GPS, or Global Positioning Systems, are satellite-based navigation systems developed by the U.S. Department of Defense for military purposes&#;but they're familiar to most of us as the navigational system used by our phones and cars. Whether you&#;re talking about the GPS on your , in your car, or a marine GPS for boats, all these units receive radio signals from multiple orbiting satellites to determine your position.
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There are currently 30 active GPS satellites in orbit, plus some extras reserved as spares in case one or more satellites has mechanical difficulties or is damaged. By knowing the position of a minimum of three of these satellites, and calculating the time differences between the transmitted signals&#;which are moving through space at over 186,000 MPH&#;your GPS receiver can determine its exact position anywhere on earth.
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How to Use Marine GPS for Boating
The more satellite signals your GPS receives, the more accurately it can calculate that position, and while accuracy depends on a number of factors ranging from atmospheric conditions to receiver quality, when many multiple satellites are in view a common GPS receiver can typically put your position within a 16-foot radius. High-end receivers with dual channels can get significantly more accurate.
- Once underway, your GPS continually updates your position and provides speed and directional information.
- GPS also allows you to save positions, which we commonly call &#;waypoints.&#; For boaters, this can be helpful to permanently record the location of a channel, a shoal, or a fishing hot-spot.
- You can also string a number of waypoints together to create a route, taking you from point &#;A&#; to point &#;Z&#;.
Originally boating GPS units displayed your position in latitude and longitude, and while that information can still be displayed, on most modern marine GPS people use a digital chart to see where they are&#;much like you can look at a street map showing your position on your cell . A GPS that can display charts is called a &#;chartplotter&#; or &#;GPS/chartplotter.&#; And in recent years digital charts have become much more comprehensive in the areas they cover, have improved detail levels, and better accuracy. In fact, many modern chartplotters also allow you to improve the digital charts you look at in real-time as you operate your boat, by matching up your GPS position with depth soundings taken by your fishfinder.
Marine Navigation with GPS
Navigating with GPS is usually the most efficient, easiest way to navigate a boat, but far too many people use it as a graphical representation rather than a numeric one. You can display a digital chart on your GPS unit, and steer the boat in such a way that the boat icon at the center of the screen points in the correct general direction. But you&#;ll steer much more accurately if you instead use a dedicated &#;steering screen&#; that gives you the numeric compass heading you want to follow, the course you&#;re actually steering, and an arrow or indicator that tells you whether to steer to port or starboard to get back on the most direct course.
Be sure to read Marine Navigation: How to Navigate a Boat to get a more complete picture of navigating boats both with and without GPS. And remember: while most of us do depend on GPS to navigate our boats most of the time, no one should ever rely on it 100-percent. Like any electronic system GPS is subject to failure and you&#;ll need to know how to get back home when your electronics let you down.
Learn More: Marine Navigation: How to Navigate a Boat
Why You Need GPS on Your Boat
Even boaters who never leave sight of land should have a GPS/chartplotter aboard, on just about any boat. You never know when you&#;ll encounter fog, or a mechanical issue forces you to stay out late and navigate home in the darkness. And at times like those, you&#;ll be quite relieved you have GPS aboard. Plus, today&#;s units are so inexpensive (you can get a basic GPS/chartplotter for just a couple hundred dollars) that there&#;s really no excuse not to have one.
Wait a minute&#;your already has GPS, so why get another one just for your boat? That&#;s a good question, particularly because you can use a number of boating apps to more or less turn your into a mini-chartplotter. Cell phones, however, have a number of drawbacks:
- They aren&#;t always hearty enough to escape damage when spray starts flying or they fall off the dash and onto a fiberglass deck;
- They aren&#;t hard-mounted at the helm and few add-on mounts can take the vibration and impacts a running boat dishes out;
- Their batteries may run out faster than expected; and many boaters travel outside of cell coverage areas on a regular basis.
So while having a cell with a navigational app loaded up can come in handy and is a good back-up to have aboard, it should never be depended upon as your main navigational tool.
Other Uses for GPS on Boats
Anchor Alarm
A feature of GPS that&#;s useful to boaters in particular is the ability to set an &#;anchor alarm.&#; You can establish a geofence around your boat while it&#;s at anchor, and if the anchor drags or the line comes loose and your boat goes through the geofence, your GPS will sound an alarm.
Security System
Some of today&#;s systems also allow you to interface with your boat&#;s GPS from afar, via an app on your cell , so it acts as a security system. You can set that geofence up around your boat, and if someone tries to steal it, you&#;ll get a text alarm as soon as it moves out of position.
Additional Features
If your GPS is &#;networked&#; (wired to the other electronics aboard the boat) it can also fulfill a number of additional functions.
- It can let the autopilot know where to steer, overlay additional data (like boat radar) over the digital charts.
- Perhaps most importantly, give your VHF radio the boat&#;s position data. When your VHF receives position data you can use it for DSC (digital selective calling). Do so, and if you ever have to call the Coast Guard they will receive your exact position data via the radio transmission. This is a potentially life-saving feature, so be sure to take a closer look at VHF communications and DSC by reading How to Use a VHF Radio.
To learn more about GPS and see the government&#;s official statements about it, read FAQs, and more, visit the official U.S. Government GPS website.
Read Next: 5 Best Marine Navigation Apps for Boaters
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Gone are the days when a ship navigation officer had to take help of unconventional ways to plan and navigate a voyage at sea. Today, a ship officer has myriad of marine navigation equipment which makes his life a lot simpler, thanks to the advancement in technology. Moreover, present-day seafarers are trained so as to know the functioning and operation of all modern day navigational equipment that has made the journey at sea smoother and safer.
With modern day facilities and automation, a ship today has several advanced navigation equipment systems which give accurate data for the voyage.
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Herein, we have enlisted 30 types of navigational equipment, both old and new, which are present on all merchant ships.
1. Gyro Compass
It is used for finding the right direction. Unlike magnetic compass, gyro compass is not hampered by an external magnetic field. It is used to find the correct North Position, which is also the earth&#;s rotational axis to provide a stable directional source. Its repeater system must be present in the steering platform for emergency steering.
Read more about Gyro Compass here
Related Read: Top 3 Free Marine Compass Apps for Android Smart Phones
2. Radar
The seagoing vessels depend on S-band and X-band frequency radar system for navigation as it can detect targets and display the information on the screen such as the distance of the ship from land, any floating objects (an island, rocks, iceberg etc.), other vessels, and obstacles to avoid a collision. It is a rotating antenna which discovers the surrounding area of the ship.
Read more about ECDIS here.
Related Read: 15 Things To Consider While Using Radar On Ships
3. Magnetic Compass
The magnetic compass work in conjunction with the magnetic field of the earth and is the essential means of the direction indicating device. It is used to get a planned course for the voyage. This ship navigation equipment is usually fitted at the centre line of the ship on the monkey island. A transmitting magnetic type compass is fitted so that the output can be displayed in the bridge panel.
Related Read: What is a Binnacle On Ships?
4. Auto Pilot
The ship bridge layout is filled with equipment and tools used for navigation. The autopilot is considered to be one of the most effective bridge navigational equipment as it assists the human operator in controlling the ship by keeping the steering in autopilot, which allows them to concentrate on broad aspects of the operation.
It is a combination of hydraulic, mechanical, and electrical system and is used to control the ship&#;s steering system from a remote location (Navigation bridge).
Related Read: 10 Things to Consider While Using Auto-Pilot System on Ships
5. ARPA
Automatic Radar Plotting Aid displays the position of a ship and other vessels nearby. The radar displays the position of the ships in the vicinity and selects the course for the vessel by avoiding any kind of collision.
This bridge navigational equipment constantly monitors the ship&#;s surrounding and automatically acquires the number of targets, in this case; ships, boats, stationary or floating objects etc., and plot their speeds and courses respectively. It also presents them as vectors on the display screen and constantly update the parameters with each turn of the antenna by calculating their nearest points of approach to own ship and also the time before this will occur.
6. Automatic Tracking Aid
Just like ARPA, automatic tracking aid displays the information on tracked targets in graphic and numeric to generate a planned layout for a safer and collision-free course.
Usually, A large size target measuring 800 m or more in the circumference is considered as a landmass and not tracked. Echoes less than 800 m are deemed as targets to be tracked.
Related Read: 10 Important Things To Do During Ship Collision Accident
7. Speed & Distance Log Device
This bridge equipment on a ship is used to measure the speed and the distance travelled by a ship from a set point. By calculating the same, ETA of the ship is adjusted or given to the port authority and agent.
8. Echo Sounder
There are many modern ship navigation tools present on ship and echo sounder is one of the instruments which has been in the play from almost 100 years now. It is used to measure the depth of the water below the ship&#;s bottom using sound waves which work on the principle of transmission of sound waves and an audio pulse which will bounce off a reflecting layer, returning as an echo to the source.
9. Electronic Chart Display Information System
ECDIS is a development in the navigational chart system used in naval vessels and ships. With the use of the electronic navigation equipment, it has become easier for a ship&#;s navigating crew to pinpoint locations, and attaining directions are easier than before.
Read more about ECDIS here.
Related Read: Pros and Cons of ECDIS Or Paperless Navigation Of Ships
10. Automatic Identification system
AIS is also among the types of a navigation system which helps to pinpoint the location and other navigational statistics of ships. AIS uses VHF radio channels as transmitters and receivers to send and receive messages between ships which endeavours to fulfil a lot of responsibilities.
As per the regulation enforced by The International Maritime Organisation (IMO), all passengers&#; vessels and commercial ships over 299 Gross Tonnage (GT) sailing in the international to carry a Class A AIS transponder.
Read more about AIS here.
Related Read: Download: The Definitive AIS Handbook
11. Long Range Tracking and Identification (LRIT) System
LRIT is an international tracking and identification system incorporated by the IMO under its SOLAS convention to ensure a thorough tracking system for ships of 300 gross tons and above which are on international voyages across the world. This maritime equipment is fitted to improve the maritime domain awareness.
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Read more about LRIT here.
12. Rudder Angle Indicator
Rudder angle indicator, as the name indicates, provides the angle of the rudder. The display is provided on the navigation bridge equipment console so that the ship navigation officer can control the rate of turn and rudder angle of the ship. The indication is also provided in the bridge wing and engine control room.
Related Read: How Does A Rudder Help In Turning A Ship?
13. Voyage Data Recorder
A VDR or voyage data recorder is a crucial instrument among the ship navigation equipment list which is installed on a ship to continuously record vital information related to the operation of a vessel. It contains a voice recording system for a period of at least the last 12 hours. This recording is recovered and made use of for investigation in events of accidents. The importance of VDR is similar to a &#;black box&#; installed on an airplane.
Read more about VDR here.
14. Rate of turn indicator
This navigational tool indicates how fast the ship is turning at a steady rate (useful during pilotage and manoeuvring), normally shown as a number of degrees turned. The rate a ship is turning is measured in degrees per minute. This essential tool assists a coxswain in steering a course safely.
15. GPS Receiver
A Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver is a display system used to show the ship&#;s location with the help of Global positioning satellite in the earth&#;s orbit.
With the record of the ship&#;s positions, the speed, course, and the time is taken to cover the distance between &#;two marked positions&#; can be calculated.
Related read: 5 Best Handheld Portable Marine GPS Devices
16. Sound Reception System
This acoustic system is required for a ship with a fully enclosed type bridge. It enables the navigating officer inside the cabin to listen to the sound signals (such as fog or ship&#;s horn) from other ships in the vicinity. This is fitted in ships bridge equipment console and helps the navigating officer to conduct the look-out duty as per the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea.
Related read: 10 Important Points Ship&#;s OOW Should Consider During Restricted Visibility
17. Navigational Lights
All boats &#; whether big or small are required to have night lights as a part of the navigation systems. This system was introduced in the year by the United States and then was followed by the United Kingdom in . In the year , the International Maritime Conference was established by the United States to establish proper guidelines to prevent marine accidents. In the year , these rules were officially adopted internationally. The navigation lights are one of the most critical navigation equipment needed for sailing in high seas as it enables self vessel being clearly visible to other ships in the vicinity.
Read more about navigation lights here.
Related read: How Maintenance of Navigation Lights is Done On Ships?
18. Ship Whistle
A ship&#;s horn is known as a whistle and it is generally provided in duplicate. One is driven by air and the other is electrically operated. The whistle should be both manually and electrically operational from the bridge.
Among different instruments used in difficult navigation such as bad weather, fog, poor visibility, high traffic etc., the ship&#;s whistle or horn helps in alerting the nearby vessels.
During an emergency, the horn is used to notify and alert the ship&#;s crew and other vessels nearby.
19. Daylight Signalling Lamp
They are light-signalling devices used for emergency signalling in the day time (and can also be used during the night). Like other emergency ship instruments, the energy source for the lamp is not solely dependent on the ship&#;s main power supply. Also, the lamp enclosure should be weather and seawater- proof material.
20. Pilot Card
It is an informative booklet provided to the ship&#;s pilot. It consists of the dimension, draught, turning circle, manoeuvring, propulsion equipment and other navigation tools and instruments list of the vessel for safe manoeuvring.
Related Read: What Are The Duties of Officer On Watch When Pilot is On Board Ship?
21. Voyage Plan
A voyage Plan must be present onboard for referring past voyage plans or planning a future voyage. Among the different aids to navigation carried on a ship, a voyage plan is a tool for the deck officer to ensure the safety of the ship from a commercial and legal perspective too. It is prepared by gathering different information such as weather, meteorological, ship&#;s current and future cargo data, other navigational data etc.
Read more about Voyage Plan here
22. Forecastle Bell
It is used to mark the presence of the ship in fog or bad weather and sound the alarm in case of an emergency, along with the ship&#;s main horn or whistle.
Related Read: What to do When Ship Encounters Rough Weather?
23. Manoeuvring Booklet
In this booklet, the performance of the propulsion plant and the ship during manoeuvring in different weathers and situations is recorded for quick reference. The important content of the manoeuvring booklet are:
- Ships General description
- Manoeuvring characteristics in deep water
- Stopping and speed control characteristics in deep water
- Manoeuvring characteristics in shallow water
- Manoeuvring characteristics in wind
- Manoeuvring characteristics at low speed
- Additional information
Related Read: Understanding Different Types Of Manoeuvres of a Vessel
24. Black Ball Shape
It is a day time signalling shape used to determine the characteristics of the vessel with a different arrangement of ball shapes. For e.g. a vessel at anchor will show a black ball at the foremost end of the forecastle and a ship not under command shows two black balls in a vertical line on her highest mast.
Related Read: Responsibilities Of Deck Officer During Anchoring Operation
25. Record of Navigation Activities
All the navigational activities which are performed by the ship&#;s officers and crew using different navigation equipment on the bridge must be recorded and kept on board for ready reference. This is mandatory and the most important log book.
Related Read: Different Entries To Be Made In Bridge Log Book of The Ship
26. Record of Maintenance of Navigational Equipment
The hard copy of all the ship navigation system and equipment list must be present as records onboard ships for ready reference of port and regulatory authorities and must be signed by master and duty officers of the ship.
Related Read: Daily, Monthly And Weekly Tests Of GMDSS Equipment On Board Ships
27. Wheelhouse Posters
Present in the Navigation bridge, it displays detailed information of manoeuvring characteristics of the ship including turning circle, stopping and manoeuvring characteristics of the vessel.
28. Transmitting Heading Devise
Transmitting Heading Devise or THD is an electronic device which is used to display the information of the vessel&#;s true heading. The THDs compliance information is provided in chapter V of the SOLAS Convention.
29. Black Diamond Shape
When the ship is being towed or when a vessel is unable to manoeuvres on itself, a black diamond shape is shown during the day time.
Related Read: Preparations For Emergency Towing Of Ship &#; 10 Important Points
30. Ship Flags
Various types of ship flags with different colours and signs are used to indicate a navigation ship&#;s position. Signal flags are they are commonly known, have been used since the ancient times and are still used on all vessels.
These are the different bridge equipment and their uses which are installed on the ship to assist the deck officer for navigating the vessel safely. If we missed any equipment or you want to add more to the list, please comment below.
Related Read: Understanding Nautical Flag Etiquettes
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The information contained in this website is for general information purposes only. While we endeavour to keep the information up to date and correct, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the website for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.
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