Seamanship is a reference for Deck Safety / Deck General topics.  If you don’t know a Metacenter from a Bollard, this is a great place to start.  Going beyond Chapman’s topics, this is go to information for the professional mariner. Information and procedures every boater needs to know. Seamanship is the U.S. Coast Guard’s manual [...]

Gizmodo.com is reporting: Amphipods are often referred to as the “insects of the sea” and are found throughout the world’s lakes and oceans, feeding primarily on carcasses and other organic debris. These tiny animals don’t often grow more than 1cm in length, except the Supergiant viariety of course, which can exceed 11 inches head to [...]

Vessels Wind  Marine Traffic (AIS information) is a great supplemental tool.  It can tell you the name, direction, speed and track of vessel.  You’ll need a connection to the net for it to work. Caveat:  Just remember Marine Traffic is NOT approved for real time navigation.  See our prior post here. It’s not real time [...]

MarineLink is reporting: DAMAGE ASSESSMENT In the 10K, Carnival notes “the net carrying value of this euro denominated ship, including ship improvements, at December 31, 2011 was $490 million (at the December 31, 2011 exchange rate or €379 million). We have euro-denominated insurance coverage of $510 million (at the December 31, 2011 exchange rate or [...]

Port Nicholson The NYDaily News is reporting: Crew set to recover $3 billion in treasure from WWII shipwreck A crew of Maine treasure hunters is gearing up to salvage a World War II shipwreck off the coast of Cape Cod believed to be loaded with precious metals worth $3 billion. The SS Port Nicholson was [...]

Nearby Info Individual Station Data While you could go directly to the NOAA site for all the data you need, Buoy Data ($10) aggregates NOAA data into a simple usable format that can be user defined.  I like the feature that shows wind and sea state by station. I’ve used this app for voyages to [...]

Think Chapman’s for your phone.  While Chapman’s is a great reference, (I have one aboard Diligence) it’s cumbersome to carry a 10 ish pound reference around.  My phone is always with me.  Should you need a quick reference, this baby is searchable and tres kool.  Don’t leave the dock without it. Boater’s Reference $5 1,800 [...]

Voith Schneider Propeller Via Wikipedia: Unlike a Z-drive (where a conventional propeller is tilted on a vertical rudder axis) changing the direction of thrust, a Voith-Schneider drive merely requires changing the pattern of orientation of the vertical blades. In a marine situation this provides for a drive which can be directed in any direction and [...]

Ok, professional mariners know the rules.  Most recreational boats only know the basics, but not all lights and lights and shapes.  Do you know the day shape and lights for a dive boat? The fact that you might be a recreational boater does not give you a bye when it comes to the Rules.  Did [...]

Friday Harbor Port of Friday Harbor Navionics Mobile is simply the easiest and least expensive of the apps I’ve installed on my phone including some that cost $50.  For $15 you can install as many US and Canadian charts your device has room for.  The US only version is $10. More importantly the app works [...]