On a boat everything has its own name, and the skipper's orders are made of those names. Learn where things are, which side the wind is on and what the main parts are called, and you will understand an order the first time you hear it.
Is port still the left side of the boat when I'm facing the stern?
Yes: port is the left side and starboard the right as seen facing the bow, whichever way you look. Sitting in the cockpit facing aft, you have the port side on your right.
Port is the left side of the boat and starboard the right, as seen by someone facing the bow. They do not change when you turn round: sitting in the cockpit facing aft, you have the port side on your right. The bow is the front and the stern the back; forward means towards the bow, aft towards the stern.
The same words say where something is around you. A boat level with you, at right angles to your own, is abeam. Between abeam and astern lies the quarter, between abeam and ahead the bow. So you report "motor yacht abeam to starboard" or "wind over the port quarter".
Port and starboard are named facing forward, wherever you are looking.
How do I tell which side of the boat is windward?
Look at the boom: the wind pushes it away, so it always lies to leeward. With the boom out over starboard, port is the windward side, the one the wind comes from.
The windward side is the one the wind comes from, the leeward side the one it blows towards. The wind pushes the boom away from it, so the boom always lies to leeward: see it out over the starboard side and you know that port is windward.
The crew sits to windward, to balance the heel. Whatever goes over the side, a bucket of washing-up water included, goes to leeward, or the wind brings it back aboard.
In the lee of something means sheltered by it. With a north wind the lee of an island is its south side: flat water for the night.
Where does water collect inside a sailing boat, and what is that space called?
In the bilge, the lowest space inside the hull, under the floorboards. That is where you look when the skipper asks you to check it.
The keel is the heavy fin under the hull that keeps the boat upright. It is her deepest part, so it is the first to touch the bottom. The rudder is the steering blade right aft, just behind the propeller.
| Word | What it is |
|---|---|
| Cockpit | The open well aft, where you steer and work the sheets |
| Companionway | The opening and steps from the cockpit down into the cabin |
| Washboards | Boards that slot into the companionway to keep the sea out |
| Saloon | The main cabin |
| Galley | The kitchen |
| Heads | The toilet |
| Bilge | The lowest space inside the hull, under the floorboards |
Water that gets inside collects in the bilge, so that is where you look when the skipper asks you to check it. When waves start to slop into the cockpit, the washboards go in.
What are the wires that hold up a sailing boat's mast called?
The forestay runs from the masthead to the bow, the backstay to the stern, and the shrouds down to the deck on each side, held away from the mast by the spreaders.
Steel wires hold the mast up. The forestay runs from the masthead to the bow, the backstay to the stern, and the shrouds go down to the deck on each side, held away from the mast by the spreaders. A roller-furling genoa rolls up round the forestay.
Under sail the windward shroud carries the load. After a tack the other one takes over, so a missing split pin or a broken strand on the slack side matters just as much: tell the skipper before the boat tacks.
Flags have their places too. The boat's own ensign flies at the stern, and the courtesy flag of the country you are visiting is hoisted under the starboard spreader.
How do I work out how much water there is under the keel?
If the sounder shows the depth below the waterline, take the draft off it: 2.6 m on the sounder minus a 2.1 m draft leaves 0.5 m. Some sounders show the depth under the keel directly.
| Number | What it is | When you need it |
|---|---|---|
| LOA | Length overall, bow to stern | Booking a berth |
| Beam | The widest point of the hull | Fitting between two boats |
| Draft | From the waterline down to the bottom of the keel | Shallow water |
| Freeboard | From the water up to the deck | Climbing aboard: it is lowest at the stern platform |
The depth the boat needs is her draft plus a margin. If the depth sounder shows the depth below the waterline, take the draft off to find what is left under the keel. Ask the skipper how the sounder is set: some show the depth under the keel directly.
Questions from this topic, as the app asks them. Open one to see the answer.
A motor yacht is keeping pace with you, as shown. How do you tell the skipper where it is?
A. Abeam to starboard
Abeam is at right angles to the boat; starboard is the right-hand side, facing forward.
The skipper asks you where the wind is coming from, relative to the boat. What do you answer?
A. Over the starboard quarter
The quarter lies between abeam and astern; here the wind comes from aft on the right-hand side.
The skipper says: "We'll anchor in the lee of the island tonight." Which spot does she mean?
D. B, on the south side
The lee is the side sheltered from the wind: with a north wind, the south side.
You spot this while going forward. What do you do?
C. Tell the skipper before the tack: it takes the load then
After the tack the starboard shroud is to windward and holds the mast up; a loose fitting can fail.
Entering a shallow bay, the skipper asks you to watch the depth sounder. Which figure tells you how much depth the boat needs?
C. The draft
Draft is how far the keel reaches below the waterline.
Snorkelling under the boat at anchor, you find a plastic bag wrapped round the blade right aft, just behind the propeller. What is it caught on?
B. The rudder
The rudder is the steering blade at the stern, just behind the propeller.
All 20 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.