Cruising Hints

• Going cruising? Future snowbirds should check out our Cruising South - USA & ICW
• Flotsam: Knots, Flags includes Bowline video and the Highwayman's knot
• For help with knots (nautical miles per hour), statute miles per hour (your car uses this), and kilometres per hour (Canadian water speed signs use this), use our Converter Tool or our printable table for Distance and Speed conversions
• Boat length in metres (1-20) can be converted to "feet" in a table -Metres to Feet conversion
• How to lock through a lockstation on the canals and heritage waterways.
• Useful information on shipping a boat from Britain is included in this personal account of moving to Canada.
• Check out my list of navigation tools and techniques.
• Read an interesting discussion of how a compass needle works taken from the newsgroup can.rec.boating .
• Read Tom's cruising and fishing tips.
• Boat Recipes (Sheryl Shard)
• Remember the international rule "Red-Right-Returning" which means that the red buoys are on your right hand when returning towards a harbor (or upstream) from seaward. Some people who cruise the canal frequently, install little red and green "reminders" by their wheel so they don't get confused at Newboro locks, where they switch around.
• Keep your chart in the plastic sleeve it comes in. Make an "arrow" out of masking tape and move it along the chart to keep track of where you are.
• Boat security is important, especially if you travel to places you are not familiar with.
• Bottom wax product that can replace anti-fouling paint? Try good old Carnuba wax (Tre-wax), a hard wax lasts for ages.
• If you are approaching a harbour exposed to onshore winds in late afternoon, the waves coming into the shoaling water in the harbor can be quite exciting compared to further out. Before you venture into the harbor, secure your gear and your CREW. (I don't want to scare you, but a friend vowed never to go to Kingston again after becoming airborn and breaking bones!)