Navigation Tools
Nautical Charts
The experts at MapTech have a complete line of digital and paper nautical charts that refine cumbersome traditional NOAA paper charts into a practical format. Weekend boaters to open ocean sailors will appreciate the convenience of waterproof folding charts and chartbooks. Portable MapTech charts with waterproof pages are organized and easy to use on deck or below. Added features include Lat/Lon of common waypoints and distances with reciprocal compass headings to major navigational marks, with the goal of making MapTech products the easiest to mesh with a GPS and compass for chart plotting. Companion Maptech CDs allow the user to plot and print out charts for different destinations. The Chartbooks provide detailed compact charts of areas all over the United States and Caribbean.
Cruising guides and navigational references equip the mariner to make informed decisions out in the elements. Waterway Guides and Embassy Cruising Guides are valuable resources for planning a trip underway. These guides offer detailed navigational advice for bridge clearances, shoal waters, harbor entrances, and available services at marina facilities. Aerial photos make landfall navigation easy. Eldridge Tide and Pilot Book is perhaps the single most useful navigational resource for navigating in the northeastern United States. It provides in depth accurate information on a vast range of astronomical and tidal data, along with light lists, navigational aids, regulations and much more. For the most widely recognized " bible of boating" try Chapman Piloting and Seamanship. Over 64 editions of this reference have kept it in time with modern technology, from radar, loran and gps usage, to fundamental marlinspike seamanship and anything relating to piloting a vessel, be it power or sail.
Compasses
Compasses from Ritchie and Danforth provide the most critical navigational reference to keep any boat on course day and night, in unlimited to zero visibility. Jamestown offers compasses to fit a wide range of navigational requirements. From small hand bearing compasses or ones that fit on the bow of a kayak, to large binnacle mount types with quadrantal correctors, somewhere in this selection is the compass that is right for you. Begin the selection process by considering the most challenging type of passage making the vessel is likely to undertake. Seek those attributes that best meet the challenge. Night illumination, accuracy, visibility of numbers, lubber lines and compensators are all factors to consider. In general, the longer the duration of any voyage and the more time you are without visual landmarks, either offshore or in fog, the more precise the compass should be.
