Essential Knots: Bowline
Use: Making a secure eye or loop in the end of a rope. Bowlines have many uses on a boat, for example to make a loop in a mooring line to go over a bollard, or to secure a jib sheet to a head sail. This is one of those very useful knots to go on practising until you can do it with your eyes closed!
Step 1. Make a small loop near the end of a line.
Step 2. Pass the working end up through the small loop.
Step 3. Then pass the working end around the standing part.
Step 4. Pass the working end down through the small loop and pull tight – checking there is plenty of tail.
Tip: Imagine the loop is a rabbit’s hole and the standing end is a tree. Now imagine the working end is the rabbit. The rabbit comes up the hole, runs around the tree and goes back down the hole.
A one stop guide to tying and understanding all of the 50 most useful nautical knots!
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.
ColRegs when sailing single handed
Antifouling for leisure boats – Part 2
To prepare for antifouling, as soon as your boat has been lifted out and pressure washed, you need to check all the surfaces of the hull below the waterline, remove any remaining barnacles and check for blisters.
Understanding tides
Understanding marine sealants & adhesives
Weather forecasting tips
Boat decks and superstructure
The deck of a boat is constantly exposed to the elements and should be inspected on an annual basis. Particular attention needs to be given to the overall condition of deck fittings such as the stanchions, cleats and chainplates.
How to operate a winch
Understanding your mast and rigging
Anchoring – getting it right is not always straightforward
Tools and spares for your boat
Tacking a sailing boat
Rig check – how to prevent failure at sea
Essential Knots: Reef knot
Peer to Peer yacht charter – How can you monetize your boat?
Dag Pike’s Boat Survey
Safety Equipment Checklist for Boats
Marine toilets – care and maintenance
There are a number of different types of marine toilet, or heads. They fall into one of three categories – manual, electric and vacuum, the most common being the manual, hand pumped type. These have double acting piston-pumps which both discharge the waste and flush the toilet with sea water.
First aid at sea – four common emergencies
In this blog we look at what to do in the event of a crew member choking, drowning, or suffering from hypothermia or fatigue. Knowing how to cope with them could well save a life, while not knowing could result in an avoidable tragedy.
Navigation safety: a quick-reference mobile app to learn the ColRegs NavLights and Shapes
Safety at sea principles
Safety at sea is not as simple as just spending money adding shiny new emergency equipment such as liferafts, danbuoys, distress flares, EPIRBs and so on.
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.
Five dangers a vessel may encounter at sea
What are the main dangers a vessel may face at sea and what should skippers do to reduce the risk of these happening?
Keel maintenance and Repair – Part 2
If you have ever witnessed a boat colliding with a rock or other submerged obstacle you will know that there is an almighty thump and the whole boat shakes and judders. While such hard groundings seldom result in catastrophic keel failure, something has to give and even the sturdiest keels can easily be damaged by such an impact.
