Sailboat And Sailing Terms

Any new activity can seem like a challenge when you aren’t familiar with the basic terminology. Sailing and sailboats have lots of unique terms associated with them and by learning the basics, you take the first steps into a larger world.

First things to understand about sailboats are the different parts to them. Powered boats have many of the same parts, such as the hull ( main body), the bow and stern(front and back), rudder (for steering), and the deck.

Sailboats have other important features, including the keel (a structure extending from the hull into the water to limit lateral movement and improve stability). The keel keeps a sailboat upright when the wind wants to drive the sailboat onto its side. Smaller boats have a centerboard that can be removed, instead of a keel. Other parts are: Mast (the main beam on a sailboat that supports the sails), Boom (the beam that extends horizontally from the mainsail’s foot), Standing rigging (wire ropes that support the mast), Running rigging (the ropes and other lines that are used to raise and lower the sails, and control the sails).

Sailboats can travel faster or slower by tightening or loosening the running rigging, or using different sails. So a ten knot wind driving a sailboat at five knots, by using a job (a triangular shaped headsail designed to catch the maximum force of wind) rather than a short sheet headsail may add an extra knot to the speed.

Understanding the basics of sailboats will help the experience be more enjoyable. These are just a few of the terms but there’s an entire world to discover.

By: Matt J Sims

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