In Today's Issue:
Brand New eBook Coming on December 18th.
Use Your Sailboat Engine as an Emergency "De-watering" Pump!
Don Launer on Picking Up a Mooring.
Video-of-the-Week ~ How to Pivot Your Boat Around a Pier
Deal of the Week ~ Save 35%+ on Men's and Women's Foul Weather Gear!
Did You Miss the Latest Member's Sailing Articles?
Sailing Skipper's Quotable Quotes.
Recommended Reading for Sailing Season 2012 - 2013.
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Brand New eBook Coming on December 18th!
Coming December 18th, Captain John releases his newest eBook "101 Secret Sailing Tips". This collector's edition contains the top sailing tips and techniques featured over the past four years on SkipperTips.
You'll find this valuable guide the perfect companion for the short-handed or single-handed sailor. Add this rare collection of the best step-by-step techniques loaded with dozens of crystal clear illustrations to your "must have" sailing library.
You will discover the secrets to...
- Trim your sails for more speed and power for faster sailing.
- Increase your anchor's holding power for worry-free anchoring.
- Handle sailing emergencies like grounding, fire, or flooding with ease.
- Sail in heavy weather with comfort and confidence.
- Navigate even if your GPS goes on the blink.
- Dock your boat smoother and easier every time.
- Save money and repair costs on your rigging and engine.
- All this and much, much more...
Click on this link to find out more => "101 Secret Sailing Tips"
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Prepare now to prepare for those unexpected events that lie just over the distant horizon...Use Your Sailboat Engine as an Emergency "De-watering" Pump!
Thunk! A loud noise jostles you out of a deep sleep. You roll out of your berth and step into ice cold water, ankle-deep and rising. You fumble for a flashlight, and find a gaping hole in the port side.
Desperate, you make a fast repair from cushions and hatch boards. Your mechanical pumps are overwhelmed. You need a fast way to get the water off the boat to prevent capsize. What now, skipper?
Expect your mechanical bilge pumps to be overwhelmed with excessive water as described in our scenario. You could use your sailboat diesel engine as a "dewatering" pump in an emergency. Follow these fast, easy steps:
Primary Emergency Pump Method
1. Shut off the raw-water seacock. Double check that the seacock handle has been positioned at a 90° angle to the seacock hose.
2. Remove the seacock hose from the top tailpiece of the seacock. Lash a piece of screening (use mosquito screening or similar material) over the top of the hose. The screen will prevent trash or debris from being sucked into the intake while dewatering.
3. Stick the end (intake) of the seacock hose deep into the bilge. Insure that the intake will be submerged before you start the engine. If alone or short-handed, weight the hose near the end with a length of chain or heavy shackle. This will help keep it submerged while you go to the next step.
4. Start your engine. Have your sailing partner or crew check for exhaust water from the stern tube. Shut the engine down if you do not see exhaust water. Without this, your engine could overheat. Check the intake hose and clear any trash blocking the intake. Start the engine again and check for exhaust water flow.
5. Stop the engine when you can no longer keep the intake end of the seacock hose submerged by several inches. Use sponges and buckets to remove the remainder of the water aboard.
Make up a longer length of hose ahead of time. Shut off the raw water seacock and remove the old hose from the raw water strainer (rw strainer). Attach the new longer hose (blue hose) to the raw water strainer. Follow the steps below.Alternative Hose Method
Make up an extra length of hose ahead of time. The old seacock hose may be too short to reach down into the bilge. Or it may be frozen onto the top tailpiece. This can cause it to tear. Follow these steps along with the illustration.
1. Measure the distance from the engine to the bilge. Purchase hose this length, the same diameter as your raw-water hose (blue hose in illustration).
2. In an emergency, shut off the seacock. Remove the old raw water hose from the raw water strainer (rw strainer in illustration).
3. Attach the longer hose to the raw water strainer. Secure it in place with hose clamps. Lash a piece of screening to the end. Stick the end deep into the bilge. Follow steps 4 and 5 above.
IMPORTANT NOTE:
Realize that using your engine as a pump might not be as effective as a high capacity bilge pump or separate submersible pump. Test this technique with your engine before you make a more permanent installation to see if it works for you. The more redundant systems you have aboard to fall back on the better. In any event, you will have one more back up method in your emergency skill-set.
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Use these simple sailing tips to turn your small sailboat diesel into a powerhouse pump to get rid of flooding water fast in an emergency. Keep your boat afloat and your crew safe and sound--wherever in the world you choose to cruise!
Learn more techniques like these to handle sailing emergencies with confidence. Skippertips members have instant access to our popular eBook "Sailing Emergencies Take-Action Guide", filled with step-by-step tips and illustrations. Click on the image to the left to download it now! ============================================================================================
Video of the Week ~ How to Pivot Your Boat Around a Pier
Imagine that you are tied up on the corner of a pier...
and need to back around to face the wind or current.
What easy boat docking technique will make this smooth as silk?
Learn this unique, little-known secret tip used by the pros.
Click on the button to the left to watch this sailing skills video.
Note - This video is formatted to play on any computer or mobile device.
Please allow a few seconds for the video to load onto your personal device.=============================================================================================
Deal of the Week ~ Save Up to 35%+ at Mauri Pro Sailing!
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Check out these top-quality Jacket features:
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Mauri Pro Sailing Deal and Discount
Deal Specs: Up to 35%+ off on Henri Lloyd foul weather gear.
Deal Dates: While supplies last.
Order Online: Men's and Women's discounted foul weather gear.
Free Shipping: Free shipping based on purchase and location.
Customer Support: 1-888-756-8883 or +1-817-224-2209 (International calls)=============================================================================================
Did You Miss the Latest Member's Sailing Articles?
Boat Galley Secrets - Five Tips for Easier Food Prep Underway
December 13, 2012 ~ If you are anything like me, cooking in a small boat galley can be a tough challenge in a seaway. But tasty, nutritious food will boost your crew's energy and morale. Enjoy these five sailing tips from June Vigor, writer for Sail magazine and wife of boating and sailing author John Vigor, guaranteed to save you time, energy, and labor.
//www.skippertips.com/members/1550.cfmAdjust Genoa Block Position for Maximum Sail Power!
December 11, 2012 ~ Headsail shape depends on the right amount of tension on all three sides. Your headsail halyard controls the headsail luff. But each sheet line must pull double duty to tension the headsail leech and foot. But how can you add power in light air, or de-power your Genoa in heavier air? Follow these easy sailing tips...
//www.skippertips.com/members/1551.cfm Boat Anchoring Secrets - Make a "Snag Proof" Anchor Trip-Line
December 6, 2012 ~ When you sail into an anchorage and drop the hook, do you use a trip line with a small buoy attached to one end? After all, if your anchor gets fouled (stuck), it could be a pain to break out of the seabed when it's time to leave. Read on to discover a new, innovative trip-line technique that will provide worry-free anchoring--wherever in the world you sail or cruise...
//www.skippertips.com/members/1413.cfm Sailing Navigation Tips - Do You Know Your Sailboat's Leeway?
December 4, 2012 ~ Did you know that a cruising sailboat, beating to windward, slips sideways between 8 and 20 degrees? Unless you compensate for this side-slip, or leeway, in your compass course, you could find yourself miles off course! Follow these simple sailing tips to calculate and apply leeway for safer sailing navigation...
//www.skippertips.com/members/1545.cfm Three Sailing Crew Care Tips for Coastal or Offshore Sailing
November 29, 2012 ~ What makes the perfect sailing crew or sailing partner? That's a tough one. But having crewed a few times aboard big boats over the past three years, I'd like to share some thoughts with you. Not just my own, but those of other sailing skippers I've crewed with. Consider these three points before you leave protected waters for a coastal cruise or voyage to distant lands over the horizon....
//www.skippertips.com/members/1539.cfm=============================================================================================
Sailing Skipper's Quotable Quotes...
Foremost among the seaman's arts is the skill to manage and minimize risk by anticipating danger. 
-- - John Rousmaniere,
from 'The Annapolis Book of Seamanship' --
Get instant access to 650+ sailing articles, 135+ sailing skills videos,
185+ sailing newsletters & ezines, 14+ FREE eBooks and much more. Click here now!Recommended Reading for Sailing Season 2012 - 2013! "SEAMANSHIP SECRETS"
from International Marine / McGraw-Hill
"You will be in the hands of an experienced and trusted guide."
-- Daniel Spurr, former senior editor of Cruising World magazine"Written so clearly that navigation and seamanship will be comprehensible to anyone."
-- Dave and Jaja Martin, circumnavigators and authors"It should be read by anyone contemplating coastal cruising or
blue water voyages."
-- Ted Brewer, famed yacht designer and veteran cruising sailorCaptain John Shares 25+ Years of Experience to Show You How to...
- Complete 90% of your navigation--before you cast off the lines.
- Determine the best "window of opportunity" to transit any inlet.
- Enter an unfamiliar harbor after dark in complete confidence.
- Extend the trouble free service of any size inboard diesel engine.
- Balance any sailing vessel in heavy weather in three easy steps.
- Use "terrain effect" to forecast weather anywhere in the world.
- Control boat emergencies with a simple method called M-A-T-E.
All this and much more. 326 pages tailored to short-handed sailors and crews.
Easy to read and loaded with crystal clear illustrations. Get your copy today!Click On One of These Links to Order Now!
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Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Books-a-Million
Boat Galley Secrets - Five Tips for Easier Food Prep Underway
"You will be in the hands of an experienced and trusted guide."