Sailing

"Sailing, propulsion of a boat or ship by means of the driving force of the wind through the use of sails. In sailing, noncommercial boats are used for pleasure, especially for cruising, racing, or fishing. The pastime involves the use of a sailboat, which may be a small boat powered only by wind or a larger vessel that can also be propelled by an inboard or outboard motor. Some sailboats have living quarters that allow sailors to spend long periods of time on the water." (Encarta)

Below you will find the site map. This is to jump to any part of the information you desire to view.

SITE MAP:

1 Intro: The concepts behind sailing (enter)

2 Basics of Sailing: Methods of sailing (e.g. direction of sails in relation to wind); Tacking; Types of boats. (enter)

3 Resistance: Frictional and residual (enter)

4 Waves: Equations (check this page out. it looks very interesting but too complicated for me)

5 Links: Bibliography (enter)

 

NOTE: Archimede's Principle

Sailing has a lot to do with archimede's principle. This principle states that if the weight of an object placed in water is equal to the weight of the water it displaces it will not sink or float. So if something is less dense than water then it will float. That is why boats were made out of wood. That is also why divers wear weight belts. This keeps them from floating to the top.