Course Documents
Coastal Navigation meets virtually on Tuesday evenings from 6 to about 8 pm. Before the first class, we’ll mail out the training chart, parallel rules, and dividers that you’ll use for the homework each week, along with the textbook, and the Eldridge Tide and Pilot Book that we’ll use for tide and current problems starting in week three.
We’ll begin classes 2 through 6 by going over the homework from the previous week and reviewing the most important concepts and skills. Each class will also be recorded. So if you have to miss a class, you can download the Problem Set, read through the class slides and textbook, listen to the lecture online, and be confident of catching up the next week.
Class 1: 01/17/2023
- Levels of Navigation
- Navigator's Responsibility
- Navigator's Tools
- Latitude and Longitude
- The Compass Rose
- Chart Symbols
- Plotting a Course
- Dead Reckoning
Class 1 Materials
- Class 1 Slides (2MB pdf)
- Problem Set 1 (pdf)
- Suggested Reading: Coastal Navigation chapters 1, 2, 3 & 5
Class 2: 01/24/2023
- Compass Correction
- Lines of Position
- Compass Bearing
- Range
- Depth Contour
- Aids to Navigation (Buoys & Lights)
- Reliability of Fixes
Class 2 Materials
- Class 2 Slides (57MB pdf)
- Problem Set 2 (pdf)
- Suggested Reading: Coastal Navigation chapters 4, 5, 9, 10 & 12
Class 3: 01/31/2023
- Danger & Turning Bearings
- Back Bearing
- Tidal Forces
- Tide Tables
- Height of Tide at any time
- Rule of 12ths
- Correcting for Leeway
- Estimated Position
Class 3 Materials
- Class 3 Slides (1MB pdf)
- Problem Set 3 (pdf)
- Cuttyhunk Pond chart (jpg) to use in answering question 3
- Suggested reading: Coastal Navigation chapters 6, 10 & 12
Class 4: 02/7/2023
- Reversing Currents
- Current Tables
- Velocity of Current at any time
- The Cape Cod Canal
- Current Charts
- Set and Drift
- The Current Triangle
- Solving Current Problems
Class 4 Materials
- Class 4 Slides (250KB pdf)
- Problem Set 4 (pdf - year 2022)
- Suggested reading: Coastal Navigation chapters 7 & 8
- Suggested reading: Eldridge Tide and Pilot pp 44-45 (Cape Cod Canal regulations).
Class 5: 02/14/2023
- Review of Current Problems
- Woods Hole and Quicks Hole
- Ranges and Bearings in Current
- Running Fix
Class 5 Materials
- Class 5 Slides (31MB pdf)
- Running Fix Slides (pdf)
- Problem Set 5 (pdf - year 2022)
- Suggested reading: Coastal Navigation chapter 11
Class 6: 02/21/2023
- GPS
- Waypoints, Range & Bearing
- Cross-track Error
- Speed & Course Over Ground
- Electronic Charts
- AIS