What is an Outrigger?

Staying on course is the goal of anything you do in life. Whether you’re in a boat or in a boardroom, the closer you can stay to your goal, the better off you are in the long run. Now, if you are in a boat, you need to look to an outrigger to help you stay afloat. This addition to a boat works to keep the boat upright, even in the choppiest of weather. Having one of these installed on your boat might just the thing to ensure you get to where you want to go – without having to call in the Coast Guard.

Beginners Need Help

When you’re first learning about how to sail a boat, it’s a good idea to put some training wheels on your vessel. While you might have had lessons and gotten a license, this doesn’t mean you can predict everything. On smaller boats especially, have an outrigger will help you stay level on the water, or at least prevent you from sinking. Those who are beginners to sailing who hope to sail on their own need to make sure they have some sort of ‘training wheels’ on their boat so that they can feel confident when they’re moving from wave to wave. Of course, if you’re attaching an outrigger for the first time, you need to ask for help from others so that you know it’s actually attached correctly.

The Choppy Waters

When you use an outrigger, it provides one more surface to hit the water. This will allow you the chance to flounder (ha!) a bit on the water without tipping over. This piece will extend out from one or both sides of the boat, helping to create another area that will navigate and cut through the water. You might also decide to put one on both sides of the boat to maintain as level a surface as possible. These will be on the sides of the boat, rather than being on the front and the back. This will allow for a natural rocking motion to take place, which is what the boat was designed to do, after all.

Install Permanently?

Some people like to install an outrigger for a particularly bumpy ride, but this doesn’t mean the piece is going to stay in one place for the entire time. You might install the outrigger for an ocean ride, but then take it back off if you’re on smoother waters. Ideally, you will want to have this piece on your boat if you’re going to keep the boat on chopping waters more often than not. But if you’re a smooth sailor most of the time, you might want to learn how to fashion an effective, yet impermanent piece.

With an outrigger, you will be able to keep afloat. However, this piece isn’t going to do anything if you don’t know how to sail. This piece can’t call for help, just so you know.