Parts of a sailboat
The first step in learning how to sail is to learn the parts of a sailboat and what these boat parts are for. Modern Sailboats differ somewhat in the mechanisms and gadgets, but the basic parts and concepts are the same, from the smallest of sailboat to the largest of sailing boats.
Learning the names of the parts of a boat or nomenclature aids with communications and your general understanding of how a boat works. Sailing certifications courses like RYA, ASA and US Sailing basic keelboat, require this basic understanding, so in this article we’ll look at the names and a brief description of what these parts are for.
Some of the basic parts of a sailboat:
1. Port & Starboard – the left and right side of the boat when you are facing forward. An easy way to remember this is that port has four letters and so does left.
2. Deck–This is the flat surface that you stand on either made of wood planking, composite materials (usually fiberglass) or metal. There can be multiple decks on a boat e.g. larger boats may have an upper deck and a lower deck.
3. Cockpit – This is the area on a boat that you sit in to control the boat typically protected a bit from the elements. Most of the controls will lead to the cockpit, this is typically where the wheels is. Some larger boats may have an enclosed cockpit called a pilot hose.
4. Cabin Trunk – On smaller sailboats housing inclosing the entrance to the lower areas of the boat.
5. Companion way – the entrance or doorway leading to below deck typically though the cabin trunk.
6. Rudder – An underwater appendage usually in the shape of a fin. The rudder is used to steer the boat and also to counteract, in conjunction with the keel, against sideways movement of the boat (slippage). It is typically an aerodynamic foil to limit resistance in the water.
7. Pulpits – the bow and stern pulpits are railings at the front and back of the boat that are used to prevent a man overboard.
8. Bow – The front of the boat. On a catamaran it’s the front of both of the hulls and on a trimaran the bow is the front of all of the hulls.
9. Stern – The back of the boat. On smaller sailboats an outboard motor is usually mounted on the stern, the rudder is also attach at the stern part of the sailboat hull.
10. Lifelines – These are typically attached to the pulpits and are a fence around the boat to help keep balance and keep people in the boat. Sometimes floatation devices will be mounted on the lifelines.
11. Keel – Like the rudder this is also an underwater appendage much like a wing that serves two functions. One, on a monohull, the keel usually has a weight at the end that acts as a counterbalance. The force of the wind is acting to push the boat over but the weight at the end of the keel counteracts this. Secondly the keel acts as a hydrodynamic underwater wing preventing the boat from slipping sideways from the sideways force of the wind and allowing for more forward movement.
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