Getting a tow for your sail or power boat
FREE tips from the Safe Skipper App for iPhone/iPad/Android:
Getting a tow for your sail or power boat
- Plan how to secure a tow rope to your boat. The tow rope must be attached to strong deck fittings
- As a rescue boat approaches, warn them of any debris or loose lines in the water
- If you are being rescued by a lifeboat, follow their instructions – they are experienced in rescue techniques
- If necessary back the tow rope with other ropes to lead to other cleats and strong points on deck
- Avoid using knots or loops that cannot be released under load
- Protect the rope from chafing using plastic tube, rags or fenders
- When being towed in a small boat, you will need to keep the weight well aft to keep the bow up
- If the boat is down by the bows you may need to be towed from astern
- The towed boat should always steer to follow the towing boat unless the steering has been disabled
- The use of a drogue to aid towing can be used
Passage planning and pilotage
Sending distress signals
In an emergency situation at sea, it is a top priority is to know how to send and receive emergency radio calls and alert others of your predicament. Likewise, if you receive a distress signal, you must be ready to go to the help of others.
Competent crew skills: mooring lines
Keel maintenance and repair – Part 1
Keels are designed to act as underwater foils that generate lift as the boat moves through the water, counteracting the leeward force of the wind and enabling the boat to sail closer to the wind. Keel maintenance and repair is essential for the performance of your boat.
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.
How to predict wind direction and strength by reading a weather chart
Engine failure at sea – keeping the boat safe
If the engine stops when you are underway, or your have to shut it down when a warning buzzer sounds, you also need to make sure the boat remains safe. It’s important therefore to recognise situations in which the boat would be immediately put in danger if the engine were to fail.
The give-way hierarchy at sea – who gives way to whom?
Fire prevention on boats
Jester Challenge 2022 – Sailing single handed from Plymouth UK to the Azores: Part 8 – Arriving at the Azores
Jester Challenge – A modern experiment in old-fashioned self-reliance, self sufficiency, and personal responsibility. This is the eighth of a 10-part post where solo sailor, Bernie Branfield, shares his first-hand account of his single-handed, 2022 Jester Challenge, from Plymouth, UK to the Azores, in his 26′ Invicta Mk2, Louisa.
Hourly Checks when sailing or motoring
Sailboat rig checks – Part 2
In part two of Sail boat rig checks we run through some useful rig maintenance tips and then finish with a brief look at what a professional rig check involves.
ColRegs Nav Lights & Shapes, Rules Of The Road and IALA Buoys Apps
Seacock maintenance
If seacocks are always left open and neglected they can eventually seize which will prove a serious threat to boat safety should a connecting hose fail and the seacock refuses to close. There are three main types of seacock – ball valves, cone valves and gate valves.
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.
You Need To Understand The IRPCS ColRegs To Pass Your Yachtmaster, Master of Yachts and Coxswain Certificate of Competence
Boat Handling – anchoring
Going aground – what to do if it happens to you
When a yacht runs aground, it can be a stressful situation, especially on a falling tide in an exposed position with a swell running. There are several steps you can take to address the situation in order to ensure the safety of your vessel and its occupants. Here are some tips should this happen to you.
Sterndrive maintenance
Sterndrives are a popular form of propulsion in the powerboat market, but require a fair amount of care and maintenance. The main factors to be aware of are salt water corrosion, lubrication and regular inspection of the bellows, the condition of which is vital to prevent water from entering into the hull.
Boating emergency – how to broadcast a MAYDAY emergency call
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.
Boatyard Health and Safety
Passage Planning Advice & Safety for skippers
Cleaning & polishing gelcoat 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.
