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NAVIGATION EQUIPMENT

ELECTRICAL / ELECTRONICS - NAV EQUIPMENT

Required navigational equipment is a little different for large and small powerboats but all marine navigation is dependent upon knowing these five things:

Direction
Speed
Time
Distance and
Depth.

Since you need to know these five things, you require navigational gear that will give accurate information about all five of them regardless of the size of boat.

A compass is a necessity and we aren't discussing one of those freebies that come in breakfast cereal. You need a big and steady compass that can be easily read even in adverse weather conditions. A compass gives direction which is the first information that you need for navigation.

If you wear a digital watch (water proof and shock proof,) and one with a stop watch function, you can determine the next three pieces of required information for navigation. If you know any two of the next three factors (speed, time and distance) the third can be easily calculated using the Sixty D Street formula covered in the Home Study Coastal Navigation Course.

Essentially you can cover 4 of the 5 required pieces of navigational information with a compass, a digital watch and a knotmeter which will give you speed and distance travelled.

A simple depth finder can cover the 5th requirement but if you can, find and buy a good GPS/Chart Plotter/Depth Sounder unit. These units aren't all that inexpensive but when you consider the value of human life they aren't all that expensive either.

You should always carry paper charts covering your planned route. As anyone who operates a personal computers knows all too well, electronics can breakdown and it's always at the worst possible moment. A compass and a paper chart will still be there even if the entire electrical system on your powerboat fails.

If you have any enquiries relating to the naviagtion equipment for your vessel, please call us on (087) 280 7028 or e-mail us at info@truelightmarine.ie.

Relying on Technology

Don't rely solely on technology.
One of the advantages that technology gave to this world is that it made things to be done efficiently and without any delay. With new and exciting technology being developed all the time, standards of training can sometimes be overlooked

It is just important to always bear in mind that if the technology fails, do you think you can do the job for yourself.

You might forget what you have learned if you depend so much on high end technologies right now, and at the very time you need it the most, you may find safety training will get you home safe when technology lets you down

Truelight Marine offer training and service programs, available to prepare you for any situation that you can find yourself in.

more about safety training >>