You discover chart navigation to be a difficulty on a little sailboat if you are anything like me. Wind, spray, and nasty weather can trigger big headaches for any little boat skipper. Use these five simple suggestions to make a cockpit navigation tool that's a breeze to use.



The first thing to consider is that all charts have at least something in typical, which is a key. This key is a set of symbols and their meanings that is situated someplace on the chart itself.

Find out and use navigation skills. Start learning how to check out nautical charts and use a compass with it. Take these things out with you on your kayak and start observing the islands and rocks that remain in front of you, matching them to the chart information. Practice taking bearings and setting courses. Pay attention to times and chart ranges you've taken a trip to begin approximating your speed and place. If you happen to be out on a foggy or truly rainy day, you will thank yourself for practicing these skills. Find out how to use the tide tables to compute your closest tides and currents.

Most of boat wrecks are close to land. You can depend upon a brand-new boat GPS system to assist you through turbulent river traffic. The newest models of boat GPS are so accurate that users can actually tie their system into an autopilot gadget and into the boat's radar. This produces one smooth, hands-free flight.

Get tidal charts and data straight to your iPhone. Displays a list of existing tide conditions, in addition to day-to-day high and low tides and their times. Likewise use it to take a look at future tide info, or past too.

Forget the nautical charts-- go electronic! Regrettable as it sounds, great deals of sailors do this-- expert and leisure skippers, too! Absolutely nothing could be more harmful than this practice. Have you read the disclaimer on that black box when you fire it up? It tells you right away that you should not rely on a single source for navigation information.

Utilizes iPhone microphone to determine wind speed. Field evaluated by Kitelife publication to be precise in "fairly constant wind speeds of 3-28mph". Likewise can convert how nautical charts guide sailors meter reading into knots, kph, ft/sec and m/sec.