A crew works by shared words. When the skipper calls "ease the genoa" or "fender on the port quarter", everyone must picture the same thing. These are the names you need on board, grouped the way you meet them.
Which side of a boat is port, and what do abeam and on the quarter mean?
Port is the left side of the boat when you face forward, starboard the right, whichever way you are looking. Abeam is at right angles to the boat; between the beam and the stern is the quarter.
Port is the left side of the boat when you face forward, starboard the right, whichever way you are looking. The bow is the front, the stern the back. Something at right angles to the boat is abeam; between the beam and the stern it is on the quarter. A boat close to your heading line is fine on the bow.
Windward is the side the wind comes from, leeward the side it blows to: sit to windward, be sick to leeward. A lee shore has the wind blowing onto it, so keep well off. Fore-and-aft means along the boat, athwartships across it.
What's the difference between draft and air draft on a sailing yacht?
Draft is the depth of the keel below the waterline: compare it with the depth at low water. Air draft is the masthead height above the water, which matters for bridges.
The pulpit is the rail round the bow, the pushpit the rail round the stern, and stanchions carry the guardwires between them. You go below through the companionway, closed with washboards in a big sea.
| Measure | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Draft | Keel depth below the waterline: compare it with the depth at low water |
| Air draft | Masthead height above the water: bridges |
| Beam | The widest point: berths; a catamaran is twice as wide |
| Freeboard | Hull above the water: more of it, more windage |
| Displacement | Weight: a heavy boat carries her way longer |
A fin keel turns tightly, a long keel holds a straight course, twin keels let a boat sit upright on the mud. A catamaran has no ballast keel: she barely heels, so you reef by the wind speed, and she does not right herself after a capsize.
What should I do if a shroud or the forestay breaks while sailing?
If a windward shroud breaks, tack at once to put the load on the sound side; if the forestay goes, bear away onto a run.
Standing rigging holds the mast: the forestay forward, the backstay aft, the shrouds to each side, spread by the spreaders and fixed to chainplates in the deck through bottlescrews. The gooseneck is the hinge between boom and mast. If a windward shroud breaks, tack at once to put the load on the sound side; if the forestay goes, bear away onto a run.
How do I put a reef in the mainsail, step by step?
To reef, ease the mainsheet and kicker, lower the halyard, hook on the new tack, haul the reefing line to bring the new clew to the boom, then hoist tight again.
| Line | What it does |
|---|---|
| Halyard | Hoists the sail |
| Sheet | Trims it in and out; on a genoa it goes to the clew |
| Outhaul | Flattens the foot of the main |
| Kicker (vang) | Holds the boom down off the wind |
| Topping lift | Holds the boom up when the sail is down |
| Cunningham | Tightens the luff |
| Traveller | Lets the boom down to leeward in a gust |
To reef: ease the mainsheet and kicker, lower the halyard, hook on the new tack, haul the reefing line to bring the new clew to the boom, hoist tight again. Take a loaded line on a winch before you open its clutch.
How close to the wind can a sailing boat go, and what are the points of sail called?
About 45° either side of the wind is the no-go zone, where no boat sails. From its edge round to dead downwind the courses are close-hauled, close reach, beam reach, broad reach and run.
No boat sails straight into the wind: about 45° either side of it is the no-go zone. From its edge round to dead downwind every course has a name. Between close-hauled and a beam reach lies the close reach.
The tack is named after the side the wind comes over: all four boats above are on port tack. On a run it is the side opposite the boom.
What's the difference between tacking and gybing, and how do I gybe safely?
A tack takes the bow through the wind, a gybe the stern. Before a gybe, centre the mainsheet so the boom cannot slam across; in strong wind, tack round instead.
Luffing up turns the bow towards the wind, bearing away turns it from the wind. A tack takes the bow through the wind: call "lee-ho" and release the old genoa sheet as the bow comes through. A gybe takes the stern through: centre the mainsheet first, so the boom cannot slam across. In strong wind, tack round instead.
Stopped head to wind you are in irons: back the jib to push the bow off. To heave to, tack without releasing the genoa and lash the helm to turn up: the boat lies quietly but drifts to leeward. A preventer holds the boom forward on a run.
How do I know if my sails are trimmed right?
A sail works best on the edge of luffing: ease it until the front edge just flutters, then trim in a little. Sheeted too hard, it stalls, heels the boat and slows her.
A sail works best on the edge of luffing: ease it until the front edge just flutters, then trim in a little. Sheeted too hard it stalls, heels the boat and slows her. Light wind wants fuller sails; strong wind flatter ones with more twist.
| What you see | What you do |
|---|---|
| Windward telltales lifting | You are pinching: bear away |
| Leeward telltales fluttering | The sail is stalled: ease the sheet |
| Top of the genoa luffs first | Move the sheet car forward |
| Hard heel in every gust | Let the traveller down, then reef |
| Fighting the wheel | Too much main: reef it |
Reef early, in sheltered water, before the wind arrives. If you are wondering whether to reef, it is time.
Questions from this topic, as the app asks them. Open one to see the answer.
The anchorage shows 2.4 m on the sounder at low water. The boat's draft is 1.9 m. Can you stay?
B. Yes — 0.5 m under the keel, but allow for swell
Draft is the keel depth below the waterline; compare it with depth at low water.
A big following sea is starting to break into the cockpit. Which opening do you close so it cannot flood the cabin?
D. The companionway, with the washboards
Washboards close the companionway; the cockpit drains must stay open to empty it.
Water drips into the cabin where a shroud passes through the deck. Which fitting is leaking?
A. The chainplate
Shrouds are anchored to chainplates that pass through the deck to the hull.
Before a tack, the skipper asks you to put two turns of the lazy sheet on a winch. Which line do you load?
A. The unused one on the windward side
The lazy sheet is the one not working; it becomes the working sheet after the tack.
You are at the helm, sailing with the wind over your right shoulder and the boom out to the left. Which tack are you on?
A. Starboard tack
The tack is named after the side the wind comes over.
You are about to turn the stern through the wind on a run. What do you do first?
A. Centre the mainsheet and warn the crew: "Gybe-ho"
A controlled gybe keeps the boom from slamming across.
All 100 questions of this topic are in the app: practice by topic with the reason after every answer, your mistakes brought back, and a timed mock exam. Free, no sign-up, in the browser or in Telegram.