Boatman’s drivers test

SEILERENJNL Enviro as

Kalkfjellet 23, 1387 Asker, NorwayOrg no.: NO 989136631 MVA

This booklet’s content:

1. Introduction2. General on the Boatman’s Drivers License3. Become familiar with the boats equipment4. Navigation: the chart and it’s symbols5. Navigation at night6. Basic knots7. Going on a boat-trip

a. weatherb. planning a tripc. anchoringd. mooring / make fast the boat

8. Rules and regulations at sea9. Driving at night10. Technical on boat and motor11. Boat handling in theory

a. Loading the boatb. Steering the boatc. Water-skiingd. Children on board

12 Navigation: the grid systeme. Degrees and positionsf. Compass and coursesg. Deviation

13. Navigation: speed and distancea. Log and GPS

14. The VHF radio15. Fire on board16. Insurance17. Alcohol18. Sewerage19. Day signals20. Man over board

This booklet is only to be used in connection with courses run by SEILEREN, JNL Enviro AS

1 Introduction

Welcome to this course. This course aims at giving you a relatively comprehensive theoretical foundation for driving a boat up to a certain size. Care should be taken and common sense applied when putting these theories into real life. The common way of beginning a “boat career” is by starting with a smaller boat and getting used tothat one, before buying a larger vessel and handle that one on the basis from the previous one. A funny thing is that they say all yachters suffer from a 3-foot-illness, which means they always want a boat three feet longer.

Isn’t it a simple thing to drive a boat?

Driving a boat is not necessarily all that hard, but driving it safely in any condition takes an alert and “awake” person. Statistics show that 51 people were killed as they were out driving small boats in 2004 here in Norway. That tells us we should really respect the water and the precautions necessary to avoid similar tragedies. Let’s takea look at what these 51 people were doing wrong:

- 34 people did not wear a life vest- 18 people were affected by alcohol- 24 people fell over board and weren’t able to get back up on board again- Many of them were alone on board when the accident happened

These facts give us an indication on what we need to be especially aware of, we don’t want to see more of these tragedies. Fortunately the numbers were better the summer of 2005: “only” 26 people faced the same destiny for the same reasons here in Norway.

Boating is very pleasant when you’re in control of the situation. Through this course you’ll get enough guidelines and teaching to be prepared for most situations you might encounter during your first years at sea in coastal waters.

2 General on the Boatman’s Drivers Test

You are not required to hold a license to drive pleasure-boats smaller than 15 meters and lighter than 25 tons in Norway. The syllabus for the Boatman’s Drivers Test is stillrecommended by the Norwegian Maritime Directorate as a comprehensive course that gives you enough knowledge to drive boats up to the above mentioned size, andit aims at making you able to pass the exam.

The age limit for getting the diploma / certificate is 14 years. Children / youth are allowed to take the exam before turning 14, and will, if they pass, get the ticket after turning 14. When it comes to the exam, there will be 50 exercises you need to answer. Giving 40 or more (80 %) correct answers makes you pass.

3 Become familiar with the boats equipment

Before getting “too hot in our jackets”, as we put it here in Norway, let’s go through some basic terms used to distinguish between a boat’s different sides:

Bow = the front part of the boatStern = the aft part / back side of a boatStarboard = the right-hand side of the boat, seen from behindPort side = the left-hand side of the boat, seen from behindIMPORTANT: Starboard and Port are NOT to be mixed with LEFT and RIGHT: they refer only to the different sides of a boat, independently on how you view it. For instance, a beacon does NOT have a starboard side, only a boat has.

Differently to a car, we need to have quite a few items on board to help us deal with different situations that may occur while out at sea. These items will be listed below inthree categories:

What you must have on board before departure:-- Life vests, in case you fall over board. You are obliged to have one vest

per person on board, vests that have the right size/weight - Something to empty the boat with, in case water gets into the boat- A good engine / motor- Fuel enough to keep you going- Oars, in case your motor stops for any reason- Good sails if it is a sailing vessel- A reliable rudder - Ropes, in case you need a tow

What is important to have on board:-- Charts, for finding your way around and back again- Compass for your navigation- An Anchor, in case you need to stop or hold the boat away from shore- Fire extinguisher, in case of serious fire in very flammable materials- Some extra gas/petrol in case you run out- VHF Radio if going long distance- A mobile phone in case you need assistance (dial 112 for police, 113 for

ambulance)- Flashlight / torch to be able to see or be seen at night- A signal horn in order to get attention- Emergency flares of different kinds, including orange smoke for day-time

What is nice to have on board: (suggestions you may find helpful in planning your trip)

- First aid Kit in case someone needs some plastering on board- Relevant literature, such as books on navigation and seamanship- Fenders for protecting the boat against rubbing- A boat-hook for picking up ropes and other objects from the water- Sunscreen to avoid becoming seriously sunburnt

- Binoculars to be able to see things from a distance- Warm clothes as it’s usually colder at sea than on land- Raingear- Fishing gear to make use of the opportunity to catch today’s dinner- Snorkelling gear, if you like- Sunglasses are very helpful on a sunny day- A good book, the one you struggle to find time to read during everyday life- A swimsuit to make use of the opportunity- Plenty of nice food and drinks. No need of becoming hungry when you’re

far from home and far from any convenient store.

4 Navigation: the chart

There are basically two things you need to avoid when driving a boat. These two are: 1) Running on ground and 2) Colliding with other boats / vessels.

Thorough navigation helps you find your way around without running on ground.Our primary tool for navigation is the chart. The chart tells us a little bit of what’s found on shore, and a lot about what’s found on the water and under the water.

Scale

First of all, it’s good to know what area the chart covers. Knowing the scale will help us understand what distances we have before us, and how large the rocks and islands found in the chart are in reality. A chart with scale 1: 25 000 means one unit inthe chart equals 25,000 units in real. That means: 1 cm in the chart is 25,000 cm in reality. Converting cm into meters gives us 250 metres. With this in mind, we get a picture of how large the islands are, and what distance there is between them.

Chart symbols

The chart tells us what is found under the surface of the water, which is usually where our vision stops. The most important symbols to notice are these:

Please notice this symbol!

A plus indicates a shallow spot. A plus with fore dots around, indicates a so-called washing, often invisible rock at the surface.

Black dots, larger than the tiniest, indicate there are visible rocks in the water. The numbers tell us the depth in meter. A number near a plus-symbol tells us the depth exactly where the plus is.

These symbols tell us something about the sea bottom:

Shallow area Foreshore

3m shoal Rocks!

Channel - line

Leading lights

Anchoring Wreck Ground

Underwater cable

Submerged pipeline

Overhead cable

Sea-marks: First group: marking shoals

Second group:Cardinal BuoysTell us what side of a shoal we should pass it on

A North mark, (BY) stands north of a shoal, an East mark stands east of a shoal

Third group: Leading buoys Tell us where the main channel goes

When going in the main direction of the main channel, the green markers should be to your right (starboard) and the red to your left (port side). The arrow with two coloured dots indicate the main direction, the direction of which the markers are set up for.

Fourth group: Other markers

Red and white show us Yellow markers mark off an area not to enterthe centre of a channel

Fifth group: Beacons and lights

The drop of colour and a letter indicates what colour the marker or lighthouse uses tolit up at night. Some may light in different colours, divided into sectors. A very common symbol for light-houses is the one in the middle, a star with 5 pointers.

Lighthouses will have different shapes; the chart symbol does not tell us what they look like in daylight:

5 Navigation at night

Sectors: a good aid for navigation:

Many lighthouses have their light divided into different sectors. Making use of sectors will help us determine our position; where in accordance with the lights our boatis. It becomes relatively easy to find your way around at night. As you go from one sector to another, the light changes colour but the frequency of flashing remains the same. Notice that you can make use of the way sectors overlap oneanother, and try to sail within safe / deep waters by making sure you’rewithin safe areas covered by the right sectors. There is no rule to what sector you should choose; this depends on where you wanna go, how far away from the lighthouse you are, and so-forth. Having said that, the white sector

is often set up to lead you through the main channel as long as you’re already following it.

Lights characteristics

In order to distinguish between all the lights on the horizon, the lit-up markers and buoys are flashing or clipping the light continuously in different frequencies, as well as having different colours and/or sectors. Everything about a light’s characteristics iswritten as an abbreviation in the chart; what kind of flashing, how many times it occurs, the lights colour and the time period in which the flashing will occur . Here aresome examples of the most common ones:

Fl R (one flash, Red,) Fl(2) R 6s (two flashes, white, every 6 sec.) Oc G 4s (occulting, green, every 4 seconds) Oc(2) W 8s (occulting twice, white, every 8s.) Iso W 4s (isophase, green, 4 seconds) Q(4) R 7s (4 quick red flashes every 7 sec.) VQ (very quick)

.

Navigation at night is not all that hard if you are acquainted with: - Navigating during daytime

- Adapting navigational lights on the horizon with symbols in the chart and vice versa

- How to “sail” according to these lights- How other boats appear at night (we’ll come to that soon)

If you are to navigate at night, you should follow these guidelines:

Figure out where you are before you start moving Plan your track before you sail it Your route should be idiot-proof and possible Make yourself visible with lanterns Vests on for everybody on board Move with lower speed than during daylight Check the chart frequently to see if it corresponds with what you see on the

horizon

6 Basic knots

Knowing some basic knots is part of basic seamanship. You should make an effort to learn these 5 knots by heart. The day when the boat’s or crew’s safety depends on the not you made, you’ll be happy if you know you tied it right and well. The five most common knots which will cover most of your needs are the ones illustrated here.

First to the left is a bowline knot.This is used to make a permanent loop at the end of a rope. You can use it to fasten the rope to just about anything. The next knot is a number eight.This is used to make a lump somewhere at the rope, usually at the end of it. This will prevent the rope from slipping through a narrow hole, or give you a bettergrip around the rope if holding it where the lump is. The one in the middle is called square knot or reef knot. This is used to tie two similar ropes together. The square knot is not all that reliable; it tends to come open if there’s not a constant drag on the ropes, or constant tension

on the knot. Down to the left is a sheet bend. The sheet bend is good for tying two different ropes together. It is more reliable than the reef knot, and it has the advantage of being useful even when the two ropes tied together are of different dimensions and quality. The thickest out of two only has one bend. The thinner one isthe one wrapped around. The last knot illustrated is one made of two half hitches.

Notice that the hitches go around the rope itself, and not around the mooring-ring. This knot is like an all-round knot, which can be used for many tasks.

7 Going on a boat-trip

By now you know what to bring for your boat-trip and how to read the chart’s symbolsand recognize buoys and beacons you see in the water. In this section we’ll look at a few other things you need to know when going on a boat-trip.

Weather

It’s a good idea checking the weather-forecast when planning a trip. Depending on what kind of boat you’re using, and how far you’re going to go, you should really consider the weather-forecast for the period in which you’ll be out at sea. Bad weather increases the danger of being shipwrecked. It also increases the chances of getting an unsuccessful trip, pleasure-wise. You should keep in mind that head-wind with big waves are difficult to move against, and that you’ll have to move slower in these kinds of conditions than you would have to if the water were flat. Anchoring becomes a lot more tricky under windy conditions, and manoeuvring in close quartersalso becomes more tricky.So please pay attention to the weather-forecast, and think twice if you consider goingout in anything else than under moderate condition.

Fuel

Different to driving a car, you’ll be in more trouble running out of fuel out at sea than when you’re driving along the road. It’s just silly running out of petrol or diesel when you’re in a boat. So besides all the necessary gear we have mentioned, we recommend paying special attention to this one.

Life vests

Just to emphasise or stress the importance of bringing enough life-vests, we mentionit again here as a part of planning a boat-trip. On a sunny calm day it can be temptingtaking this point lightly, but there is a law here in Norway, and probably in most civilized places saying there should be enough life-vests for everybody on board. When you one day need them all, you’ll be thankful you follow this rule.

Planning where to go

It’s always good to have a plan. You should sit down with the chart and plan where you wanna go, taking time, weather and purpose of the trip into consideration. To give you an example of how bad it can be if neglecting this point; it would be if you eventually come to where you want to anchor, but realize the wind makes it too dangerous to anchor in that bay you thought of. Realizing this, you go to another one which might be all right, but now you’re running short on fuel. Besides, you forgot to think through what time it gets dark, and as the sun sets you feel like driving back home in the dusk. Unfortunately there aren’t enough lights to guide you home at night, petrol runs out and the gale they announced in the weather forecast you didn’t listen to, happens to build up as expected by anyone following the news. Well, it might sound like a banal example, but sure enough; it could be the story of your first experience with boats if you don’t think through things and plan ahead.

Anchoring

You would think it’s self-explaining how to anchor a boat. But in fact, it can be a critical thing to do for the following reasons: - We’re usually approaching land, and might run on ground either during or after we have anchored. - The rope might be caught by the propeller - Someone might fall over board - We might loose the anchor- The anchor might slip at the bottom and not hold anything. In that case, the boat willcome loose, drift on shore and / or be damaged from hitting ground. When anchoring from the stern and in against dry land, try to follow these guidelines:

• Find a sheltered, shallow (<10m) place for where you want to anchor• Make sure the anchor is well fastened to a rope, and the end of the rope to the

boat• Drop the anchor about 20m from shore, or 3 – 4 times the length of the boat• Keep going towards land, while making sure the rope is not going in to the

propeller• Someone on deck should watch the bottom to make sure it’s deep enough• When arrived, pull anchor tight to see if it holds• Try again if the anchor doesn’t hold• Remember the tide may change and drop about half a metre (in Oslo)• Keep some slack at the rope tied between boat and shore• Watch the boats position every now and again to check if the anchor is holding

Lying on sway

Another way of anchoring is to lay on sway. This means dropping the anchor in an open place, some distance from shore, and just let the boat sway around the anchor as the wind or current changes. This way of anchoring is quite nice, and much less risky than anchoring against the shore. Just remember to let out enough chain or rope to get a good hold. The longer the chain and rope, the better it holds. This is because the anchor is designed to be dragged along the bottom rather than be pulled

straight up towards the boat. A rule of thumb is that you let out 3-5 times more chain and rope than the water is deep. So if there is only 5 meters depth where you drop the anchor, you should let out between 15 and 25 meters of anchor-line. When tying the rope to the boat, it’s better to tie the rope to the bow than to the stern, as it’s morecomfortable having the wind and waves hit the bow than the stern. Mooring

Well back in the marina, you need to moor the boat properly. If you want the boat to lie safely, you might want to consider these advices on how to fasten the boat to a pier.

• Keep in mind that tide may change (0.5 m in Oslo, up to several meters in other countries)

• Always use fenders in order to protect the boat• Make sure nothing rubs, like the boat or the ropes• Tie the ropes in a slight angle, never 90 degrees on the boat. This is to make

sure the ropes don’t pull hard on the boat or pier, and to prevent them from snapping.

• There should be a certain slack on the ropes, but not too much. • Use proper knots, knots that really holds, but which are also possible to untie

Mooring

8 Rules and regulations at sea

Their purpose:• To help us avoid collision, running on ground and other accidents

By law, who is responsible of following these rules and regulations?• The owner of the boat• The skipper on board• The crew

A summary of the most relevant rules

1. WatchAlways watch the horizon and listen for anything that might become

dangerous for our passage

2. Safe speedYou should always go with safe speed. Your boat’s ability to manoeuvre and

the water you’re driving in are important things to take into consideration. Your speed should be low enough to avoid collision and any navigational danger. In some areas close to shore, where there is a lot of traffic and a specific need to regulate the speedby setting a speed-limit, they either write it in the chart that there is a 5 knots speed limit, or they put up signs in the area indicating there is a speed limit of 5 knots in the area. The sign for this might be yellow, or it’ll look like this one:

3. Considering the danger of collisionIf you’re not sure if you’re in the danger of colliding with another vessel, take

action as if you were

4. Obvious / clear manoeuvreIn order to make other boats understand your manoeuvre, make sure it is

distinct and done long before any danger

5. Keep rightStay to the right in any narrow area. When going towards other boats, keep

right to avoid collision.

6. Give wayWith a pleasure-boat running with motor, you should give way to sailboats

under sail, motorboats coming from your right, and any commercial boat/ship. You should also give way when overtaking someone. When giving way: let the other boatpass, and cross their course behind them, not in front of them.

If you are sailing, you should give way to other sailboats as in these two rules:If the wind is coming in from your starboard side, and you’re on a colliding course with a boat which has the wind coming from his port side, you have the right of way. To make this rule easy to remember, we say: Starboard wind, steer and win!If two sailboats are on a colliding course and they have the wind coming in from the same side, as in example they both have the wind coming in from their port side, the boat to windward should give way to the boat on it’s leeward side. A rule to help you remember this one is: the boat to leeward gets his reward. (by having the right of way)

7. The definition of a motorboatAny boat which is running it’s motor / engine to keep moving is considered as

a motorboat. This means a sailboat with it’s sails hoisted but having it’s engine running, will be defined as a motorboat.

Boats and ships lanterns

To make boats and ships visible at night, we use lanterns. The lanterns should be turned on between dusk and dawn, and any time where there is bad visibility. During

this course, we’ll only look at the most common combination of lanterns, the ones you’re most likely to see in the Oslo Fjord. For further information on other combinations of lanterns, please look up a book with rules and regulations at sea, and you will find that there are quite a few different combinations, for instance for different kinds of fishing-vessels, ships that tough another boat or anything big through the waters and so-forth.

The main point is that the boat should be visible and possible to “read” or understand even if it’s dark.

Starting with the smallest boats up to 7 meters long, they only need to carry a lantern showing white light 360 degrees on the horizon. If a boat is more than 7 meters long, the rules say the boat should have one red light on its port side, a green light on its starboard side, and a white lantern lighting forward and astern. The picture will look like the ones below. (left)

Sailboats run their own combination, as these are to be recognized and have the right of way before motorboats. Their lanterns are as follows: Only red showing from their port side, only green from their Starboard, and only white from the stern.

Large ships (>50m) will run lanterns as in the illustration: two white ones will be seen from their front and sides, plus a red on it’s port side and a green from it’s starboard side. Aft it shows only a white lantern.

9 Driving at night

By now you have enough theoretical knowledge to carefully start navigating at night. There is one more thing which is a very good aid for night-time navigation, which is making use of the compass to find courses you need to steer on, and to give you an idea on what directions you can expect to find beacons and lighthouses. As it is harder to see things at night, you should really slow down in case there are objects or navigational markers in your way. It is also very difficult to “read” distances at night, so what you believe is several hundred meters away, might be only a few meters away and vice versa. The author of this booklet has experienced several times that black poles marking a shoal are close to impossible to notice when it’s dark, and you wouldn’t wanna hit any of those on your way back. So rule no. 2 is SLOW DOWN. Rule no. 1 is: Put on a life-jacket! This applies to everybody on board. If you or any ofyour crew fall over board at night, it might be very difficult to see the person. In order to get more time to float before you freeze to death, you should have on a life-jacket while waiting for people to return or find you. Besides a life Jacket, you should have aflare or a strobe-light in your pocket. This will help people find you at night. Without this, and in windy and wavy conditions, they may not even find you ever! Not sticking to the Power Point-presentations order of these points, we put down a few more advices for driving a boat at night:

Keep track on where you are! It is so much easier to navigate if you keep a finger at the spot where you are (in the chart) at present, and if you know what direction you’removing. Especially when there are many beacons and lighthouses in the area to helpyou navigate, it is very important that you don’t move so fast that you loose the overview and get confused by all the flashing lights and vessels lighting on the horizon. If you loose track of where you are, you just stop the boat and figure it out.

Planning the route beforehand is always good, especially when it’s dark. The embarrassing thing would be if you’re planning to go somewhere, and find that after awhile there aren’t enough lit-up beacons or light-houses to navigate on. In this case you might not be able to continue driving, in case you hit a shoal, a rock or ground. So plot the course before you go, checking if there are enough lit-up beacons to guide you home. And not the least: the route you choose should be idiot-proof. You don’t wanna take any chances when navigating at night.

Lastly, remember to turn on the lanterns. The lanterns should be turned on after sunset, and can be turned off after sunrise. Just make sure you have enough power to start the engine if for instance sailing. Better to run the engine to charge the battery, than running out of power to save fuel.

10 Boat and engine

In this chapter, we’ll take a look at some issues related to boat and engine. We start off with talking about boats.

As you know, there are many kinds of pleasure boats. We find anything from small canoes and inflatable ones, to larger ones that remind us more of small ships. Some boats are open, some have a deck and a cockpit, some are only made to be rowed

or paddled, some need sail and most of them are made to be driven by motor / engine. It is important to understand that different boats are to be used in different waters. While some are designed to be used in small lakes or other sheltered waters, other ones are made to be used in open sea and to cross big oceans. Only use the boat in the kind of water it is designed for!

In 1998 they introduced a new regulation concerning verification of pleasure boats. All boats sold or imported to Norway have to be CE-labelled. This label gives us information about the manufacturer, the boats design-category, the maximum recommended load and the maximum recommended number of passengers the boatcan carry. In addition, the label has the letters CE printed on, and a label indicating the boat meets certain requirements concerning building method and construction, verified by a supervision authority like the Norwegian Veritas.The design-categories go from A to D and are as follows:

A Ocean-going vessel– Designed to go anywhere– The vessel is self-supplied

B Designed for off-shore use– Designed to be used along but off sight of the coast– for waves less than 4 m. high, and for wind up to strength 8 (Bauforts

scale)C Designed for coastal use

– To be used along the coast and in any smaller waters, where the wavesare less than 2 meters high, and the wind less than strength 6 on the Baufort’s scale

D Designed for sheltered waters– Only to be used in sheltered waters, where the waves are less than 5

meters, wind up tp strengh 4.

As they refer to the Beaufort’s wind-scale, we enclose it here:

The motor

The motor is really worth taking care of and maintaining well, independently on whether it’s a big one or a smaller one. It is our hope when the seas are roaming and our friend whenever we need it. There are basically two categories of engines, divided into two under-categories. The different kinds are:1 Outboard motors; divided into 2-stroke motors and 4-stroke motors2 Inboard engines: divided into petrol-driven ones and diesel ones.

All motors need to have these things: A starter mechanism Cooling!! Lubrication / oil Pure fuel Air Maintenance A gearbox - which also needs lubrication

All motors need this maintenance as a minimum: Check the oil-level Check the fuel-filter Check the transmission belt for charging: it should not be too worn or too slack Once or twice a season: check the fuel-tanks for dirt Zink Anode!

When it comes to starting a motor, you’ll have to learn about the specific motor you’ve bought or you’re “borrowing”. It’s still good to know some basics on how to start a small petrol outboard motor.

Ensure petrol is connected, you may have to pump a little if just connected Open air valve and fuel valve if there is one, and if it’s closed The fuel tank needs air to ensure flow Gear in neutral Give some throttle Does the motor need a dead-man pin? Give choke once if it is a manual one Try to start it by pulling the rope or turning the key. Push in choke, if it is a manual choke. Check that there is cooling water running out Let the motor run a little warm to ensure it’s stable Only gear at idle speed.

11 Going for a ride

As the motor is running, let’s say you want to go for another trip.

Loading the boat

When loading a small boat, either with people or heavy luggage, it’s important to think about the boats balance. As with anything else requiring a low centre of gravity, it’s good to place weight as far down as possible to avoid tipping. Heavy weight and people should be placed low to obtain good stability. As with many aspects on boating, you need to use common sense. A tiny boat is more sensitive to ballast compared to a larger one. And the conditions in which you use the boat will also affect the need to think about these things. In big waves, it’s more important with a low centre of gravity than in flat waters.

Departing

When throwing the mooring-ropes, it’s good to think before you do anything else. As mentioned, you should look at the chart and make a little plan before you go. How embarrassing wouldn’t it be if you run on a rock near by, just after waving good bye toall your friends and colleagues? Well. When it comes to driving off with the boat, just keep in mind that it is the stern that has the greatest movement, as opposed to a car where there is the front that swings and the back wheels that follow. So you should be aware of the stern and make sure it doesn’t crash into the pier. If there are windy conditions where the wind is pushing the boat against the pier, you need to be even more careful not to crash. In this case, you might want to tie a rope from the bow going “backwards” and into the pier. By putting the boat in Forward Gear, the rope will stop the boat from moving forward. It will in fact make the bow be pressured in towards the pier, while the stern / aft part is starting to move out and away from the pier. In this way, the boat will get a good angle to the pier, and you can put the gear inreverse ( go astern) and away from the pier. Got it? It’s being illustrated by the instructor if you can’t see how it works.

Steering in waves

With a power-boat, meaning a fast motor-boat, you should respect the forces that arecreated in the elements of waves, speed and weight. Going fast against big over even small waves might cause damage to your boat. If running a motorboat relativelyfast against the seas, you should attempt to make the boats movements as smooth as possible. Going straight against the waves with high speed is never good. Instead,turn some 15 – 25 degrees to one side to see if that makes the motions smoother. If not, consider slowing down or adjust the angle further. Sometimes you see people jumping on the waves, which might look like great fun, but it’s very rough on the boat and all it’s gear.

If you’re suddenly meeting some really large waves, for instance from a ship or a big boat passing, you should meet the waves in the right way. Letting the waves “hit” your boat from the side will usually cause the boat to roll / rock a lot. This can be bothdangerous and uncomfortable. Going fast straight into the waves can be even more dangerous and more uncomfortable. We recommend you slow down and steer straight up against the waves until they have passed. In this way you’ll be safe and there won’t be any trouble.

Waves from behind are usually very nice to “ride” on. If these waves grow a lot in sizeas a result of strong winds, and become so large you would define them as “huge”, you should be more careful. In this case, you’re in the danger of surfing fast down wave, and tipping /rolling over when or if loosing control at the bottom in between twowaves. The way to tackle huge waves from behind is by riding carefully straight

down-wave. Make sure you don’t slide over to either side, to avoid the possibility of tipping over if loosing control.

We suggest you never go out in rough seas during your first years of driving a boat. And if you ever go out in rough seas, the boat should be of category A or B to tackle the conditions.

Water-skiing

Water-skiing is great fun, but as with many things that are nice, it is also to some degree risky. We enclose a few things you should keep in mind if planning to take someone water-skiing.

You’ve got a propeller!

Speed and water = risk

Tie the rope to both sides of the stern when pulling something or somebody.

Keep the rules on speed limit

Remember to keep a certain distance to other boats and to shore

Children on board

It’s very nice having children on board, but ought to be very cautious to keep the children safe on board. Here are three suggestions you might agree on related to having children on board:

Do not place children sitting on the bow, like many people do. You wouldn’t wanna imagine what happens if they fall off…

Let the children wear life-jackets just in case. Also to avoid trauma if falling over board

Involve the children and teach them how to do things. They can be the most eager crew

Coming back; approaching the pier

This is not a big deal, but we’ll still give a couple of advices. Depending on how large a boat you’re driving, some of this may or may not apply. In most cases, it pays off being careful. One thing you don’t have on a car, which is what you might be used to,is fenders. The fenders will protect the boat against scratching into the pier, and make you “hit” softer than without. So keep in mind you should use enough fenders to protect the boat. Another thing which is good, is to have at least two mooring ropesprepared before you enter the pier. These two ropes are good for fastening the boat immediately after arrival.

If coming up alongside a pier, you should usually stop the boat using the motor, instead of stopping the boat with the mooring-ropes. It is good if the one by the steering-wheel and speed-control is the one controlling the boat. As you approach the pier in a certain angle and want to stop the boat, you should be aware of the propellers side-effect. This side-effect is a result of the propeller spinning in the water,working as a wheel which pulls the stern sideways to one side. This effect applies mostly when the boat is not having any speed forward or backwards. It’s a good thingbecoming familiar with the boats behaviour under calm conditions, so you are prepared when things are a little more stressful in the future. Spend some time becoming familiar with how to manoeuvre the boat you’re using.

Approaching the pier in wind and current can be more of a challenge. If you have the Option of coming alongside downwind or up-wind, you’ll find you have much more control if approaching up-wind. This is also a good thing to practice under moderate conditions. If there is a strong sea breeze blowing towards shore, you should be careful to go ashore or moor where there are waves that might swing the boat into the jetty / pier / wharf and cause damage to the boat.

12 Navigation: The grid system

To help us determine a position, the globe is divided into degrees by the help of a grid-system. As with any geometry where a circle is divided into 360 degrees, the globe is likewise. Horizontally, they cover the globe with latitudes. Vertically, so to speak, the globe can be covered with longitudes. Placing 360 lines from pole to pole with equal distance, you get 360 degrees alltogether. As a reference they have decidedthat the prime meridian goes throughGreenwich in England. This meridian is thenthe reference point for degrees eastwardsand westwards. Moving east from the primemeridian, you’re moving on degrees east ofGreenwich. Moving west, you’re moving on todegrees west of Greenwich. The degrees goup to 180 on each side before they meet.

Latitudes are the lines we draw horizontally. With Equator as a reference point, we gofrom 0 degrees at Equator to 90 degrees North at the north pole. Moving south from Equator you enter the southern hemisphere, and likewise the degrees go from 0 to 90.

From one degree to another around equator, there is a certain distance. This distance is the same as if moving one degree north or south. As the longitudes come closer and closer near the poles, the distance betweenthem is decreasing. It is only the latitudes which have a constant distance between them. In order to get a more precisely unit than degrees, we divide one degree into 60 degree-minutes. Talking minutes help us find a more precise location. Some time in history, it was decided that the earth is 40 000 000 meters in circumference. Dividing these meters into 360 degrees, and each of these parts into 60 minutes will give us the relation between degree-minutes and meters = One degree = 1852 meters. To get an even more precise position, we divide minutes into decimal-minutes, usually 100 decimals. Positions

A navigational position is where a latitude and longitude meet. A place at equator which is also exactly at the main meridian is at position 0° North or South, and 0° East or West. Moving up about 60° and 10° to east, you find the approximate positionof Oslo. More precisely, you find Oslo at about N 59° 55’ and 10° 25’.

Compass and courses

All courses have North = 0° as a reference. So if you’re driving straight north, your course is 000°. To make sure we don’t confuse positions with courses, we write any course with three numbers, as in 000°. As with other geometry, we talk about 360 different courses which all run out of the centre of a fictive circle. From the centre of this circle, we might move in any direction. Moving North will from anywhere in the world mean you’re moving on a true course which is 000°. If moving south from anywhere on the planet, you’re moving on true course 180°. Continuing in this direction will lead you to the south pole. If we move straight east, our course is 090°, and by moving straight west, we get the course 270°. Any other course will be anything in between all these cardinal points, so as another example: driving a boat North-east means your course is 045°.

The chart has a compass rose drawn into it. This is a circle of degrees helping us determine the directions we want to find. You might want to find out what course you need to hold to get from one island to another, and by drawing a line in the chart between these two points, you have a course heading (or something of that nature). If you want to find the course in degrees for this heading, you have to find out how many degrees this line is from a line going north. Say the line goes from one point to another, and by taking a quick look at it, it looks like the line has a direction going approximately south-east. If you want to steer by the compass, south-east will probably not be accurate enough. So what you do is to move this line with a navigational ruler towards the compass rose drawn in the chart without changing the direction / angle at all. Do you follow me? If you move this line to go through the centre of the compass rose, and then read how many degrees this is heading from zero which is north, you may find something like 220° or so.

If this is hard to grasp from the reading, you’ll see illustrations during the course to help you understand.

True course vs. magnetic course.

Until now we’ve been talking about true or geographic courses. These courses relate to the actual terrain as seen in a chart. Unfortunately, the magnetism affecting our compass will pull the compass needle towards a point which is not at the north pole, but somewhere close to that. This means our compass is pointing towards magnetic north instead of geographic north. Depending on where you’re navigating, the difference between true north and magnetic north will vary. In Oslo, the difference in direction between True North and Magnetic North is only about one degree. The author was sailing in New Zealand some years ago, and fond the variation to be as much as 13 degrees. So when the compass there was showing North, it was actuallypointing a direction 13 degrees off what was true north. Get it?

So the difference in degrees between true and magnetic course is talked about as magnetic variation. Whenever calculating a course, you should take this into consideration, or at least be aware of whether or not this will affect our estimated course.

Example: Wanting to sail from Denmark to Oslo, you find the true course ought to be 000°, in other words straight north. IF the variation in this area was minus 5° (5° West), it means the compass would be pulled – 5° westwards, (as the degrees go upwards in a clockwise direction). Without thinking about the variation, and steering at a magnetic course of 000°, you would then in fact be steering at 355° instead of straight north. Where there is variation, you need to compensate by calculating the variation and steering thereafter. In this case you would have to steer at 005° at the compass to be on the right course.

Deviation

Unfortunately we have another factor affecting ours course other than the magnetic variation. It is the deviation. Deviation is what we call the compass error that is found in most boats because of disturbing magnetism on board. Most boats contain a fair bit of magnetic steel which will affect the compass and cause a constant compass error at different courses. Say there is a large speaker containing a large magnet in front of the compass. This magnetism is always there, unless it is a portable speaker,and the speaker will most probablyaffect the compass. If the speakertends to attract the compass needle(if no needle, the part of thecompass turning North), this won’tbe noticed when going in directionNorth. In this case, both magneticnorth and the speaker are pulling thecompass to show the course isnorth. If you turn the boat forexample 90 degrees and startheading east, this speaker will nowstart pulling the needle to somedegree towards east, literally

speaking. If there is no variation, but because of the speaker +10 degrees compass error / deviation, your compass will be showing 080° when you in fact are pointing or moving at 090° true direction. Got it? If not; it’ll be explained by the teacher during thecourse.

As the deviation is a consequence of magnetism on board, and because this will affect the compass differently at different courses, you need to set up a deviation table for your specific boat. This table is made by driving in different directions where you for instance see two overhead points where you know what the true course is for that specific line you’re on. Checking the difference between the compass and the expected course will give you an indication of what the deviation is for this course. Bychecking the compass for every 20 degrees, you’ll be able to make a table which youcan use for future navigation.

13 Speed and distance

The unit for measuring speed at sea is “knots”. If your travel one nautical mile per hour, your speed is 1 knot. This equals about 1.85 km/h.

Just to remind you of the relationship between degrees, minutes and nautical miles, there is, as mentioned, 60 minutes in one latitude degree. Each of these minutes is 1 nautical mile. So if your speed is 6 knots, it’ll take you 10 hours to go straight from one degree to another if going in a north or south direction.

It’s good to be able to quickly and easily work out the connection between speed, time and distance. If going with 10 knots for 5 hours, you travel 50 nautical miles. How long will it take travelling 50 nautical miles with 5 knots? Surely enough; 10 hours. And if your speed is 25 knots? Then it’ll only take you two hours to travel 50 nautical miles.

So; speed x time = distanceand: distance : time = speedand: distance : speed = time

The Log

The speedometer on a boat is called the Log. The log usually works with a propeller underneath the boat, which spins as fast as you go, so to speak. Notice that the log might need to be calibrated to show the right speed and the right distance travelled.

The GPS

The GPS is a very good tool for navigation. Thisinstrument works by receiving signals from at leastthree satellites, then it estimates its position. AllGPS’es will give you your position in degrees northor south, east or west. By plotting this position inthe chart, you’ll have a very good idea on whereyou are at present. Some GPS receivers even has

an electronic chart where you see your position graphically on the screen. The disadvantage with these chart-plotters, is that they may not be 100% reliable, and therefore dangerous to use alone without checking your position against the chart and what you see around you.

You should never rely on the GPS as your only source of navigation. It might fail you one day, as it has at least these weaknesses:

- it is completely dependant on getting electric power- it is of crucial importance that it actually works- it needs to receive enough signals in order to give you a position- you depend on the USA who are the ones running and controlling the

system.

Important: the GPS has to be set to the right chart DATUM to correspond with the positions in the chart. Check the chart and the GPS manual for further details.

14 The VHF radio

VHF stands for Very High Frequency. This is the common radio for short-range communication at sea. The range is usually between 10 and 35 nautical miles, depending on how powerful the transmitter is. You get stationary ones, and hand-held ones.

The VHF radio is used both ship to ship and ship to shore. The international distress and calling-channel is channel 16. Everybody having a VHF radio on board is obligedto listen to channel 16 in case of an emergency call.

The emergency call is initiated by saying the word MAYDAY three times. The procedure is to say MAYDAY, then who is calling, what is happening, and where your position is. A typical emergency call would be something like this:

Mayday, mayday, mayday. This is Ocean Star, Ocean Star. We are taking in water and sinkingWe are 4 people on boardOur position is 6 nautical miles south of Danger Rock. I repeat: Our position is 6 nautical miles south of Danger Rock. Over.

Many may hear the call, but not everybody thinks his vessel is a good one to come tothe rescue. If someone believes he can come to the rescue, he should soon answer what he has read or perceived the message, and let the people know when the help is coming. If someone who listens to the conversation on the radio realizes he has a better ability to help the ones in need, he should give the message on the radio and go into action.

You are obliged to help if it is within your ability.

Emergency Beacons

Another way to announce the need for assistance, is by using an emergency beacon.These are found in two kinds: one transmitting a radio signal at a certain emergency frequency, and another kind transmitting signals which are picked up by satellites.

Other emergency signals

Other emergency signals are as follows:- Flares and red rockets, also with parashoot- Orange smoke on the water for daytime use- The well-known SOS signal, either with sound or light- A fire on board or near the boat- Waving with arms up and down as if trying to fly as a bird- A long signal in a horn of any kind

15 About fire on board

It is extremely dangerous having a fire on board a boat. You would think it’s not all that bad because of the water surrounding you, but a problem is you can’t escape without being in the danger of drowning instead. Please use common sense to avoid fire. The most shocking examples are the ones about someone checking his or her petrol-level with a match or a lighter. Those people didn’t grow old. So whether you’re dealing with petrol or cooking, or anything else where open fire is involved, be very, very careful. And if a fire breaks out, you should have one or all of these things ready to put the fire out:

- a fire blanket- a fire extinguisher- buckets of water

16 Insurance

Talking about fire, we might as well mention the possibility to insure the boat. There isno rule saying you are obliged to insure your boat here in Norway, not even with a third-party insurance. It is still recommended having insurance for your boat, becauseit is very easy causing damage to other boats. So a third-party insurance is recommended as a minimum, while a fire- and theft-insurance is also a good idea. The best alternative is probably the comprehensive insurance which covers just about anything that happens to your boat or other boats.

17 Drinking and driving

Being the skipper of any boat means you are responsible of following rules and regulations that apply to the kind of boat and the area of which you’re in. In Norway you’re not allowed to be affected by alcohol. If they want to perform a physical test of your alcohol-status, they might check your blood or make you blow a certain kind of balloon or instrument. This instrument is probably the most common these days. They count you as affected by alcohol if your excessive blood alcohol level is above 0.8 per thousand. Independently on this limit, it is recommended that you stay away from alcohol as long as you’re out at sea.

18 Emptying the sewage on board

Most boats of a certain size will have a WC on board. It is very useful having a sewage tank on board in connection with the toilet. If you want to empty this tank, you have to go at least 300 meters from shore before you empty it. This is to maintaina certain level of decent and pure water along the coast and / or beaches. This rule applies to any vessel, tiny or large.

19 Day signals

At night, we show who we are by running the lanterns. At daytime, people will usuallysee our boat. If there is anything special we want to announce or show other boats, we may want to make use of day signals. Say we want to anchor and make other people / boats know that we’re not moving and able to manoeuvre. The signal for thisis by running a black ball somewhere visible above the vessel. By running this, we can relax knowing that other boats will understand we are anchored. If running the motor on a sailboat while the sails are still hoisted, we may want to show the world we’re not only sailing; you need to count us as a motor-vessel. The signal for this, is running a easily visible black triangle pointing down. Another day signal of relevance, is one showing the world the ship / vessel is currently not under command. It means nobody the vessel might be drifting while people on board work on everything else than steering and watching the horizon. Thesignal for this is shown on the next page as the one second from the left, or above the more massive kind of boat.

The day signal for showing youhave a diver down below, is thewhite and blue flag. By runningthis flag, you’re telling theworld” I have a diver in thewater, please keep somedistance and pass with care.

In this illustration you see thesailboat showing it’s running it’smotor, and another sailboatlying on anchor.

20 Man over board

Very critical is the situation where someone fall over board. Falling over board shouldbe prohibited on board any boat, bur still; people do it. As shown in the statistics, it is falling over board which is the great killer. You should do anything you can to avoid this situation. And if it happens, you should have thought of ways to solve the problem: ways to find the person quickly, ways to get back on board, ways to avoid drowning and so-forth. Some preventive actions you might consider are suggested here:

Avoid situations where people have to bend over the rail or edge of the boat and therefore are in the danger of falling off. “Letting the water”, if you know what I mean, is a typically risky thing to do from a boat which is moving. By making people on board wear a life jacket, they will at least stay afloat if they fall over board. You might want to consider harnesses for people moving on deck, especially if it’s dark or roughweather. Having a rope dragging after the boat might make it possible to grab it before the boat sails too far. This is of course only possible with a slow boat. Making sure there is a kind of a ladder on board which is easy to enter, is also a very important preventive thing to avoid the situation when people aren’t able to get back on board. In order to get attention when or if falling over board, it is good if everybodyhas a whistle in his pocket or a flare and / or strobe-light if falling in at night. It’s just so critical that whoever falls in is able to signalize: Hello there, I just fell in. Please come and pick me up”. By never having people alone up on deck, you’re also safer as the other person would probably notice if his or her friend falls in.

As a major problem of falling over board is the fast loss of body temperature, it is alsoa good idea wearing clothes that will keep you warm both over and under the water. One of the best kinds of clothes for this, is a combination of a insulating material on the inside, such as pure wool, and a wind- and waterproof dress on the outside. This kind of clothing will work almost as a wet-suit like the divers would use. The body heats up the water and clothes, and the outer layer of water-tight material prevents this heated water from being exchanged for cold water. Get it?

If falling over board, remember these things:

Try to get someone’s attention without exhausting yourself. It’s also better to stay as calm as possible while waiting to be rescued, than trying to swim along or in to shore.In most cases the water is too cold, the clothes too heavy, and the distance too far foryou to swim all the way to dry land. If falling out from a boat which stops, and which you’re not able to climb back on to, then stay close to that boat. There is a much higher chance of someone seeing the boat than seeing your head swimming, wondering why there aren’t anyone on board the boat to steer it. Seeing a boat without a driver will cause most people to come and check what has happened. If you start swimming away from the boat, there is a much lower chance of being seen, and there is nothing to hold on to when you become exhausted. As a major problem is the loss of temperature, you should ideallyremain as calm as possible, entering a foetal position or something of that nature

Picking up someone, remember these things:

Before you panic, which is never a good idea, you should think of a way of picking the person up without causing him any injury. A critical thing is the propeller which is really important to keep away from the person. If you have to back up to pick up a person from the stern, you should stop the engine a few meters away to make sure you don’t by mistake put the gear in forward while the engine is running and the person is standing on the propeller to climb on board.

Throwing out a rope is usually a very good idea, as the person more easily can be guided towards the boat and may even be able to use the rope to hold on to while climbing on board. If there is a ladder on the stern or on the side, it would be very natural putting this into the water, and letting the person climb up on this one. The important thing is to not panic, and to think before you act and be careful, as with everything else you have learned within this course.

Lastly:

Now you have gotten some theoretical knowledge concerning driving a boat at sea. Practice and theory are of course two quite different things, but hand in hand they give you a good foundation for being prepared for situations you may encounter when driving a boat. It is recommended you start up carefully with a small boat in sheltered waters, and move slowly towards the bigger boats and bigger seas if that’s what you’re aiming for. Just remember to follow things you’ve learned during this course, and apply a fair bit of common sense and maturity when boating; and you’ll hopefully find boating and sea-life very, very enjoyable and pleasant.

If you have further questions, feel free to ask the teacher / instructor. We also recommend you read more complementary books on the subjects you want to learn more about, as there are some we only touched at the surface during this course.

Wishing you a safe and sound season at sea.

Jan Nic. LangfeldtSEILEREN (The SAILOR); JNL Enviro AS

www.seileren.com – post@seileren.