Practical Encyclopedia of Boating : An A-Z Compendium of Navigation, Seamanship, Boat Maintenance and Nautical Wisdom

by Vigor, John

• ISBN13: 9780071378857
• ISBN10: 0071378855
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2003-12-18
• Publisher: International Marine/Ragged Mountain Press

Summary

"Vigor is one of the finest boating writers of our time."shy;shy;Cruising World Boating encompasses an impressive array of disciplines, and every sailor or powerboater worth his or her salt is, by turns, a seaman, navigator, mechanic, electrician, painter, carpenter, meteorologist, medic, cook, and even, on occasion, a diplomat. Which is why it is so surprising that, until now, there has been no single-source reference to which a mariner could turn for practical, up-to-date information in all these areas. The Practical Encyclopedia of Boatingis the first guide to all practicalshy;shy;and many theoreticalshy;shy;aspects of recreational boating under sail and power. From seamanship to maintenance, navigation to boat design and construction, nautical lore and esoterica to the science of how things work, this handy reference gives sailors and powerboaters quick access to just the right amount of information needed to answer most questions and solve most problems.

Author Biography

John Vigor has been sailing more than 40 years in boats ranging from 11 to 72 feet, logging 15,000 miles of ocean voyaging. Born in England, he emigrated to South Africa as a boy. In 1987 he left South Africa in a 31-foot boat with his wife and son and sailed to a new life in the U.S. A journalist, he has written for major metropolitan newspapers in Britain, South Africa, and the U.S., and contributes articles to Cruising World, SAIL, and Yachting Monthly. He is the author of five other books, including International Marine's Practical Mariner's Book of Knowledge, The Seaworthy Offshore Sailboat, and Boatowner's Handbook.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

A

Abandoning Ship

Accidental Circling

Accidents on Board

Adhesives

Air Masses

Air Pressure on Sails

Albatrosses

Alternators

Aluminum Hulls

America's Cup

Amp-Hour Ratings

Anchors, Anchoring

Anchoring Rights

Anchor Types

Antifouling Paints

Apparent Wind

B

Backstaff

Bahamian Moor

Balanced Helm

Ballast Ratios

Ballast Taboo

Barometer

Barge Hazards

Barrier Coats

Battens in Sails

Battery Choices

Battery Needs

Beam-to-Length Ratio

Beaufort Scale

Berths

Bilge

Bilge Pumps

Binoculars

Black Box Theory

Blisters in GRP

Block and Tackle

Block Sizes

Boarding Ladders

Boat

Booms

Borers

Bosun's Chair

Bottom Painting

Bower and Kedge

Brake and Shaft Horsepower

Brightwork

Broaching To

Bulwarks

Buoyage Systems

Buys Ballot's Law

C

Calling for Help

Capsize

Capsize Screening

Castaways

Catching Water

Cavitation

Centerboards

Center of Buoyancy

Center of Effort

Center of Gravity

Chafe

Chain

Chain Locker

Chain Stoppers

Chart Datums

Charts

Chart Scales

Chart Stowage

Checking a Battery

Chines

Choosing a Boat

Circles of Position

Circumnavigation

Cleats

Clouds

Coast Guard

Cockpit Drains

Cockpits

Code Flags

Coiling Line

Coin Under Mast

Collision Bearings

Collision Regulations

Color at Sea

Color Blindness

Commissioning

Companionway Formula

Compass Bearings

Compass Courses

Compass Tests

Compass Types

Complex Lights

Computers

Cooking Afloat

Coral Reefs

Coriolis Force

Counting Seconds

Course Corrections

Cranking Ratings

Crew Overboard

Cruising Anchors

Cruising Boat Size

Cruising Lifestyle

Currents

D

Dacron

Danger Angles

Danger at Sea

Danger Bearings

Dead Reckoning

Deadrise

Delivery Trips

Depth-Finders

Depth-Sounders

Deviation Cards

Diesel Engines

Diesel Fuel

Diesel Maintenance

Diesel Smoke

Dinghies

Dinghy Capacities

Dinghy Life

Dinghy Oars

Dipping Lights

Direction

Displacement

Displacement Ratio

Distance Logs

Distance Off

Distress Signals

Dockage Costs

Docking

Dock Lines

Dodger

Doldrums

Downburst

Dragging Anchor

Drinking Seawater

Drogue

Drowned Outboard Motors

Dry Rot

E

Eating Plankton

Echo Pilotage

Electrical Bonding

Electrical Wiring

Emergency Navigation

Emergency Position-Indicating Radio Beacon

Engine Life

Engine Oil

Enlarging Plans

EPIRBs

Epoxy

Estimated Position

Estimating Angles

Exhaust Line

F

Faint Lights

Fathometer

Fathoms

Fear

Fenders

Fetch

Fiberglass

Fiddles

Fighting Currents

Figure-Eight Method

Figureheads

Fire on Board

First Aid

Fisherman Anchors

Fishing Boats

Fixes

Flags

Flare

Flotation

Flotsam and Jetsam

Fog Prediction

Fog Types

Fouling Sheets

Foul-Weather Gear

Four-Point Bearings

Freak Waves

Freeboard

Freeing Anchors

Fuel Capacity

Fuel Consumption

Fuel Economy

Fuel Weight

G

Gaff Mainsails

Gales at Sea

Galley Placement

Galvanic Corrosion

Gasoline Dangers

Gelcoat

Gimballed Stoves

GPS

Green Flash

Groundings

H

Hallucinations

Halyards

Handy-Billies

Harnesses

Hatches

Hauling Out

Headroom

Heads

Headsails

Heaters

Heaving Lines

Heaving To

Heavy Weather

Height of Eye

HELP Posture

Hobbyhorsing

Holding Power

Holding Tanks

Horse Latitudes

Horsepower

Horseshoe Buoys

Hull Colors

Hull Costs

Hull Shapes

Hull Trim

Hurricane Areas

Hurricane Tactics

Hydrofoils

Hypothermia

I

Iceboxes

Ice Damage

Inertia

Isobars

J

Jacklines

Jet Drives

Jet Streams

Jib Numbers

Jumping Lights

Junk Rigs

Jury Rigs

K

Kayaks as Tenders

Keels

Knots

L

Lateen Rig

Latitude, Longitude

Lead Lines

Lead Percentage

Leaks

Leeboards

Lee Helm

Leeway

Length-to-Beam Ratio

Life Jackets

Lifelines

Life Rafts

Lifesling System

Lighthouses

Lightning Protection

Lights at Anchor

Lightweight Anchors

Lines of Position

Lines Plans

Locating Batteries

Locks

Lookouts

Lubber Line

Lying Ahull

M

Mainsail Slides

Making Fast

Man Overboard

Marine Operators

Masts

Mast Steps

Mast Vibration

Mayday Calls

Miles

Mooring

Motorsailers

Multihulls

N

Navigation Lights

Net Tonnage

New Anchors

Nighttime Boating

Noises in Fog

Nonskid Surfaces

Nylon Line

O

Ocean Currents

Ocean Temperatures

Ocean Voyaging

Ocean Water

Oil Bags

Osmosis

Outboard Motors

Overhangs

Overloading

P

Paint Amounts

Painting Time

Paints

Pan-Pan Calls

Passages, Gangways

Piloting

Pitchpoling

Planing

Planking

Plankton

Plastics

Plow Anchors

Plunging Breakers

Polypropylene

Polyurethane Paint

Pooping Seas

Portholes

Powerboat Engines

Preventers

Privacy

Propeller Advances

Propeller Drag

Propeller Facts

Propeller Fouling

Propeller Options

Propeller Thrust

Propeller Vibration

Propeller Walk

Provisioning

Pulling Power

Purchases

Purifying Water

Q

Quadrant

Quarantine

Quarter Berths

Quick-Stop Method

R

Radar Reflectors

Radar Sets

Radio Transmitters

Rafting Up

Ranges

RDF Sets

Reciprocal Bearings

Reefing

Reefing Options

Refrigeration

Registration

Renaming a Boat

Resins for Boats

Resistance

Rhumb Lines

Rigging Tension

Right of Way

Rigging Sizes

Rodes

Rogue Waves

Roller-Furling and Roller-Reefing Headsails

Roll Times

Rope Strength

Rope Stretch

Rope Versus Line

Rudder Loss

Rudders

Rules of the Road

Rum Punch

Running Inlets

Running Off

S

Safe Anchorage

Safe Anchor Weight

Sail Area

Sailboat Engines

Sailboat Handling

Sailboat Rigs

Sail Cloth

Sailing in Gusts

Sailing on Friday

Sails and "Lift"

Saloon

Salvage

Sandpaper

Scope for Anchors

Scudding

Sculling

Scurvy

Sea Anchors

Seacocks

Seakindliness

Sea, Land Breezes

Sealants

Seamanship

Seasickness

Seaworthiness

Self-Steering

Selling a Boat

Sentinels

Setting Anchors

Sextants

"She" Is for Ships

Sheet Sizes

A Ship's Log

Shrouds and Stays

Single-Handed Sailboats

Single-Handed Sailing

Skegs

Skid Fins

Slack and Stand

Slips Versus Moorings

Smart Regulators

Solar Panels

Soundings

Sound Signals

Speed Limits

Speed of Boats

Speed Trials

Splicing Line

Spreaders

Stability

Stability Limits

Stainless Steel

Stanchions

Starter Draw

Steel Hulls

Steering Systems

Stern Anchoring

Stern Drives

Stern Glands

Stove Fuels

Sun Exposure

Surveyors

Synthetic Fibers

T

Tacking

Tacking Downwind

Tanks

Teak Finishes

Through-Hulls

Thunder and Lightning

Tidal Streams

Tidal Waves

Tides

Tillers

Time Signals

Time Zones

Tonnages

Tools

Torque

Towing

Towing Drogues

Trade Winds

Traffic Schemes

Trailerboats

Trim Tabs

Trysails

Turnbuckles

Twelfths Rule

Twin Screws

U

Unlucky Colors

Unlucky Names

V

Varnish Details

Varnishing

Ventilation

Voices in the Night

W

Wasted Fuel

Watchkeeping

Watermakers

Water Needs

Waterplane Area

Waterproof Clothes

Waterspouts

Watertight Bulkheads

Wave Height

Waves

Waves in Gales

Weather Fronts

Weather Helm

Weather Information

Wheel Turns

Whistling

Winches

Wind and Altitude

Wind Generators

Windlasses

Wind Systems

Winterizing

Wire Terminals

Wooden Hulls

Wooden Spars

X - Z

Xebecs

Yacht Definition

Yacht Design

Your Performance

Zinc Anodes

Bibliography

Index