Warning -- Use these techniques at your own
risk. They have been tested and used successfully but you're
responsible for yourself. We take no responsibility if you sink your
boat.
Dead Reckoning
Traditionally dead reckoning problems are solved graphically on a chart.
But often charting inaccuracies occur and in higher latitudes you have to
use plotting paper to get the proper scales. This technique uses only
two tables and some multiplication to solve dead reckoning problems with
high accuracy. The tables easily convert distance traveled on a
heading to your new Latitude and Longitude. You should be aware there
are some other errors that occur when dead reckoning and the American
Practical Navigator has a good
chapter about the graphical technique using plotting sheets.
How to
Dead Reckon Using Tables
Download a Copy of the Tables
Navigation by Noonsite
Technically one of the easiest
celestial navigation problems that everyone should know how to solve.
If you follow the links you can learn how to do a noonsite observation,
generate your own celestial tables for the noonsite and download a copy of
all the sextant altitude corrections you'll need.
How
to Navigate by Noonsite
Generate Your Own Tables
Example Tables for 2006,
2007, 2008 or 2009 Compressed
into 2 Pages
Download Sextant
Altitude Correction Tables
Emergency Navigation
Caught
without tables or a sextant? The American Practical Navigator
has some interesting short-cuts to finding your position with approximations
and improvised tools. You can read their chapter on
emergency navigation for more
information.
If you're thinking of buying a copy of the Nautical
Almanac. I suggest you consider
Reed's Astro
Navigation Tables. They are much more compact and I find them
simpler to use, however they are not traditional and won't match up to your
text books exactly.
