UNITED STATES COAST GUARD AUXILIARY

UNITED STATES COAST GUARD AUXILIARY

OPERATION BOAT SMART

BOAT SMART FROM THE START

TAKE THE

BASIC COASTAL NAVIGATION COURSE

The U. S. Coast Guard Auxiliary's Basic Coastal Navigation (BCN) course is a comprehensive course to introduce the advanced boater to the methods needed to safely pilot a boat.

Topics include:

INTRODUCTION TO COASTAL NAVIGATION -- course overview; names and definitions of various types of navigation; steps of voyage planning and underway navigation; earth's coordinate system and its use to specify location; how direction can be measured on the surface; conversion of direction (true, magnetic, compass and relative) to another.
THE MARINE MAGNETIC COMPASS -- parts and principle of operation of the marine magnetic compass; concept of deviation and distinctions between compass north, magnetic north, and true north; "swinging ship" and deviation table preparation; rapidly and reliably solving TVMDC and/or CDMVT computations.
THE NAUTICAL CHART -- characteristics of nautical charts, particularly Mercator and polyconic projections; plotting positions in terms of latitude and longitude; various chart types/scales and their appropriate uses; basic knowledge of chart symbols; rapid and reliable measurement of direction, distance, and location on Mercator and polyconic nautical charts.
THE NAVIGATOR'S TOOLS AND INSTRUMENTS -- navigator tools used in everyday practice; basic skills and familiarity with the use of plotting instruments; use of other instruments and equipment used in the practice of navigation.
DEAD RECKONING -- working knowledge of dead reckoning methods including plotting, labeling, measuring, and determining DR positions; speed, time, distance formulas and problem solving; speed estimation, tachometers and speed curves.
PILOTING -- Line of Position (LOP) concepts; bearing use in LOPs; running fix by advancing or retiring an LOP; danger bearings; estimated positions when the data are lacking for a FIX.

Click on the link below to find the next available Basic Coastal Navigation Course near you.

ALL DISTRICT 1SR PUBLIC EDUCATION COURSES

For more information about the above or any other Operation Boat Smart activity, please contact Bob Daraio at daraio@lycos.com

Don't forget to check out BOAT SMART KIDS and Smart Start For Paddlers

We Need You -- The Coast Guard Auxiliary is called upon to provide essential services to the Coast Guard as they focus more heavily on their military missions. We need all the help we can get. You needn't own a boat or be an experienced boater, since our missions are wide-ranging. For information about Auxiliary missions and the Auxiliary in general, go to our Join the Auxiliary web page. You will find there a form through which you can ask that a local Auxiliarist make contact with you to explore the ways in which you can assist Team Coast Guard. To learn more go to Charting Your Course in the USCG Auxiliary.