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Sailing
Questions about wind-propelled water vessels, their maintenance, handling and rules governing their use.
2,485 Questions
Frankly, no one knows for sure. There is evidence that the Aborigines of Australia may have originated in Indonesia some 50,000 years ago. To travel to Australia from Indonesia, they would have needed some sort of boat as no land bridge has ever existed there. Additionally, there is evidence of human habitation (settlements) in the southern US and South America that predates the Clovis people (the first commonly accepted settlers in North America, who most assume walked over the land bridge at the Bering Straits between the last major ice age and the resurgence of ocean waters. Some of these settlements may date as far back as 70,000 years before now. Travel to South America in particular would have been nearly impossible except by boat or some sort of floating conveyance.
Also, we would need to agree on the definition of a 'boat.' Many would include any unsophisticated raft of logs or even a single log. I would include any floating object that can carry a human or some useful cargo. If that is the case, then it may be much older.
A museum in Cadiz, Spain has stone ax heads on display, that are clearly man-made. They could not be randomly broken rock. The oldest one that I recall was 500,000 years old. The art of making such things may seem very simple and crude if you have never done it before. However, if you try it, you find that it requires a surprisingly high degree of sophistication. A mind that could create an ax head of the quality on display, 500,000 years ago, seems very likely to be analytical enough to see a log floating in the water, or a mass of floating reeds, and decide to climb aboard, thereby inventing the first boat.
Archeologists have compelling evidence that ancient peoples certainly used stone tools on the island of Crete 130,000 BCE. They could have only arrived by boat. So, very serviceable boats are at least that old.
Therefore, as the beginning of this article says, 'no one knows for sure.' But it is very likely that they are much older than we can imagine.
What does it mean when reefing your boat while underway?
For those using sails, it means reducing the area of exposed sail to add safety and stability to the boat. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reefing
American cargo vessels at the time, known as "Yankee Cllippers", were quite fast.
Are power driven boats always give-way boats?
Power driven vessels are NOT always the give-way. Depending on where they are operating at and the circumstances of the case.
You are encouraged to look at the link below about "Steering and Sailing Rules". Start by reading Rule 2, 9, 13,14, 15, 16 and 17.
How large of a sail boat can one person sail alone and what type of keel is best?
My father sails a 40 ft. sailboat, solo at times!
Statistics have the majority of coastal solo-sailors in boats between 27 and 35 ft. However, with the advancements in sailing technology, several yachtsman are solo-racing boats to 60ft and some even larger.
If you are considering a boat for yourself, I recommend you do a skills assessment, and step onto a few boats rigged for short-handed sailing, and see where you are comfortable.
Good luck...happy sailing!
As to the keel, I'm sort of a fan of wing keels in that they provide improved lateral resistance and yet don't draw as much. They also seem better able to withstand a grounding.
It also depends on the type of boat if it is a cat then you can run lines back for solo and you usually have mini keels.
Most sailboats have a swing not wing keel. Having a fixed keel makes beaching a boat very hard. Anyway on a trailer the fixed keel will be very high (The height of the boat AND the keel). With a swing keel JUST the height of the boat. Have fun and stay dry!
Keels -- different approaches.My thinking goes like this:
I don't expect to do a lot of portage personally, so highway transport of the boat isn't, for me, a factor. If it is for you, by all means include that into your calculations. I selected a wing keel in that the lateral resistance is quite high in ratio to the draft ... so you run less risk of unintentional grounding, and you can actually safely beach the boat on its keel under the right circumstances, although you wont be able to take up up on dry sand without an impressive tide.
Two major factors, however, inform my selection. First is that dynamic or swing keels just aren't as strong as fixed keels. There's a movable joint involved, which weakens the keel, no matter how you work things out. On trailer, no problem. Far from land, however, and a loose or worse -- lost -- keel can be deadly, as it's VERY hard (and depending on the boat, potentially impossible) to sail without a keel. If you're a coaster and never far from shore, the risk is lessened. Blue water passages, however, are more risky.
Second, it's difficult to add what I consider sufficient weight to a swing keel without making it unwieldy. Lower than ideal weight reduces righting moment, which in turn causes a cascade of unpleasant effects. Among these, knockdowns change from scary but usually harmless events to potential disasters, as the boat has a far greater chance of not righting. Also, you tend to heel more in higher winders, which makes for a wetter, more dangerous ride and the loss of a few points closer to weather that you can sail with deeper, heavier keels.
So -- are you strictly weekending, trailering, coasting? Swing keels may be for you. However, if you're planning on being at sea for a while, rarely portaging, and doing more blue water passages, you might want to think harder about a fixed keel.
How do you install a sail on a flexible furler?
I have a CDI furler on my jib and this is what works for that rig. If the plastic 'foil' is not installed yet you will have to release the bottom of the jib stay. Be sure to use a halyard in place of the stay to make sure the mast doesn't fall while the stay is disconnected. The foil slides over the jib stay with the integrated halyard roller on top. Attach an extra length of line to the halyard and tie the ends to the deck to avoid losing them aloft. After the foil is on, attach the stay to the roller drum which is attached to the jibstay chainplate. The furling line should be fully wound up around the drum. Attach the head of the sail to the halyard end that is on back of the foil i.e. the side with the sail track and loading slot. Attach the tack of the sail to the shackle on the drum. Hoist the sail while feeding the luff rope of the sail into the foil's sail track and then secure the halyard to the tack shackle. Pull the furling line and the sail will roll up on the foil.
What are the nets called on sail boats?
If you mean the net-like rope work of the shrouds, the ones that are put in place for rapid ascent/descent to/from mast/yardarms, they are called "ratlines".
Please sea the related link below:
What are each of the sails on a yacht called?
The "Jib" goes out forward, the "Main" goes up the foremast, & the "Mizzen" goes up the mizzenmast.
History of port and starboard?
In the oldest of sailing days the left side of the ship was called the "larboard" side. The right side was "steorbord" which is now "Starboard", it said that the name came literally from the side of the ship was steered from. larboard was too easily confused in high winds or loud sounds with starboard, so it was changed to "port side" which was the side of the ship cargo was loaded on from the docks.
What is the Lookout point on a sailing ship called?
It depends on the size of the vessel. A large vessel would have a position high in the rigging called the crows nest.
How is the location of the America's Cup Race determined?
Sorry, I'm no expert, but basically the team that wins the cup represents a country, and that country is the host for the next race series. Switzerland won it from New Zealand last time, and since Switzerland has no coastal water, they chose to race in Valencia, Spain for 2007 but they have choosen Ras al-Khairmah in UAE for the 2010 event. When we (the USA) had the cup for those 134 years or whatever it was, we had it off NY, I believe, since the NYYC was the club that had won it the first time. Many of the people involved, however, were from San Diego, and so when Dennis Conner lost it to Australia and then won it back, he brought the cup back not to NY but to SD. That's where he lost it again, to NZ, and it's been gone ever since. NZ had it in Auckland, because that's the "City of Sails" due to the harbor practically made for it... in other words, the NZ people decided that's where they wanted to have it.
What are Ropes called holding up the sails on a boat - 7 letters?
Your crossword puzzle answer is halyard, a shortened word for "haul yard".
You park your boat in a slip along the dock at the marina. Or in a parking lot.
Why was Odysseus sailing around the Mediterranean Sea?
That was about the extent of the known world at the alleged time of the story.
What were the crew ranks on a sailing ship?
Captain:
Lieutenant:
Master:
Gunner:
Carpenter:
Mates:
Quartermaster:
this is for the early sailing ships 1600+
1995 and 2000. Australia II won in 1983, not a New Zealand boat.
How fast do aircraft carriers sail?
They Don't sail!!! They"re under way and the latest cruise at 34knots +. The top speed is classified!!
When is a sailboat under sail the give away vessel when encountering a power driven veichel?
mooring buoy?
How do you get a good start in a dinghy race with 150 boats?
If it is a moving start timing more than anything.
Magellan
Does the shape of the sailboat affect its sail?
There is a constantly ongoing interrelationship between hull shape, angle of heel, immersed hull area and shape, windage and wind resistance of the uppers of a hull, angle and speed of the wind, sea state, and the sail. So yes -- clearly there is. If you're asking, "does a given hull design place a requirement on the size and type of sails?" -- yes it also does. A hull designed for a fore-and-aft rig typically will not perform well with a squaresail rig. Likewise, putting up a 180% Genoa headsail on a sabot just... won't.... do. Typically, the designer allows for the rig(s) in the overall boat design.
What does she was making for the trades on the outside in sailing terms mean?
The "trades on the outside" is not that common. If you refer to the use of the term in the song "Southern Cross", it can best by understood in the other lyrics. Trades refers to the trade winds which run west both north and south of the equator, between them are the doldrums or areas of inconsistent winds. Sailing reach is to sail perpendicular to the wind. Avalon is the major harbor on Catalina Island and Papeete the capital of Tahiti. So in the song it pictures after trying to call from a bar in Avalon sailed south cross wind to get past the doldrums and turn west to run downwind to Tahiti on the "outside" of the doldrums.
