The Weekend Navigator: Simple Boat Navigation With GPS and Electronics

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

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.