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Dead Reckoning and Estimated Positions in NAV 3

The document discusses different methods for determining a vessel's position at sea: 1) Dead reckoning (DR) uses the vessel's known starting point and course/distance traveled to estimate the current position. It does not account for tide effects. 2) Estimated position (EP) improves on DR by also considering tidal direction and distance, drawing a tidal vector to adjust the estimated position. EPs should be plotted hourly. 3) A fix provides the most accurate position by intersecting two or more position lines derived from external reference points. The optimal angle between lines is 90 degrees for two lines or 120 degrees for three lines.

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Lyle Magbanua
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21 views4 pages

Dead Reckoning and Estimated Positions in NAV 3

The document discusses different methods for determining a vessel's position at sea: 1) Dead reckoning (DR) uses the vessel's known starting point and course/distance traveled to estimate the current position. It does not account for tide effects. 2) Estimated position (EP) improves on DR by also considering tidal direction and distance, drawing a tidal vector to adjust the estimated position. EPs should be plotted hourly. 3) A fix provides the most accurate position by intersecting two or more position lines derived from external reference points. The optimal angle between lines is 90 degrees for two lines or 120 degrees for three lines.

Uploaded by

Lyle Magbanua
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© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Research

Output

in

NAV 3

Submitted By: BSMT 2-4

Submitted To: C/M Raymund Tabobo


Dead Reckoning position is marked with a small line crossing the
water track, and writing DR next to it. Most people will find it useful to
write the time and log reading next to the DR position as this makes
plotting the next DR from this point easier, especially if it is done by a
navigator on the next watch. We have looked at how to find out where
you are by plotting position lines to obtain a fix. The biggest
disadvantage of doing this is that it only works if there are features that
can be used to create position lines. So how do we know where we are
when far out to sea or in poor visibility?

The method we use is to draw lines that represent the movements the
vessel has made over the Earth's surface.

If we have a known start point, such as a buoy or a fix, know which


direction we have steered the boat and how far we have travelled, we
can draw lines to represent these movements on the chart. This gives
us our new position.

Of course, dead reckoning does not take into account the tide, so is of limited use
in most North European waters. We have again used the standard notation, the
water track is the direction and distance that the vessel travelled through the
water, and it has one arrow part way along.
Estimated positions
An estimated position is the best guess that you can make for the boat's
movement across the Earth's surface. To start with, the extra information that we
need to allow for is the direction of the tide (set) and the distance it has carried
the boat (drift).

You begin as for the DR, but at the end of the water track, you draw in the tidal
vector. This is the line that represents the direction of the tide and the distance it
has carried you. The tidal vector has three arrows, and the EP is indicated by a
triangle around the position. An EP should also have the time and log reading of
the time it was plotted.

An EP should be plotted every hour when on an open water passage or at every


course change in more confined waters. Although normally plotted hourly, an EP
can be plotted for any period of time, it is just necessary to ensure that the period
of the tide allowed for matches the length of time of that leg of the voyage.
Fixed Position
A Fix is a position derived from external reference points such as a
position line. Two or more intersections among position lines give us a
relatively accurate position of the vessel. The presence of a cocked hat
on obtaining and intersecting three position lines indicates the
presence of errors. The optimum angle of intersection between two
position lines is 90 degrees while that among three is 120 degrees. The
intersection is necessary to obtain seeing as a single position line will
only give us an estimation of the position, i.e., that the vessel is
somewhere on that line. It is imperative to understand the concept of
the fix and position lines to understand the process of obtaining the DR
for the purposes of navigation.

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