{"id":681,"date":"2018-07-09T21:18:14","date_gmt":"2018-07-09T21:18:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.forespar.com\/blog\/?p=681"},"modified":"2018-09-20T21:12:22","modified_gmt":"2018-09-20T21:12:22","slug":"six-timeless-seamanship-lessons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.forespar.com\/blog\/2018\/07\/six-timeless-seamanship-lessons\/","title":{"rendered":"Six Timeless Seamanship Lessons"},"content":{"rendered":"
Tweet<\/a><\/div>\n

Beginning in the 50’s,\u00a0 BOATING <\/em><\/a>magazine featured seamanship advice articles, many of which are applicable and basic today.\u00a0 Here is sampler<\/p>\n

Have a Plan B<\/strong><\/p>\n

From January 1958:\u00a0 Unless you know firsthand that all your passengers are skilled at boating, assume they know nothing of what goes on between the gunwales. Robberson suggests that you assign each crew member a different task, giving each a role to play on board.\u00a0 Have one handle cushions and life jackets, for example, another to help with the dock lines, and another to help with engines and helm .\u00a0 That way, everyone has a specific task when you need help.\u00a0 From the time they board the boat, you can get them interested in doing things, and they’ll not only be better company and enjoy the ride more, but they’ll be good for something in an emergency.<\/p>\n

Lights<\/strong><\/p>\n

From 1960:\u00a0 In daylight objects around you are usually easy to identify.\u00a0 They are big or small, short or tall, round or square, and they are plain to see as bridges, docks, land, beacons, buoys, or boats of various kinds and sizes heading one way or the other.\u00a0 But, at night, all the familiar shapes disappear, and all that’s left are various and sundry points of light:\u00a0 Some white, some green, some red, some orange, some blinking, some constant, some stacked, some horizontal, some moving, some still.\u00a0 If you can’t read these, lights, you should be ashore, preferable at home, learning navigation lights.\u00a0 The alternative can be\u00a0 bad.<\/p>\n

Anchors “Away”<\/strong><\/p>\n

From 1977: Ellen Matthew wants you to think about scope – the length of anchor rode you have out under various conditions.\u00a0 With a short scope, the holding of even the best and heaviest anchor is reduced, because the high angle of the rode tends to pull the anchor up instead of along the bottom, breaking it loose.\u00a0 Coast Guard and Navy tests show that a scope of 7 to 1 is right for average conditions (in 10\u00a0 feet of water, you want 70 feet of rode), at least 5 to 1 for ideal conditions (a calm lake or currentless harbor), and at least 10 to 1 during a blow.<\/p>\n

Do No Harm<\/strong><\/p>\n

From 1983:\u00a0 Right of Way – Don’t hit any or anything, and don’t get hit.\u00a0 People often forget that boats don’t have brakes.\u00a0 So, simply put, the more maneuverable vessel stays out of the way of the less maneuverable.\u00a0 Sailboats watch out for rowboats, powerboats watch out for sailboats, and we all watch out for work boats.\u00a0 Like wise, our smaller craft are supposed to give way to ships, especially in tight quarters, because we can get out of their way easier than they can get out of ours. Know the rules and regulations, but be ready to dodge when boats meet.\u00a0 Remember the Law of Tonnage – if they’re bigger than you, being right may not be worth it.<\/p>\n

\"Spring<\/a><\/p>\n

Spring Line Docking<\/strong><\/p>\n

From 1998: Sailboats go bow in.\u00a0 Powerboats back in.\u00a0 We have a tradition to uphold.\u00a0 And remember sneaky trick #110.\u00a0 When the wind and\/or the current are stacked against you, use the spring line method.\u00a0 Lay the boat along the pilings at the end of the dock, or along the end of the dock itself, with the stern (or bow) protruding into the slip.\u00a0 Wrap the line around the midships cleat and then loop around the cleat on the dock, or the piling.\u00a0 Turn the wheel toward the dock, and set the line tight until the bow (or stern) begins to work around, and then ease off as the end of the boat swings into the slip – and you’re home free.<\/p>\n

There’s the old saying about docking.\u00a0 “Go slow like a pro, or fast like an ass”.\u00a0 Slow and steady gets you in with no damage – boat or brain.<\/p>\n

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Tweet Beginning in the 50’s,\u00a0 BOATING magazine featured seamanship advice articles, many of which are applicable and basic today.\u00a0 Here is sampler Have a Plan B From January 1958:\u00a0 Unless you know firsthand that all your passengers are skilled at boating, assume they know nothing of what goes on between the gunwales. Robberson suggests that… Read more: Six Timeless Seamanship Lessons<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1001004,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-681","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.forespar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/681","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.forespar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.forespar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.forespar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1001004"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.forespar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=681"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.forespar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/681\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":724,"href":"https:\/\/www.forespar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/681\/revisions\/724"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.forespar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=681"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.forespar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=681"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.forespar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=681"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}