Boating Expert Answers Boat Questions - Tech Support - WIRED
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Date: 2025-06-18
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Comments and reviews: 20
Yora21
The English names for the sides of the ship are pretty simple:
Before the introduction of the steering wheel, the rudder was an actual big paddle that the person steering the ship would hang over the side of the ship and control with his hand. The steering board. Or starboard. Most people are right handed, so the rudder typically went on the ride side of the ship.
And when a ship comes into port and wants to dock at the pier, you don't want to get your rudder stuck between the ship and the dock. So ships would be docked with the left side to the pier. The port side. Some people might have difficulty always remembering left and right, but as a sailor, it's easy to remember the side where we always load and unload and the side where the rudder is.
A bit like as a car driver, you always know where the driver's side and where the passenger's side are, without having to think about left and right.
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The English names for the sides of the ship are pretty simple:
Before the introduction of the steering wheel, the rudder was an actual big paddle that the person steering the ship would hang over the side of the ship and control with his hand. The steering board. Or starboard. Most people are right handed, so the rudder typically went on the ride side of the ship.
And when a ship comes into port and wants to dock at the pier, you don't want to get your rudder stuck between the ship and the dock. So ships would be docked with the left side to the pier. The port side. Some people might have difficulty always remembering left and right, but as a sailor, it's easy to remember the side where we always load and unload and the side where the rudder is.
A bit like as a car driver, you always know where the driver's side and where the passenger's side are, without having to think about left and right.
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SquareCanine
A V hull will slice smoothly through the waves with a gentle up and down motion. A cathedral hull will assert it's dominance over the water by slamming down onto every wave with a force that will rattle any and all loose objects.
I had a cathedral hull once. On the one hand, it never once made me doubt it's stability. It never keeled over like it might capsize, and it never did an impression of a diving submarine into the back of a wave, both of which are things it's V-hull replacement has done. On the other hand, everyone who ever rode in that boat needed to pee inside 20 minutes unless the water was smooth as glass, and sometimes I wondered if the whole thing was going to buckle under the mighty strain of body slamming foot high waves at 30 mph.
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A V hull will slice smoothly through the waves with a gentle up and down motion. A cathedral hull will assert it's dominance over the water by slamming down onto every wave with a force that will rattle any and all loose objects.
I had a cathedral hull once. On the one hand, it never once made me doubt it's stability. It never keeled over like it might capsize, and it never did an impression of a diving submarine into the back of a wave, both of which are things it's V-hull replacement has done. On the other hand, everyone who ever rode in that boat needed to pee inside 20 minutes unless the water was smooth as glass, and sometimes I wondered if the whole thing was going to buckle under the mighty strain of body slamming foot high waves at 30 mph.
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mrdr9534
As always a very enjoyable video by a knowledgeable and enthusiastic presenter!
One thing that could have been added to the man over board advice is that you should, IF possible, designate one person who's only task is to keep looking at and pointing to the person in the water. This because it is in many cases VERY easy to loose track of them (i. e. possibly basically just a bobbing head) in among the waves, when both You (the boat) and they move constantly. (though I hope NO-ONE one will believe they know how to do a man overboard manoeuvre after viewing a YT video)
Best regards,
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As always a very enjoyable video by a knowledgeable and enthusiastic presenter!
One thing that could have been added to the man over board advice is that you should, IF possible, designate one person who's only task is to keep looking at and pointing to the person in the water. This because it is in many cases VERY easy to loose track of them (i. e. possibly basically just a bobbing head) in among the waves, when both You (the boat) and they move constantly. (though I hope NO-ONE one will believe they know how to do a man overboard manoeuvre after viewing a YT video)
Best regards,
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henriquerap7425
At 16: 01, just for curiosity: there are two main systems for lateral navigation marks around the world, known as IALA Region A and IALA Region B.
In US, you guys use the IALA B (red lateral marks in the starboard when heading back into your harbor. But in Europe and many other places in the world, the colours are reversed. That means that the red color is on the port side and green on the starboard. As in airplane wingtips lights also.
The buoy's shapes however (conical shaped and cilindrical shaped, still the same in regard of the side they represent.
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At 16: 01, just for curiosity: there are two main systems for lateral navigation marks around the world, known as IALA Region A and IALA Region B.
In US, you guys use the IALA B (red lateral marks in the starboard when heading back into your harbor. But in Europe and many other places in the world, the colours are reversed. That means that the red color is on the port side and green on the starboard. As in airplane wingtips lights also.
The buoy's shapes however (conical shaped and cilindrical shaped, still the same in regard of the side they represent.
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wired
So how do you find out the traffic pattern for a lake or river Or is it just whatever When I'm rowing, I'm used to keeping my starboard side close to shore, so basically like driving a car. I'm going backwards, so you have blind spots no matter how much you look around. The pontoons, kayaks, and fishing boats on the lake are just everywhere. All sides, all directions. I'm lucky the lake has a horsepower limit so I don't get swamped, but. Am I on the wrong side Why are the pontoons going in a circle around the lake with their port towards shore
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So how do you find out the traffic pattern for a lake or river Or is it just whatever When I'm rowing, I'm used to keeping my starboard side close to shore, so basically like driving a car. I'm going backwards, so you have blind spots no matter how much you look around. The pontoons, kayaks, and fishing boats on the lake are just everywhere. All sides, all directions. I'm lucky the lake has a horsepower limit so I don't get swamped, but. Am I on the wrong side Why are the pontoons going in a circle around the lake with their port towards shore
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kimdani2
i still feel like port and starboard are just as useful as left and right would be. if someone knows where the front of the boat is, left and right should be just as understandable. the left side of a car is always the left side of a car. it just seems like an unnecessary retention of traditional terms. sail boat people apparently refer to ropes as sheets and it seems a bit snobby when they correct you for saying rope. when it is in fact a rope. back to the car comparison. it is pretty much like saying driver side or passenger side.
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i still feel like port and starboard are just as useful as left and right would be. if someone knows where the front of the boat is, left and right should be just as understandable. the left side of a car is always the left side of a car. it just seems like an unnecessary retention of traditional terms. sail boat people apparently refer to ropes as sheets and it seems a bit snobby when they correct you for saying rope. when it is in fact a rope. back to the car comparison. it is pretty much like saying driver side or passenger side.
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wired
I didn't know about the rope tying part of Knots (speed. What I heard was how knots are more tied to nautical miles per hour and how a nautical mile is equal to one minute of latitude. So a knot is basically one nautical mile per hour. Different than normal miles per hour as in cars.
Edit: So I did look more into it, that the name of knots was more about the tying rope practice of showing real time speed, but that name just stuck around basically. So techincally speaking the latitude method is more correct specifically
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I didn't know about the rope tying part of Knots (speed. What I heard was how knots are more tied to nautical miles per hour and how a nautical mile is equal to one minute of latitude. So a knot is basically one nautical mile per hour. Different than normal miles per hour as in cars.
Edit: So I did look more into it, that the name of knots was more about the tying rope practice of showing real time speed, but that name just stuck around basically. So techincally speaking the latitude method is more correct specifically
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harrr53
The left and right explanation is true, but silly. Doctors solved a similar situation by saying that left is always the left side of the patient, and right, the right side of the patient. You could easily still call left on a boat to always mean the left of the boat, since there is always a front and back on the boat. It really didn't require 2 new words, which essentially still mean the left of the boat and the right of the boat. Rant over.
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The left and right explanation is true, but silly. Doctors solved a similar situation by saying that left is always the left side of the patient, and right, the right side of the patient. You could easily still call left on a boat to always mean the left of the boat, since there is always a front and back on the boat. It really didn't require 2 new words, which essentially still mean the left of the boat and the right of the boat. Rant over.
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tcoates72
I'm curious though. So, if I am on a boat and I say there is a dolphin on the left side. Most people would look to their left regardless which way they are facing on the boat I'm pretty sure more people would know to look toward the left side of the boat, far more than if you said port or starboard. I may not know the actual reason that we use port/starboard but I'm pretty sure that isn't it. Seems to me to be more of an old tradition.
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I'm curious though. So, if I am on a boat and I say there is a dolphin on the left side. Most people would look to their left regardless which way they are facing on the boat I'm pretty sure more people would know to look toward the left side of the boat, far more than if you said port or starboard. I may not know the actual reason that we use port/starboard but I'm pretty sure that isn't it. Seems to me to be more of an old tradition.
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daveycrockett6159
Great tutorial. I always thought a nautical mile is slightly longer than a statute mile because of the curvature of the earth. Also red right returning is used in inland water areas. going upstream and downstream. say in the case of the Mississippi or Erie Canal you would keep the red buoy to your right whilst travelling upstream. I love playing with knots. my Dad taught me many and their uses.
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Great tutorial. I always thought a nautical mile is slightly longer than a statute mile because of the curvature of the earth. Also red right returning is used in inland water areas. going upstream and downstream. say in the case of the Mississippi or Erie Canal you would keep the red buoy to your right whilst travelling upstream. I love playing with knots. my Dad taught me many and their uses.
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joshbobst1629
Before I listen, I guess that the port side was the side facing the port city when at dock, and the larboard side was just the opposite side. The larboard, a kind of primitive rudder that was attached to the side of the ship, had to be on the side opposite the port otherwise it would be crushed by the dock. But how larboard became starboard I've not guessed.
Sigh. I should have known.
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Before I listen, I guess that the port side was the side facing the port city when at dock, and the larboard side was just the opposite side. The larboard, a kind of primitive rudder that was attached to the side of the ship, had to be on the side opposite the port otherwise it would be crushed by the dock. But how larboard became starboard I've not guessed.
Sigh. I should have known.
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Czechbound
How does a boat float. Neil DGTyssen had the best explanation: Anything will float when its _average_ density is _less than_ the density of the water. The density of a boat is the mass of the boat, divided by its volume. And remember, most of the volume of the boat is air, which is only c. 1/700th the density of water. Even the volume of an aircraft carrier is mostly air. Simple: )
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How does a boat float. Neil DGTyssen had the best explanation: Anything will float when its _average_ density is _less than_ the density of the water. The density of a boat is the mass of the boat, divided by its volume. And remember, most of the volume of the boat is air, which is only c. 1/700th the density of water. Even the volume of an aircraft carrier is mostly air. Simple: )
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fredbarnes196
Why aren’t they called the red and green sides of a boat That would be easier. Because it has always been port/starboard is the real answer. Same with fore and aft, There is no confusing front and back. How about head, or galley, or athwartships or you name it.
Why would you stop calling these things what they have been called for centuries
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Why aren’t they called the red and green sides of a boat That would be easier. Because it has always been port/starboard is the real answer. Same with fore and aft, There is no confusing front and back. How about head, or galley, or athwartships or you name it.
Why would you stop calling these things what they have been called for centuries
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RichardPerfectKiwi
But she didn't answer the first question. Starboard is called starboard because early ships would always put their steering board on that side of the boat becuase they didn't have rudders in the middle of the board. And port is called port because with Starboard on the right they would dock with the left side to the port. Lol.
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But she didn't answer the first question. Starboard is called starboard because early ships would always put their steering board on that side of the boat becuase they didn't have rudders in the middle of the board. And port is called port because with Starboard on the right they would dock with the left side to the port. Lol.
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Tera_GX
I like having the interesting thumbnail question also be the first one answered.
I'm surprised I didn't hear a single mention of flags. Are flags no longer a standard When I was a kid in the 90s and got to go boating, I remember being instructed to raise a flag everytime we were picking someone up out of the water (after skiing.
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I like having the interesting thumbnail question also be the first one answered.
I'm surprised I didn't hear a single mention of flags. Are flags no longer a standard When I was a kid in the 90s and got to go boating, I remember being instructed to raise a flag everytime we were picking someone up out of the water (after skiing.
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barmanvarn
I’m cool with boats using nautical jargon but that first answer does fly with me. Saying you have to use bow and stern because someone won’t know what the back of the boat is, makes zero sense. Just admit it’s a historical tradition. Same way sailors will call a generator a genset. They just prefer using different terms.
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I’m cool with boats using nautical jargon but that first answer does fly with me. Saying you have to use bow and stern because someone won’t know what the back of the boat is, makes zero sense. Just admit it’s a historical tradition. Same way sailors will call a generator a genset. They just prefer using different terms.
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KcBoyBlue
Her course for the Great Loop is accurate enough, but she got the direction wrong. You sail DOWN the Mississippi, not up. Then into the Gulf/ICW, around FL, up the east coast/ICW, then you make your way into the Great Lakes (through NY or Canada, through the Lakes to the Chicago River, and then you are back at the Mississippi.
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Her course for the Great Loop is accurate enough, but she got the direction wrong. You sail DOWN the Mississippi, not up. Then into the Gulf/ICW, around FL, up the east coast/ICW, then you make your way into the Great Lakes (through NY or Canada, through the Lakes to the Chicago River, and then you are back at the Mississippi.
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Caperhere
Red right returning.
Instead of Port, the word larboard used to be used. Very easy to mistake larboard with starboard, so Port became the new word for left. To remember which side is port and which is starboard, just remember port is a short word, just as left is a short word.
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Red right returning.
Instead of Port, the word larboard used to be used. Very easy to mistake larboard with starboard, so Port became the new word for left. To remember which side is port and which is starboard, just remember port is a short word, just as left is a short word.
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jasonbrindamour903
When I was learning about port and starboard, I discovered a trick. All the words with less letters go together. Port has less letters than starboard, left has less letters than right and red has less letters than green. Port, left, red. Starboard, right, green.
: )
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When I was learning about port and starboard, I discovered a trick. All the words with less letters go together. Port has less letters than starboard, left has less letters than right and red has less letters than green. Port, left, red. Starboard, right, green.
: )
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diggernash1
Objects float by displacing a volume of water equal in weight to the object prior to becoming submerged. Shape and surface area do not determine if an object will float(when not considering surface tension, they are, however, critical to remaining stable while floating.
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Objects float by displacing a volume of water equal in weight to the object prior to becoming submerged. Shape and surface area do not determine if an object will float(when not considering surface tension, they are, however, critical to remaining stable while floating.
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