What's New in Boating on the Web

Here are some interesting new Web sites that will eventually be moved onto the regular pages here. Check in here often to discover new sites that might interest you (new sites are always added to the top of the list while older sites are removed from the bottom). If you're looking for the "Best Boating" course for Canadian boaters, you're close -- you want http://www.bestboating.ca/

This page last updated:
May 31, 2008

BoaterEd More than 50 boating-related forums ranging from engines, detailing, sailing, rules of the road, to clubs, cruising guides, classifieds (no commercial), and a special forum for women. Well worth a visit.
The World Windsurf Directory Links to thousands of windsurfing, kiteboarding, and snowkite websites. Clubs and associations, equipment, instruction, photo gallery, forums, weather, and more.
State Boating Websites Links to all the state boating websites where you'll find detailed information on state-specific education and licensing requirements, equipment requirements, and local boating information.
USCG Office of Boating Safety This is a treasure trove of safe boating information. Information on free Vessel Safety Checks (including a neat interactive program that takes you step by step through the required equipment). Links to dozens of sites offering safe boating courses. Federal Regulations and the Nav Rules available for downloading; information on recalls (and a place to report safety defects); boating statistics; and links to lots of great boating websites. Your tax dollars at work, so take advantage of it!
NOAA's Office of Coast Survey Electronic charts, Coast Pilots, Notices to Mariners, and print-on-demand up-to-date charts -- it's all here.
Great Lakes Information Excellent information for boaters on the inland seas. Real-time data of relevance to boaters provided by webcams, current conditions at half a dozen stations, water levels (present and past), and satellite data. And there's a lot more of general interest.
Riverboat Dave's Paddlewheel Riverboat Site You have to see this fantastic website to believe it. Absolutely everything you could ever want to know about paddlewheel riverboats is here. You can find biographical information on riverboat captains by name. Learn about riverboats according to the rivers on which they operated. Find information about riverboat owners. And, of course, get detailed information on every riverboat that ever was. There's more: bits and pieces of riverboat lore, early steamboat navigation, books on riverboats, links to other riverboat sites, historic movies starring riverboats (no, not African Queen!), life on a riverboat, riverboats in the Civil War, and on and on. As I said, you've got to see it to believe it!
Coastal Navigation Course If you don't know where you are (and wish you did), this home-study course should help. You get a printed text/workbook, supplements (including training chart), online animated demos, e-mail instructor assistance, online quizzes, and a bulletin board for posting and replying to messages. And you can even purchase a basic navigation tool set. If you still get lost, sell the boat and take up knitting!
Boater's Toolbox From the good folks at BoatU.S. Foundation, this is a great set of resources. There's an online boating safety study guide, an interactive video tutorial on VHF/DSC radios, "21 Steps to Clean Boating," a bunch of free brochures, and links to their NASBLA-approved online boating safety course and their Courseline Online (find safe boating courses near you).
World Cruising Guide If you have experience cruising to far off places, visit WorldCruisingGuide.net and share information for others who have yet to enjoy cruising there. Tell about good anchorages, where to catch the bus, find a laundry, get your camping gas refilled, what to see and how to get there, where to eat or find the best supermarkets, and personal experiences such as excursions to historic sites and attractions, pubs, clubs, beaches and all the other information that is normally not included in pilot booksand any other information that could be useful to cruisers approaching an area for the first time. And if you don't know where in the western Mediterranean there is a good paella restaurant just a stone's throw from a nude beach, I'm not telling (but you'll find it on this website).
Wind and Wave Forecasts PassageWeather.com provides global 7-day wind and wave forecasts to help sailors with their passage planning and weather routing. Before and during deliveries, ocean races, regattas, cruises, and all other types of offshore passages, the whole route is covered. Includes a special Gulf Stream forecast as well as specific forecasts for the waters on which the major sailing races are held.
Search for Boats If you're hoping to locate or identify a documented boat, BoatInfoWorld is the place to start. You can search on boat name, ZIP code, city, county, state, ship builder, owner's last name, and owner's company name. Would you believe there are actually THREE documented boats named "Cirrhosis of the River"?! It gets worse, folks!!
Electronic Charting Electronic charts are hot. And they are now free. What else on your boat is free??!! (Yeah, sure!) To quote a famous sideman, "Everything you want to know about electronic charts is right here." How did free electronic charts come about? What kind of hardware and software do I need to use them? What's the difference between "raster" and "vector" charts? Is one better than another? Where can I get these freebies? It's all here, folks.
eiNET Boating Links As the Internet grows, so too do the websites with links to everything but the kitchen sink (and sometimes that's in there too). Here's one with roughly 5,000 links, but it's a different kind of beast. Sites have to pay a fee to get listed, which means you tend to get a lot of commercial websites. But an interesting feature is that the resulting listing are rated with stars (no indication who does the rating or what it means, but some sites have more stars upon thars, and that has to be good for something, right?) More than 800 sailing links, 600 paddling links, 60 waterskiing links, even 5 links for hovercraft enthusiasts (almost more links than there are enthusiasts!).
Trent-Severn Waterway The beautiful Trent-Severn Waterway extends 240 miles between Lake Ontario and Georgian Bay. It's familiar to any boaters traveling the "Great Loop" and enjoyed by many more boaters whose cruises are less ambitious. Everything you could want to know is here -- information on locks, marinas, lodging, dining, shops, services and attractions along with dozens of great photos. The website is free. The boat.....not!
NOAA Online Chart Viewer NOAA lets mariners display [almost] any nautical chart using only an Internet browser. Charts are updated to include Notice to Mariner corrections. The viewer is remarkably fast, you can zoom in to see small details, and you can pan up and down, side to side. Slick as a whistle! And while you're there, you can download Chart No. 1, a form to report chart discrepancies, and a link to the online Coast Pilots. As the song says, "Who could ask for anything more?" [Requires Adobe Flash Player which can be downloaded free.]

Contact: Tony Morris tmorris@umich.edu

This page last updated: May 31, 2008

This page last updated:
May 31, 2008