What Navigation Tools do we need?

The Great Loop consists of the circumnavigation of Eastern North America by water which is between 5,000 to 7,500 miles (8,000 to 12,000 km) in length, depending on the route taken.  Obviously navigation is a critical part of this trip thus we’ll need to be sure that we have the tools to successfully complete it.  Below you’ll find the list of the possible tools as well as the ones that we have decided to use during our upcoming trip:

·         Paper Charts & GPS Chartplotter – Paper Charts are basically paper based maps used by a boater to navigate the waterways.  A Chartplotter is a device used in marine navigation that integrates GPS data with an electronic chart very similar to an automobile GPS system.  On the water there are many more factors that have to be considered since there are no “roads” to follow.  There are many different ways to obtain this functionality from obtaining an iPad application to purchasing a dedicated marine chartplotter and electronic charts.  Below is the list of tools that we’ll have in our tool box:

o   Paper Charts - We currently have the paper charts for most of the Canadian part of our loop, however we’ve decided not to purchase paper based charts for the rest of the Loop.  They take up a lot of room and become obsolete after you purchase them.

o   GPS Chartplotter - We have a number of devices that will provide us with this functionality.  We have 2 Lowrance GPS Chartplotters with Navionics charts, a handheld Garmin chartplotter and an iPad with the Navionics application.  We have chart coverage for Canada, US & the Bahamas.   

·         Marine VHF Radio with AIS –a VHF radio is used for a wide variety of purposes, including summoning rescue services and communicating with harbours, locks, bridges and marinas, and operates in the very high frequency (VHF) range, between 156 and 162.025 MHz.  We have 2 fixed VHF radios and one handheld.  One of the VHF radios has AIS (Automatic Identification System) which is interfaced with one of our chartplotters.  AIS is used on ships for identifying and locating vessels by electronically exchanging data with other nearby ships.  Our chartplotter will display the nearby ships in our area which will be extremely useful to identify and call large vessels on the river system to identify how to pass them (which side of their vessel and where).  If you pass one of these large vessels on the wrong side in a turn then their powerful propulsion system can push your boat into shore and leave you stranded.

·         Marine Radar - Marine radar provides bearing and distance of ships and land targets in the vicinity for collision avoidance and navigation at sea.  This is a great tool in poor visibility conditions such as traveling in fog, heavy rain or at night.  We’ve decided not to invest in this technology since we will not be on a specific schedule and will only travel on good weather days with good visibility.  We plan to travel with other boats during any night crossings and expect that others in the group will have radar.

·         Marine Autopilot – Autopilots are self-steering devices that can hold your vessel on a pre-set compass course and those integrated with your GPS chartplotter can perform more sophisticated functions.  Autopilots do a great job of holding a steady course in light to moderate conditions with minimal helm movements. They don’t get tired like their human counterparts and have an infinite attention span.  We do have an older Autopilot on our vessel, however I’ve never used it since I’m one of those guys that would rather drive the car/boat then be a passenger.  (ie. It gives me something to do during our travels)  I also religiously check the engine instruments as a way to identify potential problems.  (ie. Overheating, low voltage, low oil pressure, etc.)

·         Depth Finder & Forward Facing Sonar – These devices are used to help you see what’s under and in front of your boat.  They typically have alarms to warn you that it’s getting too shallow so you can take immediate action to avoid hitting the bottom.  Thousands of dollars of damage can be done if bottom contact is made, especially if the bottom is made out of rock!  We have 2 depth finders and one forward facing sonar unit. 

·         Crowd Sourcing – Crowd sourcing is defined as the process of obtaining needed services, ideas, or content by soliciting contributions from a large group of people, and especially from an online community.  Active Captain is an application which many boaters use to identify and rate marinas, anchorages, services, etc.  This will play a critical role to plan our stops along the way for overnight stays etc.