ASA 101 skills checklist

Use this as your map from "I know the words" to "I can skipper a small keelboat in daylight, light-to-moderate conditions." Then rehearse the action items in the practical skills coach.

Reset checklist progress

1. Boat parts, rigging, and sail controls

• Hull and deck: hull, deck, bow, stern, transom, cockpit, cabin, keel, rudder, helm, tiller or wheel. Drill the diagram.
• Spars and standing rigging: mast, boom, gooseneck, shrouds, spreaders, chainplates, forestay/headstay, backstay.
• Deck hardware: winch, cleat, fairlead, stanchions, lifelines, pulpit, fenders, dock lines.
• Sails: mainsail, jib/genoa, head, tack, clew, luff, leech, foot, battens, hanks, telltales.
• Running rigging and controls: halyards, mainsheet, jib sheets, downhaul/Cunningham, outhaul, boom vang, topping lift, traveler, blocks, shackles, furling line. Practice line handling.

2. Language and wind sense

• Directions: port, starboard, forward, aft, ahead, astern, abeam, windward, leeward.
• Boat behavior: heel, draft, freeboard, weather helm, leeway, lift, drag, apparent wind, true wind. Glossary.
• Roles: skipper, helm/helmsman, crew, lookout. Say commands loudly, answer clearly, and keep one person assigned to watch traffic.

3. Points of sail and sail trim

• Identify head-to-wind, no-sail zone, in irons, close-hauled, close reach, beam reach, broad reach, run, by-the-lee, and wing-on-wing. Learn the diagram.
• Know port tack vs starboard tack and how tack affects right of way.
• Trim rule: ease until the sail luffs, then trim until it just stops. Use telltales where fitted. Practice telltales · helm simulator.
• Understand reefing as reducing sail area before the boat is overpowered.

4. Maneuvers and helm commands

• Heading up / bearing away: steer toward or away from the wind while retrimming.
• Tack: "Ready to tack" / "Ready" / "Hard alee" or "Helm's alee"; bow crosses the wind.
• Jibe: "Ready to jibe" / "Ready" / "Jibe-ho"; stern crosses the wind, boom controlled.
• Get out of irons: back the jib, push the boom, or use reverse/crew weight as your instructor teaches.
• Crew overboard: shout, throw, point, return under control, approach close reach or as instructed by your school.
• Return and secure: lower/furl sails, coil or flake lines, rig fenders, use dock lines and spring lines. Maneuver guide · docking and anchoring trainer · practical coach.

5. Navigation rules

• Maintain a proper lookout and avoid collision even when you are stand-on.
• Sailboats on opposite tacks: port tack keeps clear of starboard tack.
• Sailboats on the same tack: windward keeps clear of leeward.
• Overtaking: the overtaking vessel keeps clear until finally past and clear.
• Power vs sail: power-driven vessels generally keep clear of sailing vessels, but narrow channels, fishing, restricted maneuverability, commercial traffic, and overtaking change the answer. Rules guide.

6. Aids to navigation and lights

• Lateral marks: red even nun buoys to starboard when returning; green odd can buoys to port when returning. Aids guide.
• Preferred channel markers, safe water marks, special purpose marks, information/regulatory marks.
• Navigation lights: red port sidelight, green starboard sidelight, white sternlight; know what you are seeing at night even if ASA 101 sailing is daylight-focused. Lights trainer.
• Sound signals: one short, two short, three short, five or more short danger/doubt signal, prolonged blasts, and restricted-visibility signals. Signals trainer.
• Commercial traffic: do not impede vessels constrained by a narrow channel or draft; cross astern and communicate early if needed.

7. Safety, weather, and seamanship

• Required gear for a 25-foot recreational sailboat: wearable PFD for each person, throwable device, efficient sound-producing device, visual distress signals where required, fire extinguisher where required, navigation lights, registration/documentation, and state-specific items. Safety guide · vessel check.
• Life jackets must fit, be serviceable, and be readily accessible. Throwable devices must be immediately available.
• Brief crew before departure: safety gear locations, movement aboard, boom and loaded-line hazards, docking roles, weather limits, VHF basics, and crew-overboard actions. Build a briefing.
• Leave a float plan with a responsible person; include crew, boat, route, return time, and emergency contacts. Build one.
• Check marine weather before departure and keep watching for building clouds, sudden wind shifts, falling temperature, lightning, and heavier seas. Weather guide.
• Boat sober. Alcohol, fatigue, sun, and motion compound each other on the water.

8. Knots

• Figure-eight stopper knot.
• Square/reef knot for light-duty joining, never for critical loads.
• Clove hitch for quick temporary attachment.
• Round turn and two half hitches for securing to a post or ring.
• Cleat hitch for dock lines.
• Bowline for a fixed loop that unties after loading. Knot guide.

How to use this checklist

1. Read the study guide once so the map makes sense.
2. Drill the interactive stations until weak topics stop feeling random.
3. Before your course, print or screenshot this checklist, run the vessel safety check, and run the practical skills coach to mark anything you want your instructor to demonstrate on the boat.
4. Before the written test, pass the full quiz three times above 80%.
5. After each practice sail, record what you actually did in the practice logbook.

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