Marine Navigation Course

Note: Marine Navigation course now includes the Introduction to OpenCPN seminar.

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.