ASA 101 study guide
Everything the basic keelboat written test covers, and exactly how to practice each part for free.
What the test looks like
ASA 101 (Basic Keelboat Sailing) finishes with a written exam, usually taken on the last day of a two-to-three-day course. Most schools give a multiple-choice and true/false test of roughly 100 questions, and the standard passing score is 80%. Your school confirms the exact format, but the content is drawn from the official ASA textbook, Sailing Made Easy, and it is remarkably consistent from school to school.
The test rewards vocabulary and concepts, not sea stories. If you can name what you're looking at, say which boat gives way, and explain what the wind is doing to your sails, you will pass comfortably.
What to study, section by section
1. Sailing terminology
Port and starboard, windward and leeward, heading up and bearing away, luffing, leeway, apparent wind. Terminology questions are the easiest points on the test — and the easiest to throw away if you guess. Drill the glossary, then test yourself with the written quiz.
2. Parts of the boat and rigging
Know the hull, keel, rudder, tiller, mast, and boom, and be able to split rigging into standing (shrouds, forestay, backstay — holds the mast up) and running (halyards hoist, sheets trim). Know the corners and edges of a sail: head, tack, clew; luff, leech, foot. Practice on the click-the-part diagram until you can find all fifteen without a miss.
3. Points of sail and sail trim
The single most-tested concept. You must be able to name the point of sail from a picture of a boat and a wind arrow, know the no-go zone is roughly 45° either side of the wind, and know the trim rule of thumb: ease until the sail luffs, trim until it stops. Read the points of sail guide, then drill the identification game and the helm simulator.
4. Maneuvers: tacking and jibing
Tacking turns the bow through the wind; jibing turns the stern through it. Learn the command sequences — "Ready about" / "Helm's alee" for a tack, "Prepare to jibe" / "Jibe-ho" for a jibe — and why an uncontrolled jibe is dangerous (the boom sweeps across fast).
5. Rules of the road
Starboard tack stands on over port tack; leeward over windward; overtaking vessels always keep clear; power gives way to sail except when it doesn't (overtaking, narrow channels, fishing vessels, restricted maneuverability). The right of way guide walks through every rule, and the scenario game makes them stick.
6. Safety
One wearable, USCG-approved life jacket per person aboard. For crew overboard: shout, throw flotation, point continuously, and make the final approach on a close reach so you can luff the sails and stop alongside.
7. Knots
The bowline (a loop that won't slip — jib sheets to the clew), the figure-eight (stopper knot), the cleat hitch (dock lines), and usually the clove hitch and square knot. The written test asks what each knot is for; tying them is checked on the water, so practice with real rope too.
8. Docking, anchoring, and navigation aids
Approach a dock slowly and into the wind when possible; "red, right, returning" for buoys when coming in from sea; anchor with generous scope. These sections are short but reliable point-scorers.
A simple study plan
- Read Sailing Made Easy once, cover to cover, before or during your course.
- Drill one station on this site for 15 minutes a day — weak areas first.
- Take the full written quiz until you score above 80% three times in a row. The real test will feel familiar.