Ship Handling & Navigation

This classic work was not actually released with the intention to fill in the gap on the subject of marine navigation that used to exist at the time of its publishing back in the late nineteenth century. The objective of the author was rather to acquaint the readers with one of the commonly used methods throughout the volume, omitting most of the complicated mathematical calculations and formulae.

Such approach used by the author made the book understandable to the people without good knowledge of mathematics. The publication covers the essential navigation elements. There are tables added with the supplemental information and data, so the readers can find in a single volume all basic information they would need to be able to navigate their ship from one port to another.

The book starts with the definition of the main terminology and description of the essential navigation instruments together with the instructions on their use. Then, the fundamentals of marine navigation are provided in a clear and understandable manner. This is a recommended reading for the people with the interest in the navigation who may wish to know how the particular elements of it were approached and taught in the past.

Have a look into this interesting publication, maybe the oldest of those available today on marine navigation. Written by the professional mathematician more than 150 years ago, the publication retains its usefulness to the students of navigation. As it is quite clear from the title of the volume, the main emphasis has been made on the mathematical basics of navigation.

Though it was originally composed mainly as the textbook for students, the content addresses the matters that would be of great practical interest even for the experiences ship navigators. The problems required by the mariners have been dealt with together with the rules applied when solving those problems. In addition to that, the rules have been provided with the detailed and informative demonstrations and examples for better illustration. Numerous practical exercises have been included.

All of the rules are given in a very concise form for better understanding and the author hoped that the content would be understandable to the students of ordinary talent and possessing some very basic understanding of the subject. The book covers the algebraic and analytical symbols, geography and astronomy, various instruments commonly used in marine navigation, sailing itself including all aspects and techniques, and many other important topics.

This is quite a specific and rare publication. The Modern Navigation textbook was written by one of the prominent experts in the field of marine navigation, Commodore Hastings. The exigencies of the World War disclosed a demarcation line between the methods of marine navigation used in the merchant and navy fleets.

The commanders of the navy vessels used to apply the Sumner, or St. Hilaire methods; however, the captains of the merchant fleet ships preferred to use the time sights. The content of the present publication mainly deals with the Sumner and St. Hilaire methods and reflects the theoretical knowledge and great practical experience of the author which he wanted to transfer to the students of marine navigation. The book starts with the examples in latitude, time sight and dead reckoning.

Then, there are two big sections dealing with each of the above mentioned methods. The book will be useful to the people with the deep interest in underlying concepts and fundamentals of the marine navigation as it contains the information that is quite difficult to find in the similar publications. Have a look into this book and you will get to know something new and interesting about the real marine navigation.

For decades, the present publication has been widely used by the students and practicing ship navigators and is still considered one of the best classic textbook covering the essentials of marine navigation. According to the reviews provided by hundreds readers, the publication laid bare all the mysteries of the navigation with a sure touch. The approach to presenting the material used by the author made the content easily understandable even to the newcomers and people with no experience.

All important aspects are thoroughly covered. The readers will find all information in the pages of this volume, perfectly collected and presented. The author took into account absolutely all stumbling blocks and, in presenting the material, moved from the simple basics of navigation to the more complex problems with each of the steps explained in detail.

The book will be of great use to the people willing to refresh their theoretical knowledge of the basics of celestial navigation and also get to know some practical tips that have proven effective. We do recommend this publication to every person interested in the marine navigation, including both theoretical and practical aspects of it.

The main content of the present volume has been undertaken with several declared aims. First of all, the author intended to make the publication complete in itself and make it good to be used by the mariners navigating their vessels in the oceans without any other volumes readily available. It was very difficult to compile all information required to be possessed by the navigators in the one book; however, every effort was made to present the info in the max compact form.

From the other side, the author assumed that the readers of the book do have some minimum math and astronomical knowledge. Some of such knowledge will be require to duly understand the content of the book. The arrangement of the material in the volume is more or less standard for the navigation books; however, the approach used by the author differs.

The volume opens with the information on the essential navigation problem, followed with the info on dead reckoning with and without logarithms, the compass and coastal navigation. Then, the author proceeds to the Nautical Almanac, the sextant, different navigation methods. Several appendices supplement the main part of the document, providing some additional information that would definitely be appreciated by the navigators.

Flags remain in wide use on board every single vessel, regardless of the size and type, when at sea. Note that there is some difference between their use at sea and on land. The material contained in the present book mainly concentrates on the general use of the flag, i.e. the authors cover the flags that are hoisted on shore facility as well as those on the mast of the vessel. Some emphasis has been made on the yachts and relatively small vessels.

The main reason for that is that the conventional merchant fleet and navy vessels would normally be governed by their own regulations. So, this book will be of most practical use and interest for the crew of the smaller vessels, yachts and boats who will find ready, compact and informative reference. This second edition of the handbook has already been well met by the boaters and yachtsmen all around the world and accepted as the perfect reference tool and a must-have publication on board.

Numerous colorful illustrations make reading even more pleasant. You may wish to make a print copy ad keep it on board your ship, boat or yacht – due to the compact size it will be able to have the volume with you, readily available at all times, whenever you may need it.

Have a look into this second, completely revised edition of the Modern Chartwork publication. In preparing the contents of this edition, the author tried to make his work completely up-to-date with all recent advancements in the field of marine chartwork. Of course, this did not affect the theoretical part of the book since the essentials of the subjects have not changed at all – these would include the use of the nautical charts, for example.

There are several completely new chapters included in the volume and one of them is devoted to the worked practical examples as they will definitely be of great practical use to the trainees. As we know, the navigation itself is the art of bringing ship from one port to another across seas and oceans, if we are talking of maritime navigation.

The coastal navigation together with the pilotage is considered the integral parts of this art – they would deal with the safe ship navigation and handling during approaching to the port. This would of course require sound theoretical knowledge, due understanding and significant practical experience of all those involves in the navigation activities as any mistake can result in the tragic consequences.

Here is a learner’s guide intended to provide required theoretical knowledge to the Pacific Island seamen including engineers and masters. The material is arranged in seven big chapters. The first chapter is introductory and gives some general insight on the maneuvering and handling of the ship including essential maneuvering characteristics, external conditions, as well as anchoring, berthing and unberthing.

The second chapter deals with the emergency procedures including marine casualties, disabled ships, person overboard and other situations. The third chapter addresses marine regulatory framework including certification procedures and requirements, and protection of the marine environment. The fourth chapter covers the weather watchkeeping procedures, interpreting the weather reports, terminology etc.

The remaining sections of the volume deal with the watchkeeping, paying particular attention to the provision of ColRegs, ship construction including ship construction materials and design features, watertight integrity of the ship, ropework, and navigation including nautical charts, distances, bearing and ship’s course, tides and steering of the ship.