Boating Tips and Quotes

There is no big or small in the sea; in the face of the sea, a “small” boat is small, and a “big” boat is small…

What you do when entering the harbor is the exact opposite of what you do when leaving the harbor. When entering, hold the windward seat first, just as you must release the windward last when leaving.

Only a fool is not afraid of the sea.

A thin rope knot is easy to tighten.

When catching the buoy with a hook, do not try to hit the ring at the end of the buoy. Dip it into the water and catch the rope underneath.

To withstand the sea, you have to be a fish. There is no metal that does not rust, no wood that does not rot, and no rope that does not wear out after coming into contact with seawater.

If the lamp oil runs out, use diesel fuel. If it smokes too much, add salt to it.

The saying, “The worst harbor is better than the calmest sea,” is a landlubber’s proverb. If the weather turns rough in a harbor and things start to go wrong, take up anchor, untie the mooring lines, and head out. Knowing how to take up anchor is as much a skill as knowing how to drop it.

A sailor does not have a wristwatch.

If you are going to cook the fish you caught, be sure to wash it with sea water.

Simple is good.

If you are struggling with a task, stop! Think, could it be done differently?

If the oar falls into the water, do not try to catch it with a hook. Reach out, bend down, and grab it with your hand from the side of the boat.

If you are bringing a rope to a winch that is different from the one you normally use, even if the path is longer, be sure to use it by passing it through the winch’s pulley. The pulley is positioned there because it creates the most suitable angle for the winch. If you wrap the rope around the winch at a different angle, the rope will either get stuck on its own or slip, damaging the winch.

Every knot you tie on the rope weakens it.

The best tool to use when pulling Sikaflex or similar adhesives is your index finger. First, lubricate it with liquid soap so it doesn’t curl up like a caterpillar and stick to itself.

One of the units that draws the most electricity at sea is the refrigerator. Keeping the refrigerator full, filling it with ice blocks rather than ice cubes at the beginning of the trip, and blocking the water drain reduces heat loss and makes it last longer.

Sailor’s knots are easy to tie, do not come undone on their own, do not loosen, and do not tighten. In contrast, fisherman’s knots are difficult to tie, must be tightly secured, and absolutely do not come undone or slip on their own. Fishermen, unlike sailors, do not try to untie their knots; they cut them off.

A chain is only as strong as its weakest link.

Hammer the bolt of the iron lock and swell the pin.

Stainless steel with aluminum; bronze with iron… When screwing two metals of different alloys together, the nut should be the same as the bolt.

WD40 is ultimately odorless kerosene.

Keep the fuel tank full in winter.

Let the chain stay in the sea instead of in the chain locker. Don’t be stingy when giving rope.

If you have boarded a boat moored to a pier or pontoon, when disembarking from that boat onto the shore, as a matter of etiquette, walk around the deck in front of the mast so as not to disturb your neighbor…

Clean unvarnished teak with seawater, without detergent, using a wooden brush.

Long preparation, short maneuver… short preparation, long maneuver!

Every boat speaks. Every sound it makes has a meaning. Listen to it and do what it says.

When climbing the mast, always wear long pants. Bring a guide rope as long as the mast and a nylon bag. If you forget something below, don’t climb up and down again—just lower the bag down…

While on the mast, make sure no one is watching you from below on the deck. A pliers falling from ten meters can cause serious head trauma, and a screwdriver can gouge out an eye.

The best lifeboat is the boat itself, even if it has taken on water…

One seat should be almost where the other is. If you have boarded a boat larger than yours, don’t have one seat on it and the other on land. Either tie both to the boat next to you or to the shore…

The amount of water under the keel is directly proportional to the captain’s experience.

Boats are made to float in the sea; you preserve them best by living in them at sea, not by wrapping them in plastic on land.

A captain who follows the weather forecast never takes his head out of the marina bar.

A sailor’s charisma begins on shore. Out at sea, no one looks at the color of the tarpaulin on your back; they look at how much water it lets through.

The line between functionality and form is very thick on the sea.

What the captain says is law.

Don’t trust the anchor.

A sailor’s vacation begins when he boards the boat, not when he arrives at the desired island…

Those who say, “The best boat is your friend’s boat,” are cowards who avoid responsibility throughout their lives.

The most frequently used sign for a sailor is the “question mark.”

The first condition for fishing is to cast the line into the water.

Tie the knots on the balloon mandarins and iskotas.

A mouse is coming.

When you take the palamar in your hand, whether you are on the boat or on land, first tie it to a secure place… Then think about which knot to use.

The rope is wound around the propeller.

If you don’t want to pay the motorman, you’ll have to pay the oiler…

If your diving mask is fogging up, the simplest solution is to spit inside it. You can also wipe it with seaweed or toothpaste. But the best solution is silicone spray.

You cannot learn two different knots on the same day.

When an avalanche occurs, none of the snowflakes inside it hold themselves responsible for what happened.

If you are going to fill your tank with fuel from a can, hold the can above your head and do not bend over and try to siphon it with your mouth. Blow air into the can. Especially if the can is very full, the pressure you create will cause the fuel to flow down the hose, so you will not swallow gasoline or diesel fuel.

Do not throw anything you have not eaten or swallowed into the boat’s toilet!

Warm up the engine thoroughly before pumping out the old engine oil.

The oil filter should be tightened by hand. Do not use tools to tighten it.

If the deck freezes in winter, wash it with seawater. The salt in the water will melt the ice.

In fog, pay attention to the sounds around you, bells, and whistles, especially those coming from the right!

If you see the cardinal from a distance and can’t tell what it is even with binoculars… Don’t go to the right or left. Head straight toward it. When you get closer, you’ll understand whether it’s west or east… You won’t stray too far…

When entering the harbor from the open sea, don’t be surprised if you see the green light on the left and the red light on the right. Breakwaters are almost always built closed to the open sea, probably constructed so that the mouth forms a 90-degree angle to your route. Continue until you reach the red light, and you will see the mouth.

Be sure to tie your outboard motor to the stern with a separate rope.

When rigging the genoa, wind the rollers an extra 4-5 turns. When you have completely furled the sail, these 4-5 turns remaining on the roller drum will be very useful in an emergency.

The best helmsman is the one who keeps the boat on course with the least amount of steering. Just as the best captain is the one who can keep the boat on course with the fewest commands.

Do not leave the shore cable in the water at the marina.

When diving, do not ascend faster than the bubbles.

If you are stung by a bee or hit by a fish… The venom is a protein, and the main treatment is to neutralize it before it enters the body. An old method to remove it from the body is to suck it out and spit it out (if there is no wound in the mouth). If ammonia is not available, urinating on it or exposing it to heat can denature the protein, i.e., disrupt its organic chemical molecular structure, using different but effective methods.

Avoid major ports like Bodrum, Marmaris, Göcek, Rhodes, Kos, etc., on weekends. Charter boats arrive on Friday evenings and depart on Sunday mornings.

The weekly schedules of charter or bareboat boats are generally fixed. Reviewing possible routes in advance and adjusting your own route accordingly can be a good way to find quiet, peaceful coves. For example, weekly tour boats arrive in Ekincik either on Sunday-Monday or Thursday.

If you get seasick, go up on deck, stop reading, hold the wheel, or listen to music with headphones. If you need to take medication, take it beforehand; once you start vomiting, no medication taken orally will work.

Always read the back of the box before painting.

Replace the two screws used to open the shore power plug with stainless steel ones when they are new. They will definitely come into contact with water and rust. Once they rust, they won’t open. If you open them, they will be easier to dry and repair.

If you cook fish on your boat, wash the dishes the same night. Don’t leave them until morning!

Don’t stand up in the dinghy. It’s not like a Joker boat; it rocks and you’ll fall.

Inflate your boat during the day.

The oars of the dinghy are in front of the transom, not behind it. If you lean on the transom while rowing, you’ll break it.

If your cell phone falls into the sea, remove the battery and SIM card and wash it with fresh water. If there’s a phone repair shop nearby, take it there without taking it out of the water, and definitely don’t open it. If there’s no service, leave it in the sun for two days to dry thoroughly. A hair dryer is also a solution. However, you can only open it after it has dried completely.

Don’t cover the chrome parts on the boat with anything. Leave them exposed; they won’t rust if they come into contact with air.

Even a single rusty screw in the screw box can corrode all the remaining sound ones.

Do not add lemon to fish dishes or soups before cooking. Especially do not add it with the peel!

Use a good drill bit when drilling the head of a stainless steel screw, and work at low speed. To prevent burning, use boron oil if available, or any other oil that will not burn.

If you consume more than you produce, you will become dependent on others…

The end of the balloon mandarin should be long enough to reach the winch at the front. When you need to pull someone or something up, changing the equipment and bringing the rope to the winch makes it much easier.

The team works…

The open end of the kerosene should be on the body side.

If you close the engine intake water for any reason, be sure to attach a warning tape to the engine starter switch.

Install all valves below the water level with double clamps. Preferably, use offset bolts.

Do not neglect the radiator cap of the engine’s freshwater system; it leaks water, and you have to add more… After a while, the inside of the engine becomes impassable due to lime scale.

Add at least 1/3 antifreeze to the freshwater circulation system, even if the weather is hot.

Tie the ends of the mooring lines with knots, not loops.

The most important tool on a dinghy is not the engine, but the oar. Do not leave the boat without taking the oar.

Do not lower the sail, untie the boat, or leave the shore without starting the engine.

Do not enter an unfamiliar port at night unless absolutely necessary.

Boats are like wool sweaters. They look big when they are dry on land, but when they get wet in the sea, they all shrink and shrink.

If a tool claims to both mow the lawn and shave your beard, it can’t do either of those things properly.

The colors of the rapala bought from the fishing market are mostly not good for the fish, but they are good for the fisherman.

Never say “never.”

The angle between the North Star and the horizon indicates your latitude.

It’s not the long road, it’s the short time.

A taut rope is easy to cut.

A bird that flies around a lot has many hunters.

You don’t run on the deck.

The best teacher is helplessness. The craziest, even genius discoveries and inventions have emerged in times of helplessness.

If you can do a job with a tool, don’t use your bare hands.

The heaviest load on a captain’s ship is people.

A boat owner who doesn’t want to pay the master takes his screwdriver instead of his wallet.

The propeller comes off in the propeller shaft.

If you’re going to take it apart, put it back together. If you’re not going to put it back together, don’t take it apart.

Don’t start a fire you can’t put out.

The helmsman only cares about the rudder and the course. The captain cares about everything and everyone on the ship…

A good captain doesn’t grab the wheel as soon as the engine starts; operating a boat doesn’t mean just turning the wheel. A good captain is someone who notices mechanical or emotional problems on the boat early on, takes precautions to prevent them, and solves them quickly.

If you’re going to leave the refrigerator running for a long time, leave the door open.

Always hammer the additional chain link onto the deck while on land.

If you have a Webasto heater, make sure to install a CO alarm sensor as well.

Tighten the fuel tank cap securely, but don’t over-tighten the water tank cap. It will swell in the heat, and you’ll struggle to open it.