Boating Basics: Rules of the Water
Did you find that on your last outing in your boat as a novice, that others were cussing you and shaking their fists? Well, maybe the following explanations will help with that in the future.
When it comes to boating terms, they can be very confusing for the novice boater. I remember my first few experiences, having never taken the time to know whats what in the boating world. Being cussed at, the shaking fists, the threatening looks from others, all wised me up greatly. I thought to myself, 'geeeeze, what am I doing so wrong?".
Lets start with a few simple things that everyone needs to know from the word go. The parts of the boat, specifically the front, sides, and back, all have a word for them. The front of any boat is called the "bow", the back of a boat is called the "stern", the right side of the boat (sitting in the drivers seat looking right) is called the "starboard" side, the left side is called the "port".
Bow and stern are pretty easy to remember, but the sides sometimes are hard to make stick in your mind. One easy way to remember which is which, is to think of the port (left) side of the boat has four letters in the word, so does the word left. When you think of left, think of port. Starboard is all together different, and can be easily distinguished by itself, just as bow and stern.
Passing and Night Operation: When you are out on the water, lets say you find yourself on course to a head on collision with an oncoming boat, what do you do? Hope the other boater knows which way to go for one thing, but always remember, PASS TO THE STARBOARD SIDE! In other words, go to your right. At the same time, make sure to allow ample room in between. One of the golden rules is never pass within 100 feet of another boat unless you are at idle speed. Both of you will appreciate not being thrown out of your boat from crossing each others wake.
What about night operation when you can only see lights coming toward you? This is something VERY important to brand in your brain. A bow light on a boat has two colors for a reason. When you look at your bow light from the front, you will notice that the green lens is on the port (left) side, and the red lens is on the starboard (right) side. When you see an oncoming boat at night, you will know which side you are passing on by looking at the color of the others bow light. As you pass a boat at night, you should be viewing a red bow light, thus passing to the starboard side.
Trimming: This is a term used to determine the angle of the motor or outdrive in relation to the boat. Trimming in, tucks the motor under, and trimming out moves the motor or outdrive outward. When you take off from a dead stop, have the motor trimmed all the way in. After you get on plane, trim it out to raise the bow, smooth the ride, and increase speed.
Planing: When a boat takes off from a dead stop, it is sitting low in the water. As speed increases, the boat rises to the surface and glides on top of the water, thus the term "on plane".
Prop torque: Prop torque comes from power being applied, and the prop meeting resistance to the water. This sometimes can cause excessive force applied to the steering. Outboards and inboard/outboards, have whats called a torque tab mounted on the bottom side of the cavitation plate. To compensate fighting the steering, adjust the tab until the boat can be run at wide open throttle, and goes straight with no hands on the wheel.
Navigation Buoys: Next, lets look at buoys that have no writing on them, but have a color to them. You dont run across these too much on fresh water lakes, but they are common in sea going outings and navigation channels.
No Wake Buoys: These are not there for birds to sit on; they are there for a reason. "No wake" means exactly that—slow down to where your boat causes no wave behind you. You will most commonly find these in coves containing private docks or marinas. Besides getting chewed out, you can be held liable for damages caused by a large wake.
Green Can Buoys: These cylindrical buoys mark the port (left) side of the channel when proceeding from seaward. In the past, these were painted black with a green reflector.
Green Lighted Buoy: Serves the same function as the non-lighted green can. They tell the boater the margin of the port (left) side of channels and mark wrecks or obstructions which must be passed by keeping the aids to navigation on the port side of the vessel.
Square Daymark: Green in color, used to mark the port (left) side of channels when proceeding from seaward. These are mounted on a pole, or other structure to hold them above the waterline.
Red Nun Buoys: Conical shaped red buoys that mark the starboard (right) side of the channel when proceeding from the seaward (Red Right Returning). These are commonly associated with a solid red color.
Red Lighted Buoy: Serves the same function as the non-lighted red nun. They tell the mariner the margin of the starboard (right) side of channels and mark wrecks or obstructions which must be passed by keeping the aids to navigation on the starboard side.
Triangular Daymark: Red in color, used to mark the starboard (right) side of channels when proceeding from seaward. These boards are usually mounted on structures to hold them above the waterline.
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