So you are all sunblocked up and ready for a relaxing day on the water with your friends and family. but not so fast! You may already have all the equipment and supplies needed to make the boat legal on the water, but what will you need to make the day fun and enjoyable for everyone?

Well, consider first who will be coming with you on this trip? Is your family coming out with you, a bunch of your friends, or just you and your girl out on the lake for the day? There are different boating supplies needed for each. Also keep in mind how long you are staying out on the water. Is it a day out, or will you be camping out for a day or two?

If your family is coming with you, you should make sure that you bring enough boating supplies for everyone. Bring plenty of snack foods, and stuff for lunch. Kids always love chips and dips, but consider staying away from sodas. Having hyperactive children cooped up on a boat is no fun for anyone. Be sure that you bring plenty of water and juice to drink while on the water, as dehydration can happen pretty easily when out on the water all day.

If you are cruising with your friends for the day, bring whatever kind of stuff you all like to eat. A cheese and cracker platter can be good, and finger sandwiches like ham salad are a good choice as well. Just be sure and keep the supplies out of he sun and cool so they don’t spoil. Again, be sure to bring plenty to drink. Have plenty of beer in coolers, some wine coolers for the ladies, and some other non-alcoholic drinks for the non-drinkers and everyone else to rehydrate. Keep in mind that the captain of the boat should not be drinking, and you can get a boating while intoxicated just as easily as you can get a driving while intoxicated in your car.

If it is just you and your girl, you should bring much more romantic foods. Wines are always in order, and more expensive foods in general. Strawberries are great, especially with champagne and good cheeses. Seafood such as oysters or shrimp can complete the meal, as long as they are carefully stowed and kept cold beforehand. Candles can complete the atmosphere, floating on the water at dusk.

Any overnight trip will naturally require more boating supplies than a day trip. Plan for multiple meals for everyone coming with. Pack simple breakfast items like granola and fruit. A simple lunch is also recommended, such as sandwiches and chips.If you know your exact route, you can plan for dinner at a waterside restaurant, or stop somewhere and cook yourself. Don’t forget pack gear for sleeping as well, depending on where you will be sleeping at night.

Sailboaters and nautical enthusiasts love t shirts and other items that display their favorite type of sailboat, sailing event or nautical slogan. There are endless designs to choose from, varying from simple text only slogans to designs that depict several sailboat designs. Simple line art logos depicting common sailing vessels are also popular on t-shirts for sailors. In addition to t-shirts, online sailing gift shops offer golf shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies, raglan jerseys, tank tops, sleeveless tees and other gifts. There are many types of sailboats, some types carry a single person and others carry more than one person. Sailboats are mostly classified by their sail configuration, type of hull, keel and masts. Sailboats, which are classified by sail configuration are as follows:

Sloop designs are the most common variety of sailboat, The term sloop originates from the Dutch word slope. This design utilizes a mainsail and foresail with one mast. Sloops usually bend only one headsail, though this distinction is not definitive. Unlike cutters, sloops usually have only one headsail, though some sloops such as the Friendship Sloop have more than one sail. Sloops are popular with sport sailors, yachtsmen and as racing craft. Cutters are very similar to a sloop with a single mast and a mainsail. The cutter generally carries the mast further aft to allow for the use of two headsails attached towing forestays, the head stay and the inner stay carry the jib and staysail respectively. This is rarely considered a racing configuration; however, it gives much versatility to cruising boats, especially when there are high wind conditions.

Catboats today are used as a pleasure craft for day sailing. 19th century catboats were also used for racing. Ketch designs are sailing craft with two masts: a main mast, and a shorter mizzen. Both masts are rigged mainly fore-and-aft. Ketch boats are very popular among long distance cruisers. The additional sail allows for a better balance. Another popular sailboat configuration is the schooner. A schooner can have two or more masts. The second mast is at least as tall as the first mast. Sailboats are also classified by hull type. Most sailboats are built with a mono or a single hull. However, some boats are built as multi hull boats. These include catamaran and tri-maran vessels. When comparing a mono hull boat to multi-hull boat acceleration is much different. In a multi-hull boat acceleration to a top speed is very quick and almost instantaneous.

Sailing requires a high level of experience and skill. Crew must be able to quickly change rigs, rudder and dagger to change the speed and direction of the boat in a variety of sea conditions. In addition to steering the boat and managing the sails, crew must also have at least basic knowledge of some of the skills that are normally the responsibility of the captain. These can include weather forecasting, navigation, emergency repairs, marine electronics, first aid and others.