The Navigation Rules are much like the rules of the road on the highway. They establish a consistent way to navigate safely and avoid collisions when two boats are crossing paths, are on course to meet head-on, or when one boat wishes to overtake another. And in real-world settings such as my home waters of Manhattan Harbor and the surround waterways, knowing the Aids like the back of your hand is a MUST!

The U.S. Aids to Navigation System is a system maintained by the U.S. Coast Guard, consisting of visual, audible, and electronic signals which are designed to assist the prudent mariner in the process of navigation. The aids to navigation system is not intended to identify every shoal or obstruction to navigation which exists in the navigable waters of the United States, but rather provides for reasonable marking of marine features as resources permit.

 

Download the latest US Coast Guard’s Aids to Navigation

Download the latest US Coast Guard’s Navigation Rules