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Nautical Knowledge Trivia Quiz

This quiz should be a breeze for an old salt like you.

A multiple-choice quiz by AccdntlJibe. Estimated time: 5 mins.

Author
AccdntlJibe

Time
5 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
134,705

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
20

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
14 / 20

Plays
1167

Last 3 plays: Guest 83 (15/20), Guest 141 (12/20), Guest 118 (14/20).

This quiz has 2 formats: you can play it as a or as shown below.
Scroll down to the bottom for the answer key.

1. You're sailing a two masted boat with the mizzen mast located forward of the steering post. What type of boat are you on? Hint

sloop

ketch

yawl

schooner

NEXT>

2. Rope put aboard a sailboat is called a what? Hint

line

whipping

rope

expensive

NEXT>

3. The rigging which exerts side forces to keep the mast vertical are the what? Hint

shrouds

painters

halyards

sheets

NEXT>

4. A heading of one eight zero will take you which direction? Hint

south

east

north

west

NEXT>

5. If you lose forward motion from being in the no sail zone, you are where? Hint

up the creek without a paddle

sailing in the groove

aground and should back the jib until the keel is loose

in irons

NEXT>

6. Fletcher Christian and the crew of what ship, created mutiny against Captain Bligh? Hint

The USS Constitution

The Cain

The Bounty

The Hispaniola

NEXT>

7. Someone asks you, "How much does she draw?" They want to know your boat's what? Hint

mast height.

beam.

retail cost.

draft.

NEXT>

8. One of your crew tells you, "The rabbit comes out of the hole, around the tree and back into the hole." What does that mean? Hint

That's sailors code for, "The Coasties are coming."

They've been in the sun too long.

You should ease the jib and tack to starboard immediately.

They're teaching you how to make a bowline.

NEXT>

9. After wintering in Florida, you decide it's time to sail back to New York. As you sail up the Intracoastal Waterway, the buoys on your starboard side will what color? Hint

black and yellow vertical stripes

green

red

white with even numbers

NEXT>

10. Your sailboat is being overtaken by a powerboat. What is the situation? Hint

You should strike the colors.

Sailboats always have the right of way over powerboats.

You are the stand on vessel.

You are the give way vessel.

11. In the Touchstone sailing adventure, "Captain Ron", Captain Ron played by Kurt Russell states that, "Diesels love their oil like a sailor loves his rum." When the boat owner Martin Harvey, played by Martin Short, asks Captain Ron why that is he replies what? Hint

"They're both used for lubrication"

"Nobody knows"

"The average viscosity rating of the rum keeps the internal tempurature of the sailor at or below it's recommended operating limits"

"Rum is an inexpensive substitute for oil in foriegn ports of call"

NEXT>

12. Vertical clearances, such as bridges, will always be shown on tidal area charts measured at what? Hint

low tide.

a height designated by the Coast Guard equal to the median clearance at high tide divided by the median clearance at low tide and multiplied by two.

mean high water.

sea level.

NEXT>

13. A catboat is a sailboat with what? Hint

three jibs

no cabin and the rudder amidship

the mast placed far forward and no foresail

two hulls

NEXT>

14. What is freeboard? Hint

A song by Leonard Skynard.

Getting on board without a ticket.

The distance from the gunwale to the waterline.

A keel that retracts into the cabin.

NEXT>

15. What is a winch mainly used for? Hint

To pull the running lines tighter than you could by hand.

To guide the fairing leads from the gussets to the quadrant.

To serve the draft in port.

To deploy depth charges.

NEXT>

16. What happens if you're sailing in a regatta, and cross the starting line before the race starts? Hint

must take a 720 degree penalty turn

must sail completely back across the starting line before continuing the race

are disqualfied

raise a white burgee with a red cross idicating an admission of guilt and an apology to the other participants

NEXT>

17. What does a buoy, in inland waters with a red horizontal band over a green horizontal band indicate? Hint

A marina with diesel services.

A sunken vessel.

A swimming area.

The direction of the prefered channel.

NEXT>

18. If you're sailing at night on a starboard tack and see a single red light off your starboard bow, what should you do? Hint

Steer to port

Maintain your course and speed

Sound two long and two short blasts on the horn

Check your depth finder

NEXT>

19. Why should you avoid sailing directly downwind? Hint

To avoid an accidental jibe.

To prevent windburn.

So you can see the Manatees.

So you don't overstress the compass gimbals.

NEXT>

20. There are three corners and three edges to the triangle which forms the shape of most sails. Start with the lower forwardmost corner, and go up the front edge to the top of the sail, and continue until you return at the original corner, and name each part as you go. Hint

luff, leech, foot, tack, head, clew

tack, luff, head, leech, clew, foot

tack, head, clew, luff, leech, foot

head, clew, tack, luff, leech, foot

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. You're sailing a two masted boat with the mizzen mast located forward of the steering post. What type of boat are you on?

Answer: ketch

The schooner has a fore mast which is shorter than the main mast.
The ketch and the yawl both have a mizzen mast, aft of the main mast, but the mizzen mast on a yawl is located aft of the steering post. The easy way to remember which is which is that 'k' comes before 'y'.
The sloop has only one mast.

2. Rope put aboard a sailboat is called a what?

Answer: line

The art of knot tying, splicing, and whipping is called marlinspike.

3. The rigging which exerts side forces to keep the mast vertical are the what?

Answer: shrouds

Check your shroud tension. Loose shrouds are the one of the main causes of dismasting.

4. A heading of one eight zero will take you which direction?

Answer: south

North can be expressed either as 000 or 360, 090 is east, 180 is south and 270 is west.

5. If you lose forward motion from being in the no sail zone, you are where?

Answer: in irons

The Captains of square riggers were lucky if they could sail much higher than 90 degrees to the wind. The no sail zone for most modern boats, is less than 45 degrees either side of the wind.

6. Fletcher Christian and the crew of what ship, created mutiny against Captain Bligh?

Answer: The Bounty

After being set adrift in a small rowboat, Captain Bligh, of the HMS Bounty, and a handful of officers were able to navigate over two thousand miles back to England, where Captain Bligh was exonerated of any wrong doing in regards to the loss of his vessel.

7. Someone asks you, "How much does she draw?" They want to know your boat's what?

Answer: draft.

The weight of your boat is often expressed as its displacement derived by the weight of the water she displaces. This is an important factor when determining her draft, which is the distance from her waterline, to the lowest point of the exterior hull.

8. One of your crew tells you, "The rabbit comes out of the hole, around the tree and back into the hole." What does that mean?

Answer: They're teaching you how to make a bowline.

The bowline is one of the most useful knots you'll learn aboard your sailboat. After you master it, you'll wonder how you got along without it. Make a loop and then make one overhand twist in the standing end, (the hole). Pass the working end, (the rabbit), through the hole and around the standing line, (the tree), then back out of the hole and pull tight.

9. After wintering in Florida, you decide it's time to sail back to New York. As you sail up the Intracoastal Waterway, the buoys on your starboard side will what color?

Answer: green

This can get confusing but here's an easy rule of thumb. The red, (even numbered), buoys on the Intracoastal will always be on the side of the largest land mass. Red on your right if you're sailing around the USA clockwise, but green, (odd numbers), on your right if you're sailing around the USA counterclockwise.

10. Your sailboat is being overtaken by a powerboat. What is the situation?

Answer: You are the stand on vessel.

The overtaken vessel is always the stand on vessel, and the overtaking vessel is always the give way vessel, however according to the "Rules of the Road", published by the US Coast Guard, both vessels are required to take whatever action is neccessary to avoid collision.

Answer: "Nobody knows"

Touchstone Picture's "Captain Ron" was not available on DVD, but was rereleased in that format at the request of the editors of Lattitudes and Attitudes Magazine. Thanks guys!

12. Vertical clearances, such as bridges, will always be shown on tidal area charts measured at what?

Answer: mean high water.

Consider which measurement would be the shortest and safest to publish.

13. A catboat is a sailboat with what?

Answer: the mast placed far forward and no foresail

Catboats aren't as popular as they once were. It's easy to confuse the term with the more popular catamaran.

14. What is freeboard?

Answer: The distance from the gunwale to the waterline.

Freeboard is measured from the gunwale (pronounced gun'l), to the waterline with the boat at rest.

15. What is a winch mainly used for?

Answer: To pull the running lines tighter than you could by hand.

Running lines are looped around the winches to provide mechanical advantage when pulling the lines tight.

16. What happens if you're sailing in a regatta, and cross the starting line before the race starts?

Answer: must sail completely back across the starting line before continuing the race

A sailboat race is sometimes jokingly defined, as any time two sailboats are in sight of one another.

17. What does a buoy, in inland waters with a red horizontal band over a green horizontal band indicate?

Answer: The direction of the prefered channel.

Buoys which are red over green or vise versa in inland and international waters, indicate a split in the channel and direct you to the prefered channel, depending on your direction of travel. The buoy system in the Great Lakes is quite different from the one used in inland and international waters. Be careful to study those is you plan on sailing the big lakes.

18. If you're sailing at night on a starboard tack and see a single red light off your starboard bow, what should you do?

Answer: Steer to port

You are seeing the port light of a vessel ahead, and is about to pass in front of you from your starboard side. She is the stand on vessel and you must give way. Your best choice to avoid collision is to steer hard to port. In the same situation in a power boat or a sailboat on a port tack you would steer hard to port so that the two vessels pass port to port, but on a starboard tack you don't want to get caught in irons with another vessel head on.

19. Why should you avoid sailing directly downwind?

Answer: To avoid an accidental jibe.

Sailing directly downwind or even too near to it puts you in jeopardy of an accidental jibe, a condition in which the boom swings dangerously from one tack to the other. People have been thrown overboard, seriously injured, and even killed by the violent force of the boom swinging uncontrolled across the deck.

Answer: tack, luff, head, leech, clew, foot

Using a mainsail as our example, the lower forwardmost corner, (where the boom and the mast meet), is the tack. The leading edge is the luff. The top corner, (where you attach the halyard), is the head. the trailing edge is the leech. The lower aftmost corner, (where you attach the outhaul), is the clew and the base of the sail running along the boom is the foot.

Source: Author AccdntlJibe

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor Nightmare before going online.
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