Rules of the Road...Who has the Right of Way?

Welcome aboard to my Sailing Tips Blog! Today we have Determining Risk of Collision, Sailing Terms and Deviation and Variation. Please feel free to comment on anything here and visit our Web Site for a free Rules of the Road download!

The Right of Way rules do not technically come into effect between boats until there is the possibility of collision.
Sailboats should never get so close to each other so that a risk of collision exists. vessels should pass portside to portside and as far to starboard as water depth permits.

When two sailboats meet there are three rules to follow.

1. The boat on the port tack gives way to the boat on the starboard tack.
2. When on the same tack, the windward boat gives way to the leeward boat.
3. The overtaking vessel keeps clear of the slower vessel.

To learn more about the rules of the road, download a Free! "Rules of the Road" article with graphics at our site at http://learntosail.net/

Sailing Terms

Piloting-Navigation performed using visual references such as aids to navigation.
Aids to Navigation-Established markers on land or sea that aid sailors to avoid danger and fix their position.
Bearing-The direction of an object to an observer, such as a buoy or other boat.
Chart-A nautical map.
Demarcation-Boundary.
Nun- A buoy that is not lit but numbered, red and pointed, and always on the starboard side when returning from seaward, port side when going out.
Can- A buoy that is not lit but numbered, green and flat, and always on the port side when returning from seaward, starboard side when going out.

Piloting- Deviation and Variation

There are two types of Poles; the Geographic North and South Poles, also called True North and True South, and the Magnetic North and South Poles. The Geographic poles are stationary. The earth is a big magnet with magnetic lines of force running from the magnetic north pole to the magnetic south pole. The magnetic pole is located in northern Canada; somewhat west of the Geographic Pole. It's location changes over long periods of time.

Variation is the angle between the magnetic north and the true north. This is indicated by a compass when it is free of any nearby magnetic influences.

A magnetized pointer, or needle, that is allowed to spin freely, will point to the magnetic north pole. On a boat compass, this needle is situated in the middle of a ring which shows 360 degrees. Now matter in which direction the boat heads, the compass still points to Magnetic North.

Deviation

Boats with lots of metal have their own magnetic fields and the compass may respond to it and be pulled somewhat away from the direction of magnetic north. When this happens, it is called compass deviation and needs to be compensated for. This can be done by installing small internal magnets in the compass, or, you can make up a deviation chart for your boat and refer to it when figuring out what course to steer by your compass. This especially applies to the small boat sailor who won't be using a mounted compass with magnets.

Variation

Often you will be given a course to steer from one place to another in true directions. This means that you will have to convert this to magnetic in order to steer this course with your compass. There is a very consistent and simple rule to follow when going from true to magnetic.

In the Eastern US and Canada, to go from a true course to a magnetic course, you add a west variation.
To go from a magnetic course to a true course, you subtract a west variation.

In the Western US and Canada, to go from a true course to a magnetic course, you subtract an east variation
To go from a magnetic course to a true course, you add an east variation.

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MULTIHULLS Part 2: The Disadvantages, and Sailing Terms

Welcome aboard to my Sailing Tips Blog! Here we have MULTIHULLS Part 2: The Disadvantages, and Sailing Terms. Please feel free to comment on anything here and visit our Web Site for a free Rules of the Road download!

Disadvantages-- In serious wind and seas, a monohull sailor can, if absolutely exhausted and no longer able to steer, strike all sail, lock all hatches, and go below to wait it out and hope for the best. A well-found boat will most likely allow this. The boat will roll around like a cork, and even if it rolls 360 degrees it should be ok, as long as the mast doesn't break off and put a hole in the boat. A Multihull in huge seas, however, must always have a helmsman, or some other way to keep the boat pointed into the waves. Without this, the boat will end up in the wave troughs, with the waves beam on; this is an invitation to capsize. Knowing this, the ocean going sailor should be prepared with a parachute sea anchor and with attachment points for it on the boat that are absolutely bombproof. Properly deployed, a parachute anchor will allow a multihull to ride out a hurricane in near comfort, as it keeps the bows pointed into the wind and waves and with several hundred feet of line led out to the sea anchor, there is no jerking or lunging on the line. Once the sea anchor is properly set, the crew can go below and safely wait out the storm. This assumes that there are no dangers, such as a landmass or reef systems, lying in wait downwind. Plenty of sea room is needed for these manuevers.

Marinas-- Finding space in a marina for a multihull is not nearly as easy as it is for a monohull. They require either an end space or a double berth, which will likely cost more than a single.

Weight constraints -- Since a multihull sits on the water instead of in it, unlike a keel boat, the payload, or weight carrying capacity of the boat, can not safely be exceeded. A catamaran, with essentially two full boats in the water, can carry more weight than a trimaran of the same length, which consists of one full hull and two floats. A 35 foot monohull can carry much more weight in stores and equipment than a 35 foot trimaran, and this is a consideration when provisioning a boat for cruising. The cruiser in a small multihull may find himself reprovisioning along the way more often than the cruiser in a small monohull.

Trailerability-- Large multihulls cannot be shipped over the road, due to their wide beam. Only some of the smaller, folding designs will allow trailering.

Haulouts also can be more complicated for multihulls. There are yards that have travelifts wide enough for them, or cranes to lift them, or railways to pull them out of the water on tracks, but these yards are fewer and farther between than those that can't handle the extra wide beam.

Conclusions -- It seems that outside of a couple of minor inconveniences, a multihull is the only boat that makes any sense. If this is the case, why doesn't everyone have one? There are a couple of reasons. One is the unfortunate reputation they earned early on in their evolution. The other is the expense involved in achieving ownership of a quality cat or tri. These boats are expensive to build, whether as one offs or as production models. With a trimaran, 3 hulls (amas) and crossarms (akas) to connect them all together are needed. For production this requires expensive tooling up for a company to invest in even before they ever get a boat on line. There are also a lot more materials needed to build two or three hulls than are needed for the one finished hull of a keel boat.

Other than a production model the buyer has the option of having one custom built by a reputable yard or of building it himself. Neither of these options is cheap, fast, or easy.

There are used multihulls on the market, and there are a lot of good ones out there. There are also a lot of not so good ones. It's critical to hire an experienced multihull surveyor to be assured that the boat was built and maintained properly and is sound.

Sailing Terms

Amas-The outboard hulls of a trimaran. Ballast-A weight at the bottom of a boat to keep it stable. Ballasts can be placed inside the hull of the boat or externally in a keel. Beam- The widest part of a boat. Draft- The depth of a boat, measured from the deepest point to the waterline. The water must be at least this depth, or the boat will run aground. Catamaran-A twin-hulled boat. Catamaran sailboats are known for their ability to plane and are faster than single-hulled boats in some conditions. Hatch-A sliding or hinged opening in the deck, providing access to the cabin or space below. Heel-When a boat tilts away from the wind, caused by wind blowing on the sails and pulling the top of the mast over. Some heel is normal when under sail. Monohull-A boat that has only one hull, as opposed to multihull boats such as catamarans or trimarans. Multihull-Any boat with more than one hull, such as a catamaran or trimaran. Payload- Weight carrying capacity of the boat. Trimaran-A boat with a center hull and two smaller outer hulls.

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Multihulls- Part 1

Welcome aboard to my Sailing Tips Blog! Here we have MULTIHULLS- Catamarans and Trimarans. Please feel free to comment on anything here and visit our Web Site for a free Rules of the Road download!

History -The catamaran is one of the oldest types of craft known. The word Catamaran has its origin in Malayan language -- Catu (to tie) and Maran ( log). Early Polynesians would lash two large canoes together and sail a whole village's worth people from one village to another, which usually meant sailing from one island to another. These people considered the stability of a two hulled vessel to be safer than that of just one hull. Until two centuries ago Polynesia was totally isolated from the rest of the civilized world, which was developing boats along what we now think of as more traditional lines - single-hulled keel boats, or monohulls.
In the 1780s Captain Cook reported seeing beautiful boats of up to 120 feet long which were built of painstakingly painted and polished wood. Exposure to the outside world brought European diseases to these people, who had no immunities to them. The populations and societies were ravaged and these beautiful vessels rotted away. Outside of some native activity in the Hawaiian islands the catamaran design disappeared.
Then, in the late 1870s, Nathaniel Herreshoff designed and built the 25 foot catamaran Amaryllis. In 1876 he entered it in the New York Yacht Club's Centennial Regatta and easily beat every other boat in the fleet. That this upstart radical "new" design should win so handily was deemed unacceptable, and catamarans were barred from racing. This decision stopped the further development of multihulls cold. Mr. Herreshoff and his son, L. Francis, continued to design and build them for themselves, adding centerboards to each hull for better maneuverability, but their designs never gained acceptance.
1952 -- in England, the Prout brothers designed a U shaped hull, instead of the V shape that had preceded it, and they included centerboards. Now the boats would actually tack. They became popular in Europe because of their speed and comfort, and the long slow process of design evolution took a step forward. By the late 50's there were quite a few sailors experimenting with new designs and building materials. With the advent of fiberglass, resins, and marine plywood these boats could be built light and strong. In the 1960's Rudy Choy of Hawaii was designing and building race winning, ocean capable catamarans which are still viable today.
During the 1960's and 1970's an American designer named Arthur Piver was singularly responsable for the building of hundreds of trimarans in the backyards of would-be sailors. Unfortunately, some of his claims were not realistic- he maintained that anyone without carpentry or sailing experience could quickly and cheaply build one of his "non-capsizable" designs and sail around the world. There were so many of his boats under construction at one time that there was no way he could even attempt to ensure that the builders were using proper construction techniques, or even sticking to his plans. This resulted in builders making major and often unsafe modifications to his designs, and in many boats being built poorly and with inferior materials. There are still many old Pivers out sailing that are safe and comfortable, but there are countless others that rotted away, capsized, or broke up at sea due to shoddy construction. Piver himself disappeared at sea on a boat of his own design, albeit one that he did not build himself. All of this did nothing to help the reputation of multihulls, a legacy that unfortunately exists in the minds of many today.
Jim Brown, a protege of Piver, started designing his own trimarans, called Searunners. He designed them with a wider beam for a safer, more stable platform, along with other modifications. Soon Norm Cross, Lock Crowther, John Marples, and countless designers from all over the world were building on the lessons that could be learned from previous designs, both with trimarans and catamarans. These designers realized the need for detailed, precise plans, and for the designer to be involved with the builder from day one of construction in order to help to create a safe, fast, comfortable vessel.
The racing world is where multihulls have had a real chance to show the world their performance potential . In the 1976 OSTAR Mike Birch came in second place on the Third Turtle, Dick Newick's VAL design 31 foot trimaran. The first place winner that year was Eric Taberly on his 71 foot monohull. This was the last year in which a monohull won this race. Dick Newick's designs also captured the attention of Phil Weld, who won the 1980 OSTAR in the Newick trimaran, Moxie.
The high profile of racing, the money that racing has brought into their development and improvement, as well as the evolution of new, lightweight synthetic building materials have all contributed to the high quality of multihull craft that is being built today. They have gained worldwide acceptance.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of multihulls?

Advantages.

Stability -- It's almost impossible to sink a properly built multihull, short of blowing it up or burning it down. A common misconception is that trimarans and catamarans are easily capsized. This is not true of cruising multis -- they are stiff and stable and usually need a very rare and extraordinary set of circumstances before they'll go over. It is true that once they go over they stay over, but they will not sink, even when inverted. The crew of a capsized multi still has the mother ship and the supplies aboard to sustain life for however long it takes for a rescue. This is in contrast to a monohull, which if holed or capsized with hatches open will very quickly sink, leaving its inhabitants swimming or in a life raft. The likelihood that a modern cruising multihulls will capsize is about the same as the likelihood that a monohull will sink.

Speed - Almost without exception, a modern multi will be substantially faster than a monohull of comparable length. Speed is not only fun, it's an under appreciated safety feature. On a sailing passage, the longer a boat is exposed to the sea and the vagaries of weather, the better are the chances that it will meet with dangerous conditions. A North Atlantic crossing that takes under 10 days is likely to be safer than one that takes 3 weeks. A lot of weather can happen in three weeks, or a crew member can become dangerously sick and need medical attention fast. It's good to be able to step on the gas and get there.

Jibing -- These boats are so beamy that in a downwind situation the preventer can be secured far outboard, giving the main a lead that results in a nice wide, flat sail area and absolute control over the boom. Since multihulls move at such high speeds downwind, there is less wind pressure actually behind the sail, making it easy to control it during the entire manuever. The boat continues to sail flat and steering is easy. Jibing a multihull is a very smooth operation, and puts much less stress and strain on both equipment and crew than it does with a monohull in the same situation. In a jibe a keel boat will tend to roll and try to round up into the wind as the mainsail fills on the new tack, making steering tricky.

Comfort - It's nice to be comfortable. After spending time on a modern multihull few people would argue that they are not considerably more comfortable than a keel boat. With their wide stable platforms catamarans don't heel at all, trimarans very little, and most people find their motion to be easier than that of single hulled boats. Comfort is also another very important safety feature. On a stable, smoothly moving boat it's easier to prepare and eat regular meals, and crew members can sleep without having to tie themselves in. A well rested, well fed crew is a much clearer minded, safer and happier one than a seasick, exhausted, poorly fed one.

Deck Space -- on a boat where 24 feet of beam is common, there's plenty of room to walk around. Dingy storage is not a problem.

Shallow Draft --Most multihulls have a very shallow draft -- 2-4 feet. What a luxury to be able to manuever through a crowded anchorage and move up front into only 3 or 4 feet of water and drop anchor. In water this shallow it's easy to see how well set your anchors are, or to hand set them if necessary. So what if all those big heavy boats behind you drag anchor? You're upwind from them all, and are safe from being crashed into by drifting, dragging boats. Many beautiful, private anchorages are out of reach of deep draft boats, but are perfect for shallow draft vessels.
Run aground? No problem. The boat will sit level and undamaged. Just wait for a rising tide, if you can, or perhaps you can jump in and push the boat off. ( Be careful if you do this -- wear shoes, and be sure that you can get back on board). You may also be able to walk out to deeper water and hand set an anchor that can then be used to kedge the boat off.

Conme back soon and we will explore the disadvantages!
Come visit our Web Site, sign up for our Free Monthly Sailing Tips newsletter, and check out our Interactive Sailing training CDROM. I and my crew wish you the best in your sailing endeavors! Best to you, Sailor Cull _/)_