Know the different parts of a sailboat. It is important to know the different parts both for safety reasons and to be able to sail your boat as efficiently as possible. If you don’t know what to do when someone suddenly yells, “raise the jib” or “watch the boom!” you may be in trouble.[1]
•Block: This is the nautical term for a pulley.
•Boom: The horizontal support for the foot of the mainsail which extends aft of the mast. This is what you want to watch out for when changing directions in a sailboat. It can give you quite a wallop on the head if it hits you.
•Bow: This is what the front of the boat is called.
•Centerboard: This is a (usually fibreglass) plate that pivots from the bottom of the keel in some boats and is used to balance the boat when under sail.
•Cleat: Cleats are what lines (or ropes) get fastened to when they need to be kept tight.
•Halyard: Lines that raise or lower the sails. (Along with the sheets, aka running rigging.)
•Hull: The hull is the body of the boat and consists of everything below the deck.
•Jib: This is the sail at the bow of the boat. The jib helps propel the boat forward.
•Genoa: A foresail which is larger in size than a jib.
•Keel: The keel is what prevents a boat from sliding sideways (“making leeway”) in whatever way the wind is blowing and stabilizes the boat.
•Line: Lines are ropes. They are everywhere on boats. There is only one “rope” on a sailboat, the bolt rope which runs along the foot of the mainsail.
•Mainsail: As the name implies, this is the main sail of the boat. It is the sail attached to the back of the mast.
•Mast: The mast is a large, vertical pole that holds the sails up. Some boats have more than one mast.
•Painter: This is a line positioned at the front of small boats. It is used to tie the boat to a dock or another boat.
•Rudder: The rudder is how the boat is steered. It is moveable so that when you turn the wheel or tiller, the rudder directs the boat in the direction you would like the boat to go.
•Sheets: The lines that control the sails. (aka running rigging.)
•Spinnaker: The usually brightly colored sail used when sailing downwind or across the wind.
•Stays and Shrouds: There are wires that make sure the mast stays upright, even in very heavy winds. (aka standing rigging.)
•Stern: This is the term for the back of the boat.
•Tiller: The tiller is a stick attached to the rudder and is used to control the rudder.
•Transom: This is what we would call the butt of the boat. It is the back part of the boat that is perpendicular to its centerline.
•Wheel: The wheel works the rudder, steering the boat.
•Winch: Winches help bring in the lines. When lines are wrapped around a winch, a sailor can turn the winch with a handle, which will make it easier to bring in the lines.
Know about the different kinds of sailboats. In general, if you are a beginning sailor you will most likely not be operating your own schooner. You will probably be working with a catboat, cutter, or sloop.
•Catboat: A Catboat has a mast set up near the front of the boat and is a single-sail boat. They are small (or large, for that matter) and easily operated by one or two people.
•Cutter: Cutters have one mast with two sails in the front and a mainsail on the back of the mast. These boats are meant for small crews or groups of people and can be handled relatively easily.
•Sloop: Sloops are the most common type of sailboat (when you think of a sailboat this is probably the one you picture in your mind.) It has a single mast and is rigged up with a jib in the front and a mainsail attached to back of the mast. They can range in size and are ideal for sailing upwind.
•Ketch: A Ketch has two masts, with the second mast called the mizzen mast. The mizzen is shorter than the main mast and is in front of the rudder.
•Yawl: Yawls are similar to ketches with the difference being that their mizzen masts are located behind the rudder. The reason for this placement is that the mizzen on yawls is for keeping balance, rather than for moving the boat forward.
•Schooner: Schooners are large sailboats with two or more masts. The mast in the back of the boat is either taller or equal in height to the mast at the front of the ship. Schooners have been used to commercially fish, transport goods and as warships.
Know common terms used on a sailboat. Aside from the terms used for the different parts of the boat, there are also certain terms that sailors commonly use while at sea (or heading out to sea.) A trick to remember that port is left and starboard is right is that starboard has two ‘Rs’ in it, which is the beginning letter of ‘right’. Starboard, green and right have more letters than port, red and left. You can also keep in mind that “port wine is red”. [2]
•Port: When you are facing the bow (the front of the boat) the side to your left is the port side.
•Starboard: Starboard is the right side of the boat when facing the bow.
•Windward: As the name might imply, windward is the direction the wind is blowing from.
•Leeward: This is also called ‘Lee’. This is the opposite direction to the way the wind is blowing.
•Tacking: Tacking is when you turn the bow of the boat through the wind so that the wind switches from one side of the boat to the other. This is when you most need to be mindful of the boom, as the boom will swing from one side of the boat to the other when you tack (you don’t want to be in its way when it does that.)
•Gybing (Jibing): This is the opposite of tacking, which means that it is when you turn the stern (or back) of the boat through the wind so that wind shifts to the other side of the boat. This is a more dangerous maneuver in a strong breeze than tacking because it you have to turn the boat away from the wind. Care must be exercised to control the boom during this maneuver as serious injury is a possibility when the boom travels across the cockpit.
•Luffing: This is when you steer the boat into the wind so that the sails begin to flap and lose drive.
Determine the wind direction. If your boat doesn’t have some kind of wind direction indicator (windex) at the top of the mast, tie a couple nine-inch pieces of old cassette tape, VHS tape, or oiled yarn to the shrouds—the rigging cables that hold up the mast. These will show you which way the wind is blowing. Some sailors find cassette tape to be just too sensitive for this purpose. If that’s the case with you, try using VHS tape or oiled yarn instead.
•Place them on each side, about four feet up from the sides of the boat.
•To sail effectively, you will need to know the apparent direction of the wind .
Point the boat into the wind. The idea is to have the minimum amount of wind resistance when raising the sail, with the sail straight back. In this position, the sail won’t be snagging on any shrouds or any other hardware, either. This isn’t always easy. The boat won’t turn readily because it’s not moving (under way). Do the best you can, but be prepared to work for it!
•If your boat has a motor, use the motor to keep the boat pointed into the wind while you hoist sail.
•Here’s a handy tip: if the water is not deep at your dock, or if you have no side pier, walk the boat out away from the dock and anchor it into the sand, and the boat will automatically point itself into the direction of the wind!
Attach the sails. Secure the bottom front (tack) of the mainsail and jib to their respective shackles on the boom and the bow of the boat.
•There will be a small line (outhaul) attaching the back of the mainsail (clew) to the boom and its cleat. Pull it hand-tight in the cleat. This tightens the foot of the sail.
•Hoist the mainsail by pulling down on its halyard all the way until it stops. It will be flapping around (luffing) like crazy, but thats ok for a short period of time. (Excessive luffing will drastically reduce the life and durability of the sail).
•The leading edge of the sail (luff) must be tight enough to remove folds, but not so tight as to create vertical creases in the sail.
•There will be a cleat in the vicinity of the halyard where it comes down from the top of the mast. Cleat the halyard. Using the jib halyard, raise the front sail (jib, genoa or simply the headsail), and cleat the halyard off. Both sails will be luffing freely now. Sails are always raised mainsail first, then the jib, because it’s easier to point the boat into the wind using the main.
Adjust your heading and sail trim for the wind. Sailboats cannot sail directly into the wind. As shown below, the red zone in the diagram indicates a “no go” zone when under sail. To sail to windward, a sailing vessel must sail about 45-50 degrees off the wind and change direction by tacking (or zig-zag). •Turn the boat to the left (port) or right (starboard) so it’s about 90 degrees off the wind. This is known as a beam reach.
•Pull on the main sheet (trimming) until the sail is around 45 degrees away from straight back (aft). This is a safe place for the main while you trim the jib.
•You will start moving and tilting (heeling) away from the wind. A heel of more than 20 degrees usually indicates that you’re being overpowered. Releasing the mainsheet momentarily (breaking the main) will lessen the amount of heel, and you will return to a more comfortable sailing angle of 10 to 15 degrees.
Trim the jib sheets. Although the mainsail is hoisted first, it is the jib that is trimmed first. There are two jib sheets, one for each side of the boat. Pull on the jib sheet on the the side away from where the wind is coming from (leeward side). This is the active sheet while the other is called the lazy sheet.
•The jib will form a curve or pocket; trim the sail until the front edge just stops luffing. Keep your hand on the tiller (or helm) and stay on course!
Trim the mainsail. Let out the main sheet until the front edge just starts to luff, then pull it back just until it stops.
•If you or the wind hasn’t changed direction, this is the most efficient place to set the sails. If anything changes, you have to adjust them in response.
•You have just entered the world of the sailor, and you will have to learn to do many things at once, or suffer the consequences.
Watch the front of the sail edge on the main and jib. If it starts to luff, you have two choices: tighten the sail sheet until it stops luffing, or steer away from the wind (bear off). When the sail luffs, it means that you are heading too much into the wind for your current sail setting. If you bear off slightly, (away from the wind) your sails will stop luffing.
Watch your wind indicators (telltales). If you see it change so that the wind is coming from a direction that is more behind you, you will be wasting energy. Let out the sail until it is perpendicular to the wind. You will be constantly; watching the sails, the telltales, and trimming sails because the wind won’t blow from a constant direction for long.
•When the wind is at your back and side (aft quarter), it’s called a broad reach. This is the most efficient point of sail as both sails are full of wind and pushing the boat at full force.
•When the wind is at your back, you are running with the wind. This is not as efficient as reaching, because the jib is covered by the mainsail and not filling with air.
•When running with the wind, you can pull the jib over to the other side of the boat where it will fill. This is called wing-on-wing, and you have to maintain a steady hand on the tiller to keep this sail configuration. Some boats have a “whisker pole” which attaches to the front of the mast and the clew of the jib which makes the jib much easier to control and keep full of wind. Be sure to be vigilant of obstacles and other vessels, as having both sails in front of you blocks a significant portion of your view.
•Be careful—when the boat is running, the sails will be way off to the side, and because the wind is basically behind you the boom can change sides suddenly (jibe or gybe), coming across the cockpit with quite a bit of force.
•If you have a wind direction indicator at the top of your mast, do not align the boat so that the wind indicator points at the mainsail. If it does, you are sailing with the boom on the windward side (sailing by the lee) and are at high risk of an accidental jibe. When this happens the boom can hit you with enough force to knock you unconscious and out of the boat (overboard).
•It’s a good practice to rig a preventer (a line from the boom to the toe rail or any available cleat) to limit the travel of the boom across the cockpit in case of an accidental gybe.