SAILING QUESTIONNAIRE (PLEASE RESPOND!)

[Sailinq]

Hi there,
I'm currently designing a weather app as part of my undergraduate studies, my target audience are people who sail. I would very much appreciate if you took some time to answer some of the questions!
(I personally do not sail so if any of the questions don't seem very appropriate/are incorrect/inaccurate please feel free to skip them).
Thank you

• 1. How often do you check the weather?
  (Select only one.)
  - Once a day
  - Several times a day
  - Once a week
  - Several times a week
  - Once a month
  - A few times a month
  - A few times a year
  - Never

• 2. How far in advance do you check the weather before sailing?
  (Select only one.)
  - A few hours before
  - An hour before
  - A day before
  - A week before
  - I don’t check the weather before sailing

• 3. What is your preferred weather condition for sailing?
  (Select up to three.)
  - Clear (less than 10% cloud coverage)
  - Cloudy (clouds cover more than 60% of the sky)
  - Fair (less than 40% cloud coverage, no precipitation, no extreme visibility,
  wind or temperature conditions)
  - Good visibility (more than 10 kilometers)
  - Overcast (greater than 90% of the sky is covered by clouds)
  - Sunny (few to no cloud coverage)
  - Dry (free from rainfall)
  - Breezy (wind in the range of 15 miles per hour to 25 miles per hour with
  mild or warm temperatures)
  - Brisk (wind in the range of 15 to 25 miles per hour when the
  temperature is cold)
  - Calm (little to no wind)

• 4. What is your least preferred weather condition for sailing?
  (Select up to three.)
  -  Overcast (greater than 90% of the sky is covered by clouds)
  - Brisk (wind in the range of 15 to 25 miles per hour when the
  temperature is cold)
  - Gale (strong wind speeds from 39 to 54 miles per hour)
  - Dense fog (visibility is less than one-quarter of a mile)
  - Drizzle (very light rainfall)
  - Hail
  - Snowfall
  - Dry (free from rainfall)
  - Heavy rainfall
  - Thunderstorm (lightning and thunder, usually accompanied by strong winds,
  heavy rainfall and sometimes hail).



• 5. What is your preferred wind speed for sailing?
  (Select only one.)
  - 0 – 5 miles per hour
  - 6 – 8 miles per hour
  - 9 – 15 miles per hour
  - 16 – 19 miles per hour
  - 20 – 24 miles per hour
  - 25 or more miles per hour

• 6. What is your least preferred wind speed for sailing?
  (Select only one.)
  - 0 – 5 miles per hour
  - 6 – 8 miles per hour
  - 9 – 15 miles per hour
  - 16 – 19 miles per hour
  - 20 – 24 miles per hour
  - 25 or more miles per hour

• 7. What is your preferred temperature for sailing?
  (Select only one.)
  - 0 – 10˚C
  - 11 – 15˚C
  - 16 – 20˚C
  - 21 – 25˚C
  - 26 – 30˚C
  - 31˚C or more

• 8. What is your least preferred temperature for sailing?
  (Select only one.)
  - 0 – 10˚C
  - 11 – 15˚C
  - 16 – 20˚C
  - 21 – 25˚C
  - 26 – 30˚C
  - 31˚C or more
  

• 9. Does the weather affect your decision on what equipment to bring?
  (Select only one.)
  - Yes
  - No

• 10. What equipment is important to bring regardless of the weather?
  (Select all applicable.)
  - Headlamp
  - Goggles
  - Binoculars
  - Sunglasses
  - Life Jacket
  - Life Raft
  - Handheld GPS
  - Personal Locating Beacon
  - Smartphone
  - iPod/MP3 player
  - Personal Locating Beacon
  - Sun hat
  - Camera
  - Personal duffle bag
  - Signal flares
  - First aid kid
  - Other (please specify)

[Stumble]

The survey is meaningless because it assumes all sailing is the same. Voyaging or passages have one type of practice, day sailing is a different. As an analogy this questionare is much like asking 'what speed do you drive at?' And the only options are 20, 35, or 70. The real answer is 20mph in my neighborhood, 35 on city streets, and 70 on the expressway.

To answer your questions...
1) daysailing I check them before I leave. Racing first thing in the morning, again when I get to the boat, and again just before racing starts. Voyaging I start a week or so out checking them once or twice a day, the day we leave like racing, but again just before leaving cell phone range, then as often as possible afterword.

2) Up to a week ahead of time, with progressively more frequent checks as departure nears.

3) temps between 65 and 80, overcast (with no chance of rain), and 12-15kn of breeze

4) a) cold, wet, and no breeze. b) storm conditions >45kn no matter what else is going on

5) 12-18kn

6) 0kn, 5kn is ok.

7) answered above

8) >100F and no wind

9) yes

10) depends on the boat, conditions, and duration of the trip. On my race boat the only mandatory equipment is a knife, lifejacket, trapeze harness, and gloves. Half of what you listed couldn't possibly come, and the other half is conditional. On a cruising boat a lot more becomes mandatory.

[Pete7]

CF seems to be inundated with surveys at the moment. Must be that time of year when lecturers advise their students to just spam forums asking for individuals to fill in a questionaire without offering anything in return.

The moderators politely turn down these requests for surveys, although this one has slipped through because there is no link in the post to a survey website.

Personally I would like to see students who want information from sailors to visit their local yacht club and speak to the Club Secretary about doing a presentation in front of the members. Gather data and at the end of the project then go back to the members and present their findings. That is the sort of leg work I would expect of a student studying to degree level and make them stand out from their contemporaries and high school age pupils.

To the students, get off the computer and put the leg work in.

Pete

[44'cruisingcat]

1) Twice a day or more.
2) Every day.
3) Clear, sunny and breezy.
4) Overcast, Gale, Thunderstorm.
5) 10-15 knots.
6) 0-5
7) 26-30
8) 0-10
9) No, we have what we have onboard. It's our home.
10) We have everything except the life raft.

[Don C L]

I certainly understand Pete's point, but I am not averse to helping you out a bit. Can I just say that it might help us to know the goal of your project and who is your target group? 1. I check the weather when I am getting ready to go out, which for me is probably once a week. 2. I check a day or two before. 3. My preferred weather is fair, no swell and 10 to 15 knots if I am going to weather, 15 to 20 knots if I am not... but then some days I like up to 30 or 35 if I am in the mood and I am running home. 4. My least favorite weather is a tie between too much wind and too little. 7. My preferred temp. Is 72 deg F. 8. My least preferred is freezing. 9. The weather doesn't affect what I bring because it's all in the boat already. 10. I have all the stuff on the list except for life raft. I do have an inflatable though. Btw I use Windytv , "outcast" and "weather map" apps already, that's some of the competition.

[wcrosby]

Why don't you do this survey on one of the survey sites, and give a URL -- it would take a lot less time for you to consolidate and analyze the data....

[hamburking]

Originally Posted by Sailinq

• 1. How often do you check the weather?
  (Select only one.)
  
  - Several times a day

• 2. How far in advance do you check the weather before sailing?
  (Select only one.)
  - A few hours before
  - An hour before
  - A day before
  - A week before
  all of the above. I also check the weather during my sailing trip, several times a day.

• 3. What is your preferred weather condition for sailing?
  (Select up to three.)
  - Clear (less than 10% cloud coverage)
  - Cloudy (clouds cover more than 60% of the sky)
  - Fair (less than 40% cloud coverage, no precipitation, no extreme visibility,
  wind or temperature conditions)
  - Good visibility (more than 10 kilometers)
  - Overcast (greater than 90% of the sky is covered by clouds)
  - Sunny (few to no cloud coverage)
  - Dry (free from rainfall)
  - Breezy (wind in the range of 15 miles per hour to 25 miles per hour with
  mild or warm temperatures)
  - Brisk (wind in the range of 15 to 25 miles per hour when the
  temperature is cold)
  - Calm (little to no wind)
  
  Sorry, bad question...I only care about wind speed and direction. And to a much lesser degree, rain.

• 4. What is your least preferred weather condition for sailing?
  (Select up to three.)
  - Gale (strong wind speeds from 39 to 54 miles per hour)
  
  Again, you are mixing wind speeds with precip and sunshine...these are all different. For sailing I care about wind speed and direction.



• 5. What is your preferred wind speed for sailing?
  (Select only one.)
  - 0 – 5 miles per hour
  - 6 – 8 miles per hour
  - 9 – 15 miles per hour
  - 16 – 19 miles per hour
  - 20 – 24 miles per hour
  - 25 or more miles per hour
  
  Wow....it really depends. If I'm crossing an ocean going straight downwind, I'll take all the wind I can get, 25+. If I'm docking or motoring, I'll prefer 0. And for actual sailing, depends on the sea state and the point of sail. And finally, mph? sailors work in knots.

• 6. What is your least preferred wind speed for sailing?
  (Select only one.)
  - 0 – 5 miles per hour
  - 6 – 8 miles per hour
  - 9 – 15 miles per hour
  - 16 – 19 miles per hour
  - 20 – 24 miles per hour
  - 25 or more miles per hour
  
  See above. Do you want me to say I don't want to sail in a storm? Cause I've sailed in storms.

• 7. What is your preferred temperature for sailing?
  (Select only one.)
  - 0 – 10˚C
  - 11 – 15˚C
  - 16 – 20˚C
  - 21 – 25˚C
  - 26 – 30˚C
  - 31˚C or more
  
  This is getting tedius. If you are going downwind, its going to feel much hotter on your boat than tacking into the wind. In general, sailing is my summer sport, so I'll take all the heat I can get...it helps with the scenery, if you know what I mean.
  

• 8. What is your least preferred temperature for sailing?
  (Select only one.)
  - 0 – 10˚C
  - 11 – 15˚C
  - 16 – 20˚C
  - 21 – 25˚C
  - 26 – 30˚C
  - 31˚C or more
  
  Well, I've been sailing in Toronto Harbour on new years day, pushing through the thin ice, and that was fun. I'm just glad to go sailing when I can. If I need mittens, no biggie. Are you fishing for everyone who likes the summer?
  

• 9. Does the weather affect your decision on what equipment to bring?
  (Select only one.)
  
  - No
  
  I'm prepared for all kinds of weather. But I might need less ice for the icebox if its zero out, or more sunblock if its 35C.

• 10. What equipment is important to bring regardless of the weather?
  (Select all applicable.)
  
  My daughter sails a laser. She wears a wetsuit and brings NOTHING...its a laser, there is no place to put anything. She used to bring a quarter tucked into her wetsuit for a payphone, but now she figures she can just borrow someones phone (pretty girls can do this, but not old men).
  
  The gear I bring depends on the boat I'm sailing and the trip I'm doing. I've sailed plenty of boats with no gear at all, just the boat and crew...no radio, no first aid kit, no food, nuthin.
  

I don't think I helped you much...your questions are too vague. From a weather app I want wind speed and direction, hour by hour. Also, general wind speed and direction a day and a few days ahead. So, I use several different sites for weather info, and I compare to current conditions as well. And of course weather radar image...thats important too.

[hamburking]

I encourage you to try something like https://www.surveymonkey.com/

[svfinlandia]

Originally Posted by Sailinq

Hi there,
I'm currently designing a weather app as part of my undergraduate studies, my target audience are people who sail. I would very much appreciate if you took some time to answer some of the questions!
[I](I personally do not sail so if any of the questions don't seem very appropriate/are incorrect/inaccurate please feel free to skip them).

Not to be too critical, but you state a.) You do not sail, and b.) your target audience is people who sail. If you don't know anything about sailing, how do you expect to serve your target audience?
This is why we get so many worthless and useless computer apps.

Al, S/V Finlandia

[Miran]

1. Few times a day
2.Day before if short trip, week in advance, if off for a longer cruise
3.Ideally, breezy, warm, clear skies (not often in eastern England)
4.Depends where the weather finds me
5.Beaufort scale 5 -6
6.Depends on my heading
7.Ideally 21 - 25, again mostly in short supply in easternm England
8.Now, -5 + 5
9.No, I would like to think, I am ready for most wheather conditions.
10.see 9

[sailjumanji]

Hmmm, just FYI, wave height and direction are sometimes as important - if not more - than wind speed. Unless it is blowing gale force.

Oh, and no. 10 looks like a crew bag equipment list. And probably up there in importance would be handheld VHF. But why are you apparently working from that angle? If you want to know what equipment would be most important on the boat - from owners perspective - it might be something like GPS/chartplotter permanently installed.

I'm concerned that your questions miss the mark.

[seabreez]

Originally Posted by Sailinq

Hi there,
I'm currently designing a weather app as part of my undergraduate studies, my target audience are people who sail. I would very much appreciate if you took some time to answer some of the questions!
(I personally do not sail so if any of the questions don't seem very appropriate/are incorrect/inaccurate please feel free to skip them).
Thank you

• 1. How often do you check the weather?
  A week ahead of a trip and maybe more if the weather is questionable(Select only one.)
  - Several times a week
  
• 2. How far in advance do you check the weather before sailing?
  (Select only one.)
  
  - A week before

3. What is your preferred weather condition for sailing?
(Select up to three.)

- Good visibility (more than 10 kilometers)

4. What is your least preferred weather condition for sailing?
(Select up to three.)

- Gale (strong wind speeds from 39 to 54 miles per hour)
- Dense fog (visibility is less than one-quarter of a mile)
- Thunderstorm (lightning and thunder, usually accompanied by strong winds,
heavy rainfall and sometimes hail).


• 5. What is your preferred wind speed for sailing?
  (Select only one.)
  
  - 9 – 15 miles per hour

• 6. What is your least preferred wind speed for sailing?
  (Select only one.)
  
  - 25 or more miles per hour

• 7. What is your preferred temperature for sailing?
  (Select only one.)

- 21 – 25˚C

8. What is your least preferred temperature for sailing?
(Select only one.)

- 31˚C or more

• 9. Does the weather affect your decision on what equipment to bring?
  (Select only one.)
  - Yes

• 10. What equipment is important to bring regardless of the weather?
  (Select all applicable.)
  - Headlamp
  - Goggles
  - Binoculars
  - Sunglasses
  - Life Jacket
  - Life Raft
  - Handheld GPS
  - Personal Locating Beacon
  - Smartphone
  - iPod/MP3 player
  - Personal Locating Beacon
  - Sun hat
  - Camera
  - Personal duffle bag
  - Signal flares
  - First aid kid
  - Other (please specify)
• Weather gear, warm clothes, rain jacket and head gear, survival suit (jumpsuit), gloves, food, raisin and hot chocolate, variety of nuts, VHF radio

And also a good companion or an experienced friend.

[zengirl]

Originally Posted by Sailinq

Hi there,
I'm currently designing a weather app as part of my undergraduate studies, my target audience are people who sail. I would very much appreciate if you took some time to answer some of the questions!
(I personally do not sail so if any of the questions don't seem very appropriate/are incorrect/inaccurate please feel free to skip them).
Thank you

• 1. How often do you check the weather?
  (Select only one.)
  - Once a day
  - Several times a day
  - Once a week
  - Several times a week
  - Once a month
  - A few times a month
  - A few times a year
  - Never

• 2. How far in advance do you check the weather before sailing?
  (Select only one.)
  - A few hours before
  - An hour before
  - A day before
  - A week before
  - I don’t check the weather before sailing

• 3. What is your preferred weather condition for sailing?
  (Select up to three.)
  - Clear (less than 10% cloud coverage)
  - Cloudy (clouds cover more than 60% of the sky)
  - Fair (less than 40% cloud coverage, no precipitation, no extreme visibility,
  wind or temperature conditions)
  - Good visibility (more than 10 kilometers)
  - Overcast (greater than 90% of the sky is covered by clouds)
  - Sunny (few to no cloud coverage)
  - Dry (free from rainfall)
  - Breezy (wind in the range of 15 miles per hour to 25 miles per hour with
  mild or warm temperatures)
  - Brisk (wind in the range of 15 to 25 miles per hour when the
  temperature is cold)
  - Calm (little to no wind)

• 4. What is your least preferred weather condition for sailing?
  (Select up to three.)
  -  Overcast (greater than 90% of the sky is covered by clouds)
  - Brisk (wind in the range of 15 to 25 miles per hour when the
  temperature is cold)
  - Gale (strong wind speeds from 39 to 54 miles per hour)
  - Dense fog (visibility is less than one-quarter of a mile)
  - Drizzle (very light rainfall)
  - Hail
  - Snowfall
  - Dry (free from rainfall)
  - Heavy rainfall
  - Thunderstorm (lightning and thunder, usually accompanied by strong winds,
  heavy rainfall and sometimes hail).



• 5. What is your preferred wind speed for sailing?
  (Select only one.)
  - 0 – 5 miles per hour
  - 6 – 8 miles per hour
  - 9 – 15 miles per hour
  - 16 – 19 miles per hour
  - 20 – 24 miles per hour
  - 25 or more miles per hour

• 6. What is your least preferred wind speed for sailing?
  (Select only one.)
  - 0 – 5 miles per hour
  - 6 – 8 miles per hour
  - 9 – 15 miles per hour
  - 16 – 19 miles per hour
  - 20 – 24 miles per hour
  - 25 or more miles per hour

• 7. What is your preferred temperature for sailing?
  (Select only one.)
  - 0 – 10˚C
  - 11 – 15˚C
  - 16 – 20˚C
  - 21 – 25˚C
  - 26 – 30˚C
  - 31˚C or more

• 8. What is your least preferred temperature for sailing?
  (Select only one.)
  - 0 – 10˚C
  - 11 – 15˚C
  - 16 – 20˚C
  - 21 – 25˚C
  - 26 – 30˚C
  - 31˚C or more
  

• 9. Does the weather affect your decision on what equipment to bring?
  (Select only one.)
  - Yes
  - No

• 10. What equipment is important to bring regardless of the weather?
  (Select all applicable.)
  - Headlamp
  - Goggles
  - Binoculars
  - Sunglasses
  - Life Jacket
  - Life Raft
  - Handheld GPS
  - Personal Locating Beacon
  - Smartphone
  - iPod/MP3 player
  - Personal Locating Beacon
  - Sun hat
  - Camera
  - Personal duffle bag
  - Signal flares
  - First aid kid
  - Other (please specify)

1. several times a day
2. a month before, leading up to an hour before
3.breezy, dry, good visibility
4. gale, dense fog, thunderstorms
5. 9-15mph
6. 0-5
7.26c-30c
8.16c-20c
9.yes
10.all including sunscreen, EPIRB
Good luck.

[skipmac]

Hopefully you will take this as a constructive suggestion but to include "Please Respond!" in the title line of your request for members to take their time to contribute to your research comes off as a bit demanding. To me it would come off better if you expressed gratitude for any assistance somewhere in the body of your message. By the way, using all uppercase in a post is considered the internet equivalent to shouting.

That being said, my responses and comments.

1. Depends on the situation. When cruising once or twice a day. Tied up or at anchor, once or twice a week.

2. Depends on where and how far I'm sailing. A short day sail I might check a day or two in advance and again before departure. A longer passage I start checking a week or two in advance.

3. Don't care about the clouds per se, only in the context of what kind of weather they might foretell. Winds, ideal are 10-15 kts but that will also depend on the course with respect to the wind and local conditions that might be impacted by the wind like the Gulf Stream.

4. Again, don't care about the clouds or overcast. And seriously, snow and hail???

5. 9-15

6. Can't choose only one.

7. 21-25 C

8. 0-10 C

9. yes

10.

[barnakiel]

Meaningless or not this is YOUR job, so I am tryng to help.

Below my answers. Good luck.

• 1. How often do you check the weather?
• (Select only one.)
  - Several times a day
• 2. How far in advance do you check the weather before sailing?
  (Select only one.)
  - A few hours before
• 3. What is your preferred weather condition for sailing?
  (Select up to three.)
  - Calm (little to no wind)
• 4. What is your least preferred weather condition for sailing?
  (Select up to three.)
  - Dense fog (visibility is less than one-quarter of a mile)
  - Heavy rainfall
  - Thunderstorm (lightning and thunder, usually accompanied by strong winds,
  heavy rainfall and sometimes hail).
• 5. What is your preferred wind speed for sailing?
  (Select only one.)
  - 16 – 19 miles per hour
• 6. What is your least preferred wind speed for sailing?
  (Select only one.)
  - 0 – 5 miles per hour
• 7. What is your preferred temperature for sailing?
  (Select only one.)
  - 26 – 30˚C
• 8. What is your least preferred temperature for sailing?
  (Select only one.)
  - 0 – 10˚C
• 9. Does the weather affect your decision on what equipment to bring?
  (Select only one.)
  - Yes
• 10. What equipment is important to bring regardless of the weather?
  (Select all applicable.)
  - Other (please specify)

A credit card.

Next time creating a questionnaire consider typing it in a way that allows non html editors.

Cheers,
b.