ADVANCED SAILING (ASA 103 - Skippering)

1. Additional Parts of the Boat

2. Items required by the USCG

3. Firefighting - types of extinguishers

4. Safety Procedures

5. Knots

6. Fuels & safety

7. Additional Man Overboard Techniques - Hypothermia

8. Rules of the Road - Navigation Rules

9. Navigational Lights required for sailboats under sail/power, at anchor

10. Chart work & navigation

11. Magnetic Compass

12. Anchoring

13. Advanced Maneuvering

14. Diver Flags

15. Sail Combinations

16. Weather Hazards

17. Skipper & Crew responsibilities

ALL ITEMS IN STUDY GUIDE WILL BE FOUND ON ASA 103 WRITTEN EXAM

OTHER ASA STUDY GUIDES

BASIC KEELBOAT (ASA 101 - Learn to Sail)

INTERMEDIATE CRUISING STUDY GUIDE (ASA 104 - Bareboat Charter)

COASTAL NAVIGATION (ASA 105 - HOME STUDY COURSE GUIDE)

DEFINE ARE

AS ON BOARD

The Transom – The back of the boat, at the stern, where the name of the boat is usually seen, and the Hull ID# is found. 

The Head – the bathroom/toilet/shower 

The Galley – The kitchen area on a boat, always called the galley – stove, sink, icebox/frig

V-Berth - The forward cabin that’s V-shaped (no kidding right?)

Bow (Forward)  -  Toward the front of the boat

Stern (Aft) -  Toward the back of the boat

Pulpit -  Strong tubing frame on the stern and the bow, where lifelines attach

REEFING

Roller Reefing – where the boom rolls the main sail around it, shortening the sail for heavier wind.

Jiffy or Slab Reefing – used to shorten main sail for heavier wind by having lines through the sails clew that can be pulled down quickly and adjusted tightly for quick (or jiffy) reefing.  Some have diamond shape reinforcements sewn along the new foot with grommet in the middle and a line that is used to tie the shortened sail in place firmly.  When reefing, you must also make a new tack by tacking the reefing grommet and hooking it around a 'ram's horn' to hold it in place.

ADDITIONAL PARTS OF THE BOAT

Turnbuckle –  Strong, stainless steel fitting that has threads on each end and is attached at the bottom of the forestay, backstay, and shrouds. Can be tightened/loosened if needed. Held in place once set with pins.

Chainplate – Fitting at the bottom of the turnbuckle that goes through the deck and is affixed to something solid and stable to hold the rigging in place firmly.

Gudgeon - attached to the boat, where the pintles slide in, to hold the rudder on the back of the boat.

Pintle – pins on the rudder that slide into the holes of the gudgeon where the rudder will be affixed in place when in use.

Tiller/Wheel:  Steering arm or mechanism – controls rudder

Rudderpost – used as a lever to get more purchase when hauling lines. Offers pulling power.

Binnacle -  Solid fitting where the wheel is attached in the cockpit. Compass usually found on top of binnacle.

Through-hull fitting - Any fitting that goes through the hull under the waterline.

Self bailing cockpit drain -  Drains in the cockpit that lead out either down through the hull (they fill up to the waterline only) or drains out the back of the cockpit near the waterline. Allows water to be drained out of the cockpit if swamped by a wave.

Masthead Fly (Windex)– Cool object on top of the mast that points into the wind showing the wind direction.

TYPES OF FIRE EXTINGUISHERS

A,B,C =  Type of fire to fight              I,II,II = Size

TYPE A

Ash -  Paper, cloth

Boil - Flammable Liquids

Current -  Electrical

Failure to comply with requirements can result in fines from the local law enforcement/USCG.

Be sure to know what you're vessel is required to have.  You can get FREE vessel safety checks from the USCG Auxiliary in Ithaca, NY every other Saturday during the summer.  They will tell you if you are missing any requirements. 

 IN THE CABIN

• Stow all gear in cabin MOST IMPORTANTLY in order to keep it safe and organized.  When crew is walking through cabin, gear should not fly around when the boat lurches and rocks.  Stowing gear in the same place each time, helps in emergencies so that everything is easy to find when it's needed.

• You would also want to be sure gear is stowed effectively in order to keep it from getting wet.

ON DECK

• When walking forward always have ONE HAND FOR YOU AND ONE FOR THE SHIP

• The lifelines should never be climbed on our used like a ladder.  The bow and stern pulpit are the solid point where the lifelines attach to, and the lifelines are meant to keep the crew on deck.  You should NOT hang on or put undue pressure on the lifelines.

• A safety harness is meant to help keep a crew member attached to the boat.  Jack lines are the lines that run the length of the boat from bow to stern, which you would use to attach your tether.  The tether is clipped onto your safety harness.  Crew should clip onto the jack lines whenever exiting the cabin and entering the cockpit during heavy weather and when sailing offshore. 

FLARES

• Flares are used as night or day distress signals. 

• Day/Night distress signals are required by the US Coast Guard

• Flares can be handheld or launched from a flare gun

• To operate flares, the instructions are as follows:  Remove black cover on top of flare, hold away from body,  face and boat, Always point flares to leeward, strike ignition button against striker surface on flare cap.

• NEVER STRAP A FLARE TO THE BOAT !

• NEVER IGNITE THE FLARE ON THE WINDWARD SIDE OF THE BOAT !

FOG

• When operating in fog, observe these precautions:     Slow down, get all crew on deck to help listen for approaching boats and watch for obstructions, keep quiet so you can hear approaching vessels, sound appropriate sound signals to describe your vessel and listen for others sound signals, maintain a lookout, hoist a radar reflector, keep track of your course and distance and plot your position on your chart.

• NEVER drive fast through fog, enter shipping lanes in fog, turn up music loud, or send the crew away.

• SOUND SIGNAL FOR A SAILBOAT UNDERWAY IN FOG:   _____________    _    _      Every 2 minutes

STEERING FAILURE

• First -  Set up another method of steering.  You can steer with the sails if necessary.  If you lost your rudder, you may want to rig another rudder.  If you're wheel steering failed, you can attach an emergency tiller

• Second -  Put all crew in PFD if not already

• Third - If necessary, radio for assistance or contact a local boat for help with visual distress signals

RUNNING AGROUND

• There are three types of sailors -  those who have run aground, those who will run aground and those who lie

• If you run aground while sailing on a beam reach, you can immediately, ease the sheets to reduce your forward momentum

• You may be able to sail or motor off if you're not hard aground

• You may also be able to jibe if you're sailing a broad reach or a run in order to get off being grounded

• If you are hard aground you want to check the depth on all sides of the boat and try to kedge the boat off to deeper water with an anchor set out to the side of the boat, or attach an anchor rode to a halyard and try to heel the boat.

• Check tide tables to see if it's high or low tide

• If all else fails, you can always request a tow

FOULING PROPELLER

• A propeller can get fouled, or wrapped by a line or wire in various situations.  Some prop fouling comes from things such as fishing lines, stray lines floating in the water, long stringy weeds, dinghy towing line (painter), lines thrown to retrieve a Man overboard.

• The first thing you would do in this case is to STOP THE ENGINE.  This stops the fouling from getting worse.

• The boat will be drifting at this point (unless the sails are up) so you'll want to stop the boat from hitting anything but dropping the anchor if possible, or setting the sails to remove you from a dangerous collision with other boats, walls docks, etc.

• You will have to cut the line free somehow, but you'll want to be VERY cautious as the boat will lurch up in waves and could crash on top of you if you're underneath the boat. You may hire a diver to come and free the line if you don't feel confident in cutting it free.

LEAKS

• Leaks can come from open hatches, leaky hatches, through-hull fittings that have broken or worn out or a hole in the side of the boat.

• First course of action is always to determine the source of the leak and decide how extreme the leak is.  Plug the leak by the most effective means.  Sometimes this means putting a soft wood plug into a broken through-hull or piling cushions on the location and trying to stuff it and stop water from entering. 

• You should then be sure to activate bilge pumps to remove any water that has entered the boat.  Be sure to monitor how fast the leak is filling the boat.

• If the boat is holed, you can use a collision mat, or take the sail and drape it over the hole stopping water from entering.

RIGGING

• Rigging can fail in many capacities.  The mast can break, the wire stays/shrouds can bust, a halyard can snap or a block could burst of of it's mount. 

• If standing rigging fails, you should FIRST take the load off the rigging, by positioning the boat to reduce strain, and easing sails. 

• If a halyard were to break, you would FIRST have to secure the sail and then work on rigging another halyard.  Often you may have an extra halyard or a spinnaker halyard that is not being used at the moment.

USING VHF RADIO

• Channel 16 is the HAILING STATION -  it is used to hail another boat, or to call for help in an emergency

• Radio checks should NOT be performed on Channel 16, but instead on 68 or 72, which are intership stations

• If no one returns your radio check you can use a handheld radio to listen for your transmittal

• May Day is used only in life threatening situations or if your vessel is seriously endangered. (on fire, sinking, abandoning ship)

• Pan-Pan is used for emergency situations that are not life-threatening but require immediate assistance (ie: lost steerageway and drifting without control)

• Securitay -  is used for broadcasting navigational hazards.

• These are done on Channel 16

• WX is the weather frequency -  You should listen to the weather EACH TIME YOU GO OUT ON THE WATER.  You can get the hazardous weather outlook, most recent condition update, weather system info for the region, extended weather outlook, wind speed and direction and anticipated changes.  Don't always rely on the fact that the wind speeds are accurate as often they are forecast much lower than what is really out there.  Use the natural surroundings and clouds to help choose sail configuration and also look at other boats already on the water.

• TO TRANSMIT -  Be sure to depress knob, speak and let go of knob when finished.  To call another vessel you will say the name of the vessel three times, and identify yourself.  EX.  "Belle-Meres, Belle-Meres, Belle-Meres, this is Skai, over".  OVER MEANS YOU'RE DONE SPEAKING AND AWAITING A RESPONSE.   Belle-Mere replys:  "This is Belle-Meres, go to 68, OVER."  Both parties switch to channel 68, wait for it to be clear and discuss their business.  when finished and not awaiting a response the correct transmission is "This is Skai, OUT".  OUT MEANS I'M FINISHED AND I'M NOT AWAITING A RESPONSE."

• Calling to Bridges or locks is done on specific stations, see guidebooks or cruising guides or signs for info.

There are some basic knots that very important and can be applied in most situations to get you through. 

1.       Overhand Knot   -Stopper knot  - Very difficult to untie.  Use when it’s not necessary to untie regularly. Makes it easy to grip rope with overhand knots every foot.

2.       Figure 8 Knot -  Stopper Knot – Used on running rigging.  Use on the end of sheets to keep them from flailing through blocks (nautical pulleys).

 3.   Reef Knot – Bend  (ONLY for temporary joining of two lines) Used on lines of equal diameter.  Use this for reefing.  It is easy to get undone, but secure for reefing.

 4.       Clove Hitch – Hitch  -  Used to fasten a line to a rail, post, spar or bollard. Use on round posts.  Add two half hitches to make is secure

5.  Bowline (prounounced bow-lin)  Loop  -A non-slipping temporary loop.  The bowline has been called the king of knots; it will hold under tension, will never jam, and can be easily untied. Use this line for many things.  It’s very versatile.  For example, it’s often used when stepping the mast.  It is tied around the spreaders in order to lift the mast.  The standing end will lead to the gin pole or crane.  Also use when tying to a post.

 6.       Half Hitches – Hitch – (Often used with the clove hitch to make more secure)

7. Round turn and 2 half hitches –   Strong, dependable, never jams. Fasten lines to a ring, post, bollard, deck eye, rail.  Use to attach fenders to lifelines temporarily or to tie your horse to a post in Nevada (if you’re a cowgirl.)

8.  Cleat Hitch    Tie around cleats

There are various fuels in use on board cruising boats. Always clean up any fuel spills by wiping up or washing away fuel. Always ventilate cabin and sniff bilges for fumes before starting engine or electrical equipment.  CLOSE UP CABIN  BEFORE FUELING WITH GASOLINE SO VAPORS DON'T ENTER CABIN. Fire extinguishers should not be mounted in engine compartments (unless fixed mount) because if fire starts there, you cannot get to the extinguisher.

**IN ORDER TO INSURE SAFETY, MAKE SURE YOU VENTILATE ALL CABINS OR AREAS WHERE THERE ARE POTENTIAL FIRE HAZARDS

GASOLINE

Used for:  Outboard or inboard engines

Used mostly for inboard engine and sometimes heating source

Used for cooking

Used mostly for lighting and sometimes for cooking

Used mostly for cooking and sometimes for heating

It carries a strong odor and can cause headaches.

There are various gases omitted while operating cruising boats.  Some are as follows: