A compass is the single most important navigation instrument aboard cruising vessels. Without a properly calibrated and installed compass, your final position can easily be off by many miles, especially if you are traveling in bad weather or at night. Before you head off-shore, have your compass checked and calibrated by a professional. It's quite common for a compass to have deviation errors or suffer some other inaccuracy. These errors can be as much as 10 degrees off. Do not rely on electronic equipment as your sole source of heading direction. Your compass is still the most reliable form of navigation and should be mounted in a location that is easy for the skipper to see and that is aligned with the centerline of the vessel. Do not place large metal objects or items that contain magnets such as an electric drill or a stereo speaker anywhere near your compass. They will destroy the accuracy of your reading.
We will uncover the international rules because almost all recreational boaters operate under the Inland Rules. These apply to lakes, rivers and near-coastal waters. The most important rule of all is avoid hitting anything. When in doubt, slowdown or stop until the situation is clarified. Anytime you meet another vessel on the water, it's like approaching an unmarked intersection in your car. The good news is that rules do exist to cover the actions of each vessel. The bad news is that most vessel operators don't know these rules exist. The Rules of the Road are published by the US Government Printing Office and are available at any boating store. Every boater should have a copy onboard but it is mandatory for owners of vessels greater than 10 meters in length. The rules are divided into four major sections; general, sailing and steering, lights and shapes, sound and light signals.
The Crossing Rule - Inland Rule state that when two power-driven vessels are crossing, to avoid risk of collision, the vessel which has the other on her starboard side (the give-way vessel) must keep out of the way and if circumstances permit, cross behind the other vessel (the stand-on vessel).
The Meeting Situation - Each vessel in a meeting situation should assume that both vessels has the right-of-way and each must act to avoid the other. Both vessels should alter course to starboard so that each will pass on the port side of the other. If meeting at night, you will recognize the situation by seeing a white ball light and the both green and red side lights.
Finally the last general rule is the overtaking rule. This rules states that any vessel overtaking any other vessel must keep out of the way of the vessel being overtaken. This rule applies no matter how the overtaking vessel is propelled. A vessel is deemed to be overtaking when coming up behind another vessel from a direction more than 22.5 degrees behind her beam. At night, the overtaking vessel will only see the white stern light of the vessel ahead. If you see a side light, then you are in a crossing situation.
In boating, there is a pecking order that determines who has the right-of-way. You should become familiar with it. Here is the order. One, a vessel being overtaken has top priority. Two, a vessel not under command. Three, a vessel restricted in its ability to maneuver. Four, a vessel constrained by its draft. Five, a fishing vessel, now these are engaged in commercial fishing or trawling but not 4.03. Six, sailing vessels with the engine off. Seven, a power driven vessel.
Sailboats on port tacks must give way to sailboats on a star boat tack. This can be done by changing course to one side or by passing a stern of the other sailboat. When sailboats are on the same tack, the windward boat must give way to the leeward sailboat. This skipper is legally responsible for displaying the proper navigation lights required on his vessel for the waters on which he has cruising.
Depending on the size and type of vessel, navigation lights vary in location, color, intensity, and arc of visibility. You should become familiar with the following more common lights and how they work on various vessels. Mast head light usually white and placed on the centerline at the highest point of the vessel. Side lights, they are red on the port and green on the starboard side. The stern light is white and centered on 5.18 stern. All the round lights, such as an anchor light is white and can be seen from any direction. The graphic section on this DVD will give you more information on special vessels such as submarines.
Skippers must carry an efficient sound producing device which can be an air horn, whistle or bell. Your vessel size will determine the exact types and loudness you want to inflict on other boaters except in fog or reduced visibility. Only you sound signals when within approximately one-half mile of the other vessel. A short signal is one second. A prolonged blast, four to six seconds in duration. Various sound signals govern all sorts of navigational situations but these are the most common types. One, going in reverse, give three short blasts. Two, five or more short blasts indicate danger. Three, one short blast means, I am altering course to starboard. Four, two short blasts mean I am altering course to port.
The three most important features in choosing binoculars are magnification, field of view and relative brightness. Out on the sea, a good pair of waterproof binoculars is an invaluable aid in finding distant buoys, small openings in land masses and other landmarks, especially at night. If you are a lake or a river boater, binoculars come in handy for spotting wildlife and birds. For the cruising yachtsmen, the choices are many and the prices can vary by a factor of ten. At the top of the list, are extremely high-powered binoculars that are also stabilized, waterproof, dry nitrogen purge require batteries to work and carry a hefty price. Lower down the scale, you can purchase an excellent 7X50 binocular built in military specs for far less than stabilized models. At the lower end, you give up such features as brightness, lens quality and ruggedness. Also the lower price models are not waterproof, something that is defined as dropping near binoculars overboard in 16 feet of water for five minutes. Don't do that.
All cruising yachts should carry paper charts in addition to their electronic 7.53. For the best value in paper charts, get a chart kit such as this one that covers the entire Bahamas. Charts are an indispensable item for navigation and contain a wealth of information immediately available to the skipper. You should spend a considerable amount of time studying the chart of the area that you are preparing to cruise. By carefully plotting your course ahead of time, you will vastly increase your chances of a safe passage even if the weather gets nasty and visibility is reduced. Be sure to have the latest edition chart for the area you are cruising. It's also an excellent idea to buy specialized cruising guides of specific areas that have been drawn by competent yachtsmen. There are cruising guides available for just about any area that you want to cruise. For popular areas, such as the Bahamas, you have a choice of at least a dozen. Cruising guides can enhance your cruise enormously by providing information that's useful to cruisers such as mariners, local customs, hotels and restaurants, suppliers, good anchorages, cruising directions and a host of other details. This instrument invented centuries ago is used for determining your position at sea. If you are an off-shore cruiser, having a sextant as a backup to your GPS is a great idea. Using the sextant requires that you have some knowledge of celestial navigation and excellent idea on its own. Usually sextants are used in measure the angle between celestial bodies and the horizon. Calculations are then made with the help of sight reduction tables. From these calculations, your position can be deduced to an accuracy of about 1 mile and that's not bad when you are in the middle of the Atlantic.
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