River Navigation from paper to plotter          book & course

The Towboat Tour Division of NavCal Marine Services, LLC is developing a RIVER NAVIGATION course. Persons completing this mid-level course and passing a proctored exam will receive a Steersman River Navigator certificate certifying successful completion.

The book for the first level training and certification is under development now and includes the following sections:

1. Introduction – With purpose of the book and course plus the author’s qualifications
2. Terminology – With emphasis on the marine useage of important terms
3. Vessel handling – Covers how vessels react to steering and twin screw maneuvers
4. Basic navigational information – Covers Latitude, Longitude, datum and true and magnetic courses and bearings
5. Charts, paper – Paper charts and their carriage requirements plus their limitations
6. Charts, electronic – Types, conventions and sources for electronic charts
7. Chartplotters – Covers how to setup, test and properly use electronic chartplotters
8. River facilities – Explains the river facilities that are available and what services they provide
9. Time, speed, distance – Covers how to make rapid TSD calculations for trip planning and ETA estimation
10. Passenger vessels – Is an explanation of passenger vessels from six-pact to 1,000 plus passenger H boats
11. Tows & towboats – Explains towboats and tows with excerpts from An Introduction to TOWBOATING and the towing industry
12. Vessel identification – Explains how to recognize vessel types both day and night and estimate their course 
13. Rules of the road – Provides a practical expansion on the navigation rules with reference to NAVIGATION RULES International-Inland
14. VHF radio – Explains installation, setup, testing and use of VHF marine radios
15. AIS – Covers both AIS A and B installation, setup, testing and use
16. Radar – Explains the practical use of modern marine radar for river navigation
17. Safety & Security – Gives suggestions of safety in the marine environment and vessel security plans.

Each section will have a set of review questions on this website and on a CD included with the book. Questions about any of the course material can be emailed to captfarmer@navcal.com. After you have studied the course material thoroughly and satisfactorily completed the section review questions you can apply for a final proctored exam.  There may be a small fee charged by the proctor to administer the exam. The exam will be mailed directly to your selected and approved proctor. He or she will administer the timed exam and return it for grading to Towboat Tour for grading and possible certificate award.