Comparative study on the influence of mental exercises and simulator training on learning the technique of handling keelboats

The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of mental training and simulator exercises on the art of maneuvering keel sailing boats. To perform the experiment, 28 students were tested psychologically and distributed in the positions on the craft according to the score in intelligence tests (IQ). Subjects with a higher score were distributed in skipper positions and the remaining students on the other team position onboard the craft. For 14 weeks the experiment group was trained through a program that provided a time of 30 minutes allocated and used at the beginning of each practical lesson using mental training exercises while the control group subjects had used real simulator exercises (they practiced motric actions composing technical procedures on a pontoon tied sailing boat). In conducting this study simulator exercises generated substantially higher benefits in terms of procurement technique for handling keel sailing boats in comparison with mental training exercises.