
Common medical emergencies at sea
by Simon Jollands | Boat Handling, Crewing skills, Emergencies, Preparation
A medical emergency aboard a boat at sea requires immediate attention to ensure the safety of the casualty and the crew in general. The skipper needs to know which crew members, if any, have had medical training or have a first aid qualification. All boats should carry first aid handbooks to help an untrained crew cope with a medical emergency.

First aid at sea basics
by Simon Jollands | Boat Handling, Crewing skills, Emergencies, Preparation
At least one person on board should be trained in first aid and know how to administer the contents of the first aid kit, ensuring there are adequate supplies for the planned duration of the trip.
Essential Knots: Sheet bend
Steel and Aluminium Hulls
The two metals used for hull construction are steel and aluminium. These are both very strong materials and will last a long time as long as they are cared for, which primarily means protecting steel boats from rust and aluminium boats from electrolytic action.
Boat interior varnishing
Most boat interiors have a combination of varnished and painted surfaces including solid wooden joinery, plywood laminates with thin hardwood veneers and glass reinforced plastic. When making your assessment of what you are going to do, bear in mind that the varnishing process consumes a lot of time, especially if the existing surfaces are in poor shape.
Understanding your mast and rigging
ColRegs – avoiding collisions at sea
Safety Equipment Checklist for Boats
Boat gas system maintenance
There are correct types of hose for marine plumbing, sewerage, exhaust, cooling and gas and all hoses should be checked regularly for wear and deterioration.
Man Overboard Drill
Wooden Hull Repairs
While wooden boat hull maintenance is mostly straightforward, it is always a good idea to take expert advice on any repair job needed doing to a wooden boat, unless you have done the job before and know what you are doing.
Sail care and maintenance – Part 2
At the end of the sailing season sails should be washed and inspected carefully for damage, including small tears, stitching failure, ultraviolet damage, stains and mildew.
How to use tides and currents to your advantage
If you are contemplating a cruise through tidal waters and strong currents, then planning your trip carefully in advance is essential to enable you to take advantage of favourable tides rather than constantly fighting against them.
Marine diesel exhaust checks
You should inspect the exhaust system for corrosion damage regularly, especially around the injection bend. If you have noticed the engine exhaust smoking a lot during the sailing season this can also indicate a number of potential problems.
Boatyard Health and Safety
Weather forecasting tips
Repairing a leaking hull-to-deck joint
Competent crew skills: arriving and leaving a berth
Care of boat batteries
Boat batteries need to be kept properly charged, which means never allowing the batteries to discharge below 50 per cent of their total charge. As well as the batteries themselves, keeping a boat’s charging systems in good shape will also help to keep batteries topped up to a higher level of charge.
Boat Handling – anchoring
Boat surveys
Saildrive maintenance
There are less maintenance tasks to carry out on a saildrive transmission than on a traditional inboard shaft drive system with its associated stern gear. However, there are a few critical things that require maintenance, as recommended in detail by the engine manufacturers, and should be adhered to.
An explanation of the IALA maritime buoyage systems – IALA A and IALA B
Understanding tides
Essential boat engine checklist
Diesel engine winterisation
An inactive boat engine needs to be protected from corrosion during the winter, caused by the rising humidity levels through the cold months and the salty coastal air. This applies whether the boat is left afloat or hauled out over the winter. Read here about the two important stages of winterisaton for a diesel boat engine.
Safety Briefings – leave nothing to chance

Welcome to the Safe Skipper website.
Safe Skipper is run by boating enthusiasts who also have a background in publishing and TV production, design and app development. As well as creating great content for the website, we’ve developed a range of popular boating apps that allow you to get safely out on the water whilst having essential information to hand, covering International ColRegs: Nav Lights & Shapes, Rules of the Road, Buoyage & Lights to knot tying, nautical chart symbols and first aid at sea – all information available to you when on the water, on your phone or tablet, when you need it.
We’re regularly adding new articles to the site, hope you’ll bookmark us and visit again soon.
Before you go, scroll down to our boating quizzes and check your boating knowledge!
Understanding your mast and rigging
Stress cracks on GRP boats
It is quite common to find cracks in the gelcoat when inspecting the deck and superstructure of a GRP boat. It is important to differentiate between a gelcoat crack and a scratch.
Anchoring – getting it right is not always straightforward
Passage planning and pilotage
The VHF DSC Radio jargon buster
Hull inspection – the annual checks
Seized fixings and fastenings
Maintaining a boat can be a rewarding experience but at times it can also be frustrating. A prime example of this is when you come across a seized fixing or fastening that refuses to budge. Read our tips on how to release and fix them:
Boat Engine Safety Checks
Sail care and maintenance – Part 1
When thinking about the care, maintenance and repair of sails it helps to have some understanding of the properties of the ever growing range of modern sailcloth and the fibres they are made from, as opposed to the traditional canvas sails of the past.
How to use tides and currents to your advantage
If you are contemplating a cruise through tidal waters and strong currents, then planning your trip carefully in advance is essential to enable you to take advantage of favourable tides rather than constantly fighting against them.
I have just downloaded and am using ColRegs Nav Lights & Shapes app, a brilliant training and reference device
Instructor
Beautifully produced and very simple to use, a cool learning tool
Sailor
Nav Lights & Shapes app – downloaded by 1000s of seafarers worldwide. Just one of our popular boating apps to download from the appstores for Apple and Android devices.
Boat ownership
Boat Engine Safety Checks
Preparing for sailboat cruising
Preparing for a sailing trip entails a lot of planning. In this blog, we take a look at some of the many safety aspects that a skipper needs to consider before heading off on a cruise.
VHF DSC radio – how best to communicate at sea
Repairing chips and dings in gelcoat
The gelcoat topsides of a GRP boat can be pampered and restored to their former glory relatively easily when it is ashore. Gelcoat is only a very thin outer layer of the hull, often less than 1mm thick, so you should avoid cleaning it with highly abrasive cleaners, or an-ything that could potentially damage its surface.
Sailing & Motoring in Fog
Cleaning & polishing painted topsides
The gelcoat topsides of a GRP boat can be pampered and restored to their former glory relatively easily when it is ashore. Gelcoat is only a very thin outer layer of the hull, often less than 1mm thick, so you should avoid cleaning it with highly abrasive cleaners, or an-ything that could potentially damage its surface.
Dag Pike’s Boat Survey
Gybing a sailing boat
The VHF DSC Radio jargon buster
Nautical paper charts – a reminder of the basics
The nautical chart is an indispensable tool for navigation. A chart is a graphic representation of an area of the sea which might also include coastlines, estuaries and islands. All cruising leisure boats should carry up-to-date paper charts.
Boat interior varnishing
Most boat interiors have a combination of varnished and painted surfaces including solid wooden joinery, plywood laminates with thin hardwood veneers and glass reinforced plastic. When making your assessment of what you are going to do, bear in mind that the varnishing process consumes a lot of time, especially if the existing surfaces are in poor shape.
Essential Knots: Reef knot
Top 5 Reasons Why an Inflatable SUP Should Be Your Next Yacht Accessory
Boat maintenance below decks
While most interior maintenance work can be done when a boat is afloat, some jobs such as servicing the seacocks have to be done ashore. It makes sense to do any major interior repairs and improvements with the boat hauled out in the boatyard.
First Aid at Sea – strains and sprains
Rewiring a boat – overcoming the challenges involved
Skippers need to have a basic knowledge of boat electrics, to avoid potential problems and to be able to solve them when they happen.
Understanding marine sealants & adhesives
Marine diesel exhaust checks
You should inspect the exhaust system for corrosion damage regularly, especially around the injection bend. If you have noticed the engine exhaust smoking a lot during the sailing season this can also indicate a number of potential problems.
Sail boat rig checks – Part 1
Sailing boat rigs need to be checked regularly to reduce the risk of rig failure at sea. In part one of Sail boat rig checks we run through a series of useful checks that owners and skippers can carry out.