Sailing and boating

Virtually all boating accidents, injuries, and fatalities could have been prevented with the right knowledge and equipment - and above all, by always thinking safety first. Once you've got into the habit, staying safe doesn't diminish the joy of sailing. Follow these essential tips to teach guests and crew what to do in emergency situations and how to stay safe while enjoying their time on the water. A sailor wearing a safety harness uses a tether to connect to the jackline when moving along the deck of the boat. Having one continuous jackline from stern to bow makes it easy and safe to stay clipped on the whole time when moving forward to the bow from the cockpit. A true dual-purpose boat, this racer-cruiser has a powerful, purposeful hull and sail UK sailmakers plan with enough beam and freeboard to create a comfortable interior. Down below you’ll find sleeping for six, with a double berth aft, V-berth forward and opposing settees in the saloon. The boat sizes down performance cruising for those not willing or able to enter the 40-foot range where performance cruisers usually reside. Designed by Judel/Vrolijk & Co., the boat is built for speed with its fair share of amenities. The sleek look of the boat doesn’t stop at the waterline. The T-shaped keel sports a large bulb and a relatively flat bottom hull looks downright stealthy cutting through the water and if it weren’t for the fact that the people sailing it look somewhat comfortable, one might doubt the “cruiser” part of the racer-cruiser. An optional removable transom locker and helm seat can provide the security of a closed cockpit, Gas powered generators or be removed for easy access off the transom and more cockpit space. The cockpit seats are 5 feet, 6 inches long and a dodger can be added to keep the gang dry on day sails. A good amount of hatches and ventilators offer excellent airflow throughout the cabin. Most control lines are run aft for easy access from the cockpit, carbon fibre masts allowing the boat to be sailed shorthanded. The big topsail schooner will be worked by the crew and capable of offshore passages where survival training will be part of the curriculum. There are no footropes shown on the sail plan so I would guess that the square sails will be furled mechanically around their yards. The big topsail schooner will be worked by the crew and capable of offshore passages where survival training will be part of the curriculum. There are no footropes shown on the sail plan boat covers so I would guess that the square sails will be furled mechanically around their yards. This is a good interior layout. The berths are not pointed at the toe end. The galley is big and efficiently wrapped around. The navigation area is generous. It looks to me like the yacht designers have put just as much attention into the comfort components as they have into the performance components. This boat is a real hybrid. The hull form is derived from racing types but owes its form to no specific limiting rule. The deck is a real sailor’s deck with a big cockpit shaped for both sail-handling efficiency and cruising comfort. Note that in both designs the mast sailing schools is quite far aft. The rule dictates the max upwind sail area, mast height and prod length, but does not limit downwind sail area. So it pays to have as big a fore triangle as possible so your spinnakers can be bigger. Certainly the styling, with its snubbed-off ends and super broad transom, gives the catboat its distinct look. However, we are seeing more boats today with minimal overhangs and broad sterns, so the catboat does not look as foreign as it did to me in the early '60s. You feel every nuance of the boat’s action through the tiller. It’s the thermometer on the health of the powerboat schools boat at any given time. And you can hinge it up and get it completely out of the cockpit when you don’t need it. Fifteen years ago the potent downwind boat was generally not competitive upwind and vice versa. The heavy-air threat did not have the power to win in light air. Fortunately, the difference in purpose-built racers has been narrowed dramatically due to developments in keel, rig, hull form and structures.