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Independent study · no certification. Details

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Compass USA study companion

U.S. Coastal Navigation Study Companion

Direct answer

Independent U.S. coastal-navigation preparation using NOAA sources, original plotting problems, and explicit certification boundaries. Compass provides independent knowledge preparation only. It does not administer an official examination, award certification, demonstrate practical competence, or replace current instructions from an authorized provider or authority. All chart extracts and plotting exercises are fictional and non-navigational.

Price
$59 once
Course size
10 modules
Access
Lifetime access
Format
Independent online study companion
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Product tour

Try the revision loop here

This working, course-specific sample uses the same three primary steps and feedback timing as the revision app: learn the idea, use Practise for immediate help, then Test at the end.

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Learn · teaching first

Treat Navigation as a Continuous Evidence Cycle

From Navigator Responsibility and Publications

What you will learn

Run appraisal, source verification, planning, briefing, monitoring, recording and re-planning as one continuous navigator responsibility.

Explanation

A saved route is a planning artifact, not evidence that the passage is still safe. The navigator keeps the route connected to current publications, vessel settings, direct observations, collision risk and an explicit decision record from before departure until the final handover.

Use APPRAISE — VERIFY — PLAN — BRIEF — MONITOR — RECORD — REPLAN. Treat NOAA publications, chart status, the navigation log and navigator responsibility as one connected evidence system. Appraise the intended area, vessel, crew, weather, water level, current, traffic, daylight and alternatives. Verify the official products and applicable local information. Plan a route with margins and change triggers. Brief who owns each check. Monitor the planned picture against independent observations. Record material evidence and decisions. Re-plan whenever a source, observation, assumption or safe margin changes.

The cycle is deliberately reversible. A new Local Notice to Mariners, an ENC correction, a changed forecast, an unexpected depth trend, a position disagreement or developing traffic can send the navigator back to appraisal. Re-planning is not failure; preserving a stale line after its supporting evidence changes is the failure.

Make each critical leg challengeable

The route briefing says where to turn but not what evidence would make the turn unsafe.

Sense check: If no possible observation can disprove the route, the crew has a drawing rather than a monitored navigation plan.

Common mistake

Treating a saved route as current evidence

Recap

  • Navigation is a reversible evidence cycle, not a completed plotting task.
  • Verify source status, passage relevance and vessel configuration separately.
  • Label confirmed facts, assumptions, changes and unknowns.
More ways to revise

Flashcards, audio and interactive tools remain optional support inside the module; they do not replace the Learn → Practise → Test route.

Course route

Learn the knowledge, then take it afloat with an instructor

1Free

Navigator Responsibility and Publications

The navigator's continuing responsibilities, publication checks, chart currency, notices, logs, and the limits of a pre-planned route.

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2Full access

NOAA Charts, ENC Data, and U.S. Chart No. 1

ENC display concepts, NOAA Custom Chart, scale, symbols, notes, soundings, hazards, and the difference between source data and a printed plotting aid.

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3Full access

Position, Distance, Speed, and Time

Latitude, longitude, nautical-mile scale, coordinates, distance measurement, speed-time-distance relationships, and unit discipline.

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4Full access

True, Magnetic, and Compass Directions

True and magnetic references, variation, deviation, compass error, reciprocal directions, and documenting the source and date of corrections.

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5Full access

Dead Reckoning, Estimated Position, and Fixes

Advancing position by course, speed and time; adding estimated environmental effects; and distinguishing a fix from an assumed position.

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6Full access

Tides, Water Levels, and Clearance

NOAA station predictions, datum, time zones, height interpolation, depth, draft, under-keel clearance, bridge clearance, and weather effects.

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7Full access

Currents, Set, Drift, and Leeway

NOAA current predictions, direction conventions, rate, current vectors, wind-driven leeway, and deriving environmental effects from observed positions.

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8Full access

Bearings, Running Fixes, and Clearing Lines

Lines of position, bearing selection, running fixes, advancing lines, clearing bearings, transits, distance off, and geometry.

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9Full access

Course to Steer and Ground Track

Vector triangles for desired ground track, boat speed, current, leeway, time, distance made good, and cross-checks.

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10Full access

Passage Planning and Electronic Cross-Checks

Appraisal, route, tides, currents, weather, traffic, daylight, pilotage, alternates, electronics, monitoring, and loss-of-system contingencies.

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What the companion includes

Clear knowledge and practical boundaries

  • Original lessons and explanations
  • At least 18 explained questions and 12 flashcards per module
  • Three 40-question mixed knowledge assessments
  • United States terminology, jurisdiction, and primary-source context
  • Practical-awareness prompts clearly separated from assessed knowledge

Not included

  • American Sailing certification or an official exam
  • Instructor-observed practical assessment
  • Copied textbook or examination questions
  • State-by-state legal advice
  • A guarantee that a charter operator will accept a qualification or resume

Editorial record

Primary-source review

Original content is reviewed against published standards and current U.S. government sources. State, local, vessel-specific, and operator requirements must be checked separately.