The Weekend Navigator: Simple Boat Navigation With GPS and Electronics - Softcover

Sweet, Robert

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0071430350 ISBN 13: 9780071430357

Publisher: International Marine/Ragged Mountain Press, 2004

Synopsis

Can piloting a boat really be this easy?

Traditional navigation with its chart plotting, compass errors, and current vectors requires years to master. Serious boaters learn it eventually, but with $100 GPS receivers offering 50-foot position accuracy anywhere in the world, it’s no longer necessary to master the art before enjoying the sport. The Weekend Navigator is the first book to recognize that affordable, simple-to-use electronics demand a radically new approach to teaching navigation. Bob Sweet lets you find your way on the water immediately, learning by rather than before doing.

This innovative guide’s quick-reference format shows you how to:

• Pinpoint locations at all times
• Determine the precise ranges and bearings of destinations
• Compensate for wind and current effects
• Avoid underwater hazards

About this title

From the Back Cover:

The Fast, Easy Way to Master Boat Navigation

Thanks to modern electronic navigation tools, getting from one place to another on the water has never been easier or safer. And thanks to The Weekend Navigator, learning to use these tools quickly and correctly is now easier than ever! This completely practical, step-by-step guide gets you out on the water quickly and lets you perfect your navigation skills as you enjoy precious hours afloat.

Ideal for inland and coastal cruisers, sportfishers, and aspiring recreational boaters, this innovative handbook features an easy-to-use, quick-reference format that helps you operate your GPS, depth sounder, and radar and interpret what they tell you. With the help of over 300 full-color illustrations, you’ll learn how to use your electronics to navigate safely in all conditions, and you'll discover waypoint navigation techniques that let you choose a destination, plot a course, and monitor your progress as you go. You’ll also learn how to:

• Plot GPS positions on paper and digital charts
• Determine the precise range and bearing of your destination
• Evaluate and compensate for wind and current effects
• Avoid reefs and other underwater hazards
• Integrate GPS information with compass courses, visual bearings, dead reckoning, and the other techniques of traditional piloting
• Make a seamless transition to chart-and-compass navigation if your electronics fail

The Weekend Navigator provides a strong foundation in the time-honored skills of piloting, and with this book you can practice those skills on the water, using GPS to keep you pointed in the right direction.

Praise for Bob Sweet's GPS for Mariners:

"[Sweet] has the solid and fundamental mastery of the subject that lets him guide the reader step by step through the entire system. . . . Nothing is left out, and nothing is wrong."—Good Old Boat

"Useful for those looking to buy a GPS, as well as current owners who want to use theirs more efficiently. . . . The information is tailored specifically for boaters and boating uses."—Soundings

Adopted by the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary for its GPS seminars

Bob Sweet has more than thirty years’ experience in boating and the electronics industry. He is a former systems engineer and senior executive who helped develop GPS for the U.S. Air Force. Now a business advisor to high-tech companies and a navigation instructor, Bob holds a Senior Navigator rating with The U.S. Power Squadrons. He is the author of GPS for Mariners.

About the Author:

Bob Sweet has more than 30 years’ experience in boating and the electronics industry. The former manager of a business unit that helped develop GPS for the Air Force, he holds a Senior Navigator rating with the U.S. Power Squadron and teaches Power Squadron and Coast Guard Auxiliary navigation courses.

About this edition

• Publisher: International Marine/Ragged Mountain Press
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0071430350
• ISBN 13: 9780071430357
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 272