NavList:

   

Reply

Peter,

You ask a good question for your "poll" and as you can see, there are a
number of answers.

Let me give you mine.

When I am teaching basic Coastal Navigation, I adhere very closely to the
definitions that are used in Bowditch.  It is hard enough for the someone
starting off to deal with all of the things that impact your DR plot and
change it into an estimated position plot.

When I am going through some of the advanced navigation topics, I do bring
these things into play.  But I still teach my students that they should at
least record, somewhere, the DR positions (without any adjustments for
anything) at the various check points.  You need this information for
various calculations such as determining what the true current is, even
though you have already made corrections for what the Coast Pilot (or local
knowledge) may have recorded.

Once the student is COMFORTABLE with the concepts, and has had sufficient
practice on a rolling, pitching boat, then we get into the "short cuts" that
can be taken.

Much of the discussion that I have seen here revolves around what folks that
are comfortable with navigation concepts are doing.  The real question is
how much time have you spent getting there?  Most of us would not attempt to
teach others the short cuts that we use unless we know that they are good
with the basics.

Hope this helps,
derrick

   

Reply