Seamanship Flashcards
What is a non-regulated pleasure vessel?
Boat less than 13.7m in length
No legislation re lifesaving or fire safety equipment
What is a class XII vessel?
Vessel longer than 13.7m
What is a RIB?
Rigid-hulled inflatatable boat
Made of glass fibre reinforced plastic (GRP)
Powered by inboard or outboard motor
Can be 2 stroke, 4 stroke or diesel
What types of motion occur at sea in a boat?
Roll = side to side about the fore-to-aft (longitudinal) axis Pitch = up and down of bow and stern around boat's beam-to-beam (lateral) axis Yaw = back and forth weaving motion in response to being pushed by waves
How do you start the engine on a RIB?
Connect fuel line to engine, prime rubber bulb until hard
Use choke if it has one
Turn engine on
Check telltale jet of water
What is a bend in a rope?
Way of tying ends together
What is a flake (rope)?
Lay down a rope so that it pays out freely
What is a warp?
A rope being used for anchoring and mooring
What is whipping?
A small lashing of sail twine to prevent the end of a rope unravelling
When would you use a bowline?
Will not slip or jam, easy to undo
Can be used to make a loop to tie 2 bits of rope together, when a shot line or mooring line needs extending
When would you use a reef knot?
Used to join 2 bits of rope of equal diameter and type
When would you use a sheet bend?
Joining 2 bits of rope that are different diameters/ types
When would you use hitches?
Used to secure a line to a ring or a post
When would you use an anchor bend?
Used to attach a rope to a ring or a handle eg on a shot
What is belaying?
Making a line fast by winding it around a cleat
What is splicing?
A permanent join between two ropes that keeps the fibres parallel (stops putting uneven strain on it)
What are the tips for a good splice?
5 tucks is minimum
Length of unalid strands should be about 10x diameter of rope
Twist each strand before making a tuck
Roll it in your hands to bed all tucks properly and smooth the rope to finish
How should you use ropes to moor up a boat?
Use stern rope and bow rope
Use stern and bow springs
Use breast ropes
How heavy should an anchor be?
For 3-4m boat, 5kg
For >5m boat, 10kg
What are the types of anchor?
Bruce CQR Danforth Grapnel Folding Grapnel
Describe a Bruce anchor.
For high holding-to-weight ratio
Lighter than a CQR, no moving parts
Difficult to stow, does not sit well on weed
Good for mud
Describe a CQR anchor.
For high holding-to-weight ratio
Hard to stow, moving parts can break
Good for mud
Describe a Danforth anchor.
Good holding-to-weight ratio, stows flat
Moving parts can jam, hard to break out of mud, does not sit well on weed
Good for sand
Describe a Grapnel anchor.
Cheap and disposable, can be home made
Too light to hold if not hooked in, ineffective on sand and mud, awkward to stow, not suitable as a main anchor
Good for temporary anchoring into wrecks, shotline sinker for wrecks
Describe a foling Grapnel anchor.
Easy to stow, can fold it up if not in use
Too light to hold if not hooked in, poor on sand and mud and not suitable for main anchor
Good for boulders
How do you stow an anchor?
Attach inboard end of line to secure point in boat
Attach buoy to end of line
Flake the line into a container
Describe a 2 stroke engine.
Simply, cheap, easy to maintain, light weight and compact
High levels of pollutants - only engines with direct fuel injection systems meet requirements for EU
Describe a 4 stroke engine.
Use less fuel and oil than 2 stroke
Quieter but heavier
What is the difference between petrol and diesel?
Diesel has higher boiling point
Less flammable
Greater torque of a diesel engine means at lower engine speed the engine delivers more power than petrol
Which direction do you give way to?
Give way to starboard side
What are the rules of the road in narrow channels?
Must keep to starboard side
Cross busy shipping lanes at 90’
How do you tell if you’re on a collision course with another boat?
Use fixed point on your boat that lines up with theirs
Keep speed and course steady
If other boat falls behind fixed point, you will pass in front of it
How far does a fixed VHF radio on a small craft reach?
15nm
What is GMDSS?
Global Maritime Distress and Safety System
Part of SOLAS
Organisation, procedures and communication protocols for emergencies at sea
What is DSC?
Digital Selective Calling
For VHF radio - channel 70
What is a MMSI?
Maritime Mobile Service Identification number
9 digit electronic call sign - essential for DSC
How can you send out a distress signal?
Radio MAYDAY SOS . . . - - - . . . Ball over or under square Slowly raising and lowering arms Continuous sounding of fog horn N C by flags or morse code (N = - . C= - . - . )
Describe the types of flares.
Red parachute rocket flares - seen for 28 miles on a clear night, hangs in air for 40 sec
If in wind - fire 15’ downwind
Red hand held flares - visible for 7 miles on clear night - used when in sight of shore or other vessels
Orange smoke flares - used in daylight, can be seen for 3 miles
White hand held flare - used at night if there is about to be a collision
What is an effective diver recall signal?
Thunderflash
What is a Williamson turn?
Turn 60’ from original heading and continue in straight line until there is enough room to turn onto reciprocal of original course
What is a sea anchor?
Nylon parachute that can slow a drifting boat
Min of 10 boat lengths of line is needed
How can you avoid salvage rights?
Make it clear you are not in danger but just need some assistance
Negotiate a fee first and get witnesses
Always pass your line to them as this means you’re in control
What is SOLAS V?
Chapter 5 of International Safety Of Life At Sea
What are lines of latitude?
Horizontal lines drawn parallel to equator
Labelled in degrees N or S
What are lines of longitude?
Circumferences of the Earth that pass through the poles
Labelled in degrees E or W
How big is a nautical mile?
Distance between 2 points a minute apart - 1/60 of a degree
1852m
1.15 miles
What abbreviations are used for the sea bed on charts? (S, Sn, R, f, bk, M, St, Wd, C, so, Rf)
S = sand Sn = shingle R = rock f = fine bk = broken M = mud St = stones Wd = weed C = course so = soft Rf = reef
What is MHWS?
Mean High Water Springs
Average height of high water at spring tides, used to measure height of land objects shown on chart
What is HAT?
Highest Astronomical Tide
What is a rip current?
Occur when water is driven over a sand bar or reef by the flood tide or by adverse weather
Water is funnelled back through narrow opening causing strong back current
What does veer and back mean?
Veer = wind changes in direction clockwise Back = wind changes in anti-clockwise direction
What lights does a motor boat under 12m have?
Red/ green on bow
All round white at stern
What lights does a sailing vessel under 20m have?
Red/green on bow
White pointing astern
What lights does a sailing vessels over 20m have?
White light on stern pointing astern
White light on bow pointing towards front
Red/ green on bow
What lights does a vessel over 50m have?
2 white lights on bow and middle, pointing towards bow
1 white light on stern, pointing astern
Red/ green on bow
How does a boat show its at anchor?
Black ball by day
All round white light at night (1 if less than 50m, 2 if bigger than 50m)
If you see 2 white lights and green, what is the vessel doing?
Vessel over 50m with its starboard side facing you
If you see a red light and a white light, what is the vessel doing?
Either motor boat under 12m or sailing vessel over 20m, port side towards you
