Structure and integrity
- Understand the yacht's construction, her watertight and weathertight boundaries, and how to maintain their integrity.
- Know the bilge, ballast, fuel and firefighting systems and their controls, including the remote fuel shut-offs and quick-closing valves.
- Understand the steering, propulsion and electrical systems well enough to manage a failure and a fallback.
- Maintain the structure, the closing appliances and the systems through a planned maintenance regime.
Watertight integrity is what keeps flooding in one compartment from sinking the ship, and it depends on the closing appliances and boundaries being intact and operable, especially in heavy weather. The Master knows where the watertight and weathertight boundaries are, keeps them shut and maintained, and understands the bilge and firefighting systems well enough to fight flooding or fire and to keep essential services — power, steering — running through a casualty.
NOTE — Know where the boundaries are Surviving flooding or heavy weather depends on knowing where the watertight and weathertight boundaries lie and keeping them intact. The Master carries that picture of the ship and enforces the closing-down routine.
WARNING — Keep essential services alive in a casualty In many emergencies the yacht must keep making power and steering while the casualty is fought. The Master manages the systems so that fighting a fire or flooding does not blind or immobilise the ship.