Marine Navigation teaches you how to chart and follow a course on the water. It is a full course offered by the United States Power Squadrons, America’s Boating Club. This online, self-study course consists of a comprehensive student guide, six fully narrated online modules, a practice cruise with answers, and an optional online exam. The practice cruise gives the student practical, hands-on experience in charting. The narrated modules present like classroom PowerPoint presentations but give the student total control of the pace and sequence of the slides.
The course covers the following:
• Planning
• Electronic Navigation using OpenCPN
• Paper Chart Navigation
• Navigating Coastal Waterways
• Navigating Inland Waterways
The online test covers material contained in the Student Guide, the online modules and the practice cruise. This course is the replacement for the Piloting course. Members of America's Boating Club who take this online course and pass the online exam will get credit for Marine Navigation the same as if they had taken the course in a classroom setting. Many boat insurance companies offer savings for America's Boating Club courses.
Typically, Marine Navigation is taken after Boat Handling and before Advanced Marine Navigation, although the sequence of course completion is left to the individual student.
Boat Operator Certification
This course is required for the Boat Operator Certification level of Coastal Navigator (CN) if you have not taken Piloting.
Learn the differences between navigating on roads and waters. How to understand nautical charts, aids to navigation, use chart plotters, and plan your trip electronically.
$34.95A comprehensive study of how ocean currents and tides affect navigation. Use navigation software when planning and underway to evaluate current impacts on your route.
$34.95Important for offshore boaters, the 500 millibar upper air chart will help you predict upper-level wind speed and direction, trough and ridge patterns, and the 5640 storm track line.
$34.95An overview of nearly everything you need to know for a weekend or even months on the water. Planning a trip, navigating, weather, going outside the US, emergencies, and more.
$100.00Learn how ocean waves are generated, how they affect boat handling, how to access ocean wave data, and how navigation software can include the effect of waves on your route.
$34.95