
BASIC COASTAL NAVIGATION COURSE
The U. S. Coast Guard Auxiliary's Basic Coastal Navigation (BCN)
course is a comprehensive course to introduce the advanced boater to the methods
needed to safely pilot a boat.
Topics include:
- INTRODUCTION TO COASTAL
NAVIGATION -- course overview; names and definitions of various types of
navigation; steps of voyage planning and underway navigation; earth's
coordinate system and its use to specify location; how direction can be
measured on the surface; conversion of direction (true, magnetic, compass
and relative) to another.
- THE MARINE MAGNETIC COMPASS
-- parts and principle of operation of the marine magnetic compass; concept
of deviation and distinctions between compass north, magnetic north, and
true north; "swinging ship" and deviation table preparation;
rapidly and reliably solving TVMDC and/or CDMVT computations.
- THE NAUTICAL CHART --
characteristics of nautical charts, particularly Mercator and polyconic
projections; plotting positions in terms of latitude and longitude; various
chart types/scales and their appropriate uses; basic knowledge of chart
symbols; rapid and reliable measurement of direction, distance, and location
on Mercator and polyconic nautical charts.
- THE NAVIGATOR'S TOOLS AND
INSTRUMENTS -- navigator tools used in everyday practice; basic skills
and familiarity with the use of plotting instruments; use of other
instruments and equipment used in the practice of navigation.
- DEAD RECKONING --
working knowledge of dead reckoning methods including plotting, labeling,
measuring, and determining DR positions; speed, time, distance formulas and
problem solving; speed estimation, tachometers and speed curves.
- PILOTING -- Line of
Position (LOP) concepts; bearing use in LOPs; running fix by advancing or
retiring an LOP; danger bearings; estimated positions when the data are
lacking for a FIX.
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