Wednesday, March 19, 2014

More on ‘Minnow’





 

There is always something that can be done on a boat to improve her. Yesterday I said ‘Minnow’ was ready for an adventure, and so she is, but to help her skipper better assess wind direction, I’ve added a masthead burgee. Technically it’s not a burgee, because it does not have a pointed tail. The chandler described the flag as a ‘racing’ burgee. A cruising burgee is, in fact, a burgee, because it has a tail.

When yachts race, their skippers usually fly a pennant of sorts at the stern to indicate their boat is participating in a race. Race instruction will sometimes specify a signal flag to be flown at the stern such as one of the alphabetical or numerical flags taken from the International Code of Signals.

Another thing I did today was to add extra screws for securing the storage racks. I always felt that single screws at the ends were insufficient for withstanding forces that may be imposed on them, especially when the boat is being tossed around in rough seas.

Links

International Code Flags


International Cod of Signals

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