anchor Watch

by Donald McLennan, Posted November 8, 2012

Many onboard electronics systems include anchor-watch alarms that sound if a boat drifts too far from where you anchored it. But what if you’re ashore at that time?

What to Expect From a Tow

by Zuzana Prochazka, Posted November 5, 2012

I’ve been on the wrong end of a towline twice. At the very least, being towed will ruin your afternoon. At worst, it can cause serious damage to your boat or injury to your crew. Knowing what to expect and what to do to help yourself—or to help others help you—will ensure things go safely and smoothly.

Deck Bladders

by Aussie Bray, Posted October 15, 2012

Fuel capacity usually isn’t an issue in home waters, but it becomes important when long-range cruising sailboats have to motor for extended periods.

Tidal Currents: Know The Tactics

by Tom Cunliffe, Posted June 11, 2012

North America is as big as its waters are varied. Some sailors inhabit a tideless world where 0400 departures to catch the south-going stream through Hell Gate are as foreign as flying to the moon.

Mediterranean Mooring Secrets Revealed

by Tor Pinney, Posted May 14, 2012

Mediterranean mooring—docking a boat end-on to a quay, as opposed to tying up alongside—is a common practice in many parts of the world, especially in non-tidal waters. Any skipper setting sail for foreign ports will find docking this way is often mandatory, as it saves dock space and protects boats from wake damage.

Eight Things Every Daysailor Should Know

by L. Alan Keene, Posted May 11, 2012

As a 30-year veteran daysailor, I feel a moral obligation to spare you some of the physical and emotional pain I’ve faced over the years. I’m talking about daysailing’s dirty little secrets, the bilgewater of our sport. Feel free to take notes.

The Pee Pot

by Don Street, Posted April 12, 2012

Every skipper worries about losing crew overboard when it is blowing hard and the males aboard persist in “bailing ship” (their personal ships, not the boat) on deck. In this respect, a yawl or ketch rig beats a sloop or cutter six ways to Sunday, as the mizzen rigging is good for leaning up against when bailing ship.