I have been approved to test for my oceans endorsement for my 200 ton master. Can anyone recommend study materials for this exam? Please don’t reply with any of the “why are you wasting your time with that license crap” I am planning to go for a bigger license when I acquire the sea time. In the meantime I want to get my oceans endorsement for my 200 ton license and would really appreciate any genuine responses with recommendations of study materials to prepare me for this exam. Thank you!
1 Like
Do you know celestial at all? Do you want to self study? You could take a celestial course that would count as the exam for that level license.
You need:
One Pub 229 Vol 2
One 1981 Nautical Almanac
One - nine dollar scientific calculator
One- used star finder kit
One pair of dividers
One Slide ruler or triangle
A few universal plotting sheets
Or see the above post and pay for the class.
A one month subscription to Lapware and a 1981 Bowditch 2 are optional.
That’s what he needs to practice at home, the real question is what does he use to teach him the process.
It sounds like chitownmaui only wants to study for exam in which case the list I gave him is accurate enough. However, learning the process depends on the boat he is on. Gyro Repeater? Azimuth Circle/Alidade? It’s too late in the year for him to get his money out of a 2017 almanac but he could perhaps buy the Davis Mark 25.
I think what he means by study and what you mean by study are two different things. I figured by his question that he doesn’t know celestial at all yet, which means he needs a book that explains how to do the problems. Your list was just the material he needs to do the problems, not including anything to teach him how to do them.
1 Like
I think Bowditch does a decent job of explaining the process, though I’ve never read it with no knowledge of celestial so I don’t know how comprehensible it would be to a beginner.
Maybe Lapware has good instruction in it, I’ve never used it and I’m not sure if it’s meant as a refresher or complete teacher.
Has anyone on here taught themselves celestial?
1 Like
Yes, I pingponged between Dutton’s and Bowditch.
1 Like
I can’t lie, I needed an oceans guy to show me the final correction of amplitude on paper and another oceans guy to show me how to take an azimuth of the sun using a sextant.
yes
First tip: You don’t use a sextant to take an azimuth.
2nd tip: be specific, ie an Amplitude of what? Sun or Moon? The correction is made to true bearing of bodies on the visible horizon and is different for different bodies.
Are you going to chime in on this thread and explain how you did it and what material, if any, you used beyond the above list?
-What is a slide ruler? I think that is something my grandfather used to do arithmetic. Do you mean a Parallel Rule?
-What good is 1 triangle, wouldn’t he need a pair of those?
Or just a regular ol ruler should do.
Sun at celestial horizon nav problems 1981, however, I did have an individual take me up to the gyro compass to get the gyro error at sunrise.
You’re lightning fast on the draw today.
Pubs: Bowditch 1 and 2, Duttons, Pub 229, Nautical Almanac, Starpath’s Celestial Navigation Course and Starfinder Book
Tools: Ti 30x, 2 Dividers, Parallel Rule, 2 Triangles, Starfinder, Pad of UPS, pencils and erasers.
If you are serious about learning the craft, The best sextant you can afford, an artificial horizon, and a magnetic compass.
I’m sorry I can’t read your work, for the sake of time I’ll take your word for it…but why?
And I really don’t understand what you are trying to accomplish. You can determine True Azimuth without ANY sights all you need is a DR fix and accurate time. Doing an Azimuth alone is typically a tool to determine Gyro Error or magnetice deviation.
Otherwise known as an Amplitude. Did he show you how to make the correction, for when it’s on the visible horizon?
None of this has anything to do with what the original poster needs to pass the test.