Boating Skills

1
Boating Skills Seamanship

• Lesson 7
• Inland Boating

2
Lesson Objectives

• Nature and Navigation of Inland Waters
• Aids To Navigation (ATON)
• River Characteristics
• Waterway Maintenance
• Hazards Challenges
• Locks Locking Through
• Using River Charts

3
Types of Inland Waters

• Navigable Waterways
• Roads providing transportation between 2 or
  more states or into the sea such as -
• Navigable rivers
• Great Lakes
• Intracoastal Waterway
• Non-Navigable Waterways
• Lakes and other waters entirely within one state

4
Inland Navigation Rules

• In Force on Navigable Waterways
• Federal equipment requirements apply
• Followed on All Waterways
• Collision avoidance
• Lookouts
• Lighting
• Meeting, crossing overtaking

5
Inland ATONs

• US Aids to Navigation System Two Regional
  Variations
• Western Rivers
• Intracoastal Waterway (ICW)
• Covered in Chapter 5
• Uniform State Waterways Marking System (USWMS)
  Now Merged Into USATON System

6
Western Rivers ATONS

• River Bank Names Looking Downstream
• Right bank or right descending bank
• Green passing (square) crossing (diamond)
  daymarks
• Left bank or left descending bank
• Red passing (triangle) crossing (diamond)
  daymarks

7
Western Rivers ATONS

• Passing Daymarks
• Look like daymarks in Chapter 5
• Mark the side of the river the channel is on
• You continue past the daymark
• Back of the daymark may signal upcoming crossing
  daymark

8
Western Rivers ATONS

• Crossing Daymarks
• Diamond shaped
• Green or Red (old colors)
• Green white or red white checkerboard (new
  colors)
• Signal that channel changes banks
• Head for the diamond on the opposite bank

9
Western Rivers ATONS

• River Buoys
• Continuously added, removed, or moved
• Do not have letters or numbers
• Not usually shown on river charts

10
Western Rivers ATONS

• Mile Markers
• Placards on daymarks or other location
• Distance to mouth of river in statute miles
• Except Ohio River - distance to headwaters
• Help locate position on river chart

11
Uniform State Waterways Marking System

• The following slides detail changes to the USWMS
  as it merged with the US ATON system.
• Following those slides are ones detailing USWMS
  pre-merger characteristics of the various aids.
• For most boaters these are for historical
  reference only

12
Uniform State Waterways Marking System

• Effective July 20, 1998, the US Coast Guard
  commences a five year phased-in merger of the
  Uniform State Waterway Marking System with the
  United States Aids to Navigation System. This
  merger eliminates distinctions between the two
  systems and creates safer, less confusing
  waterways.

13
Uniform State Waterways Marking System

• Here are the changes that occurred by Dec. 2003.
• USATONS regulatory markers now carry the same
  orange bands just above the water line and near
  the top as the USWMS system did.
• The USWMS black port side channel markers were
  replaced with the green markers.
• The meaning of a red and white vertically-striped
  buoy changes in the USWMS from "do not pass
  between the buoy and the nearest shore" to the
  USATONS meaning of "safewater all around."

14
Uniform State Waterways Marking System

• Continued
• Obstructions currently marked with the USWMS red
  and white vertically-striped buoy will be
  replaced with either a red or green channel
  marker, if practicable, the USATONS black and red
  horizontally striped isolated danger marker, or a
  newly created USATONS black and white
  vertically-striped marker to indicate not to pass
  between the marker and the shore.
• The USWMS white black-topped markers which mean
  "pass to north or east of buoy" and the white
  red-topped markers which mean "pass to south or
  west of buoy", will be replaced with USATONS red
  or green channel markers, the isolated danger
  mark, or the new black and white
  vertically-striped marker.

15
Uniform State Waterways Marking System

• Continued
• USATONS which made no mention of lights on
  mooring buoys may now incorporate white lights of
  various rhythms.
• Ownership identification on private or state aids
  to navigation is permitted so long as it does not
  change or hinder an understanding of the meaning
  of the aid to navigation.

16
Uniform State Waterways Marking System

• Three Types of Markers
• Regulatory
• ATONS
• Mooring buoys

17
Uniform State Waterways Marking System

• Regulatory Markers - Non-Lateral
• White signs or buoys
• Signs have orange borders
• Buoys have orange band
• Four types
• Boat exclusion
• Danger
• Controlled areas
• Information or directions

18
Uniform State Waterways Marking System

• Regulatory Markers

19
Uniform State Waterways Marking System

• ATONs
• Buoys
• Two types
• Lateral markers
• Non-lateral markers

20
Uniform State Waterways Marking System

• Lateral Markers
• Show lateral edges of channel
• Normally occur in pairs
• Solid black or red
• (Black is being replaced by green in many areas)
• Numbered
• May have reflectors or lights
• Red right returning

21
Uniform State Waterways Marking System

• Non-Lateral Markers - Cardinal System
• Mark safe passage areas
• Three buoys
• White buoy with red stripes
• Do not pass between buoy and nearest shore
• White buoy with black top
• Pass to north or east
• White buoy with red top
• Pass to south or west

22
USWMS ATONs
BLACK RED Usually in pairs Pass between
these buoys (Note black being replaced by green)

PASS TO SPECIFIED DIRECTIONS OF THESE
Do not pass between buoy and nearest shore
Pass to South or West
Pass to North or East
23
Non Lateral Marks - Caution

• US Aid - Safe-Water Mark
• Spherical (ball-like) shape
• Indicates navigable water all around
• May be passed on either side

DO NOT CONFUSE THESE ATONS

• USWMS Cardinal Mark
• Do not pass between buoy and closest shore
• This is being changed - for now be careful

24
Inland Seamanship

• Challenges include
• Changing water depths
• Speed of currents
• Flash flooding
• Underwater hazards
• Effect of high winds
• Anchoring
• Isolation

25
River Currents

• Can be quite strong
• Are concentrated in the channel
• Hinder movement upstream
• Aid movement downstream
• May run in different directions at different
  depths
• Usually flow around outside of bends

26
River Bends

• Outside Bend
• Water is deeper
• Current usually flows faster
• Inside Bend
• Water is shallower shoaling may occur
• Current is slower
• Differences can cause eddies slack water

27
Other River Challenges

• Entering a current
• Tows and other traffic
• Debris ice
• Wing dams, dikes, and other devices
• Dredges
• Lowhead High dams

28
Maintaining Inland Waters

• Responsibility of U.S. Corps of Engineers
• Techniques include
• Levees
• Revetments
• Dikes or wing dams
• Dredging

29
Dredging

• Lights on dredge pipelines
• Dredge lights and shapes

OK to pass this side
Do not pass this side
OK to pass this side
Do not pass this side
Day Shapes
Lights
30
Lowhead Dams

• Present on many rivers
• Most dangerous for boaters
• Efficient, self-operating drowning machines
• Escape difficult if caught in boil
• Swim under and downstream
• Know where they are and avoid them

31
Lowhead Dams
32
Lowhead Dams

• See the boil?

33
Lowhead Dams

• Looking Downstream

34
Lowhead Dams

• Same spot, a little to the right

35
Lowhead Dams

• Same spot, a little to the left

36
Lowhead Dam
Looking Downstream (Photo Courtesy CT DEP)
37
Lowhead Dam

• Unsuspecting kayaker caught
• Result Fatal

Kayak
(Photo Courtesy CT DEP)
38
Lowhead Dam
Looking Upstream (Photo Courtesy CT DEP)
39
High Dams

• Stay Out of Restricted Areas
• Marked by signs, buoys and/or flashing lights
• Upstream - strong undertows
• Downstream - tailrace
• Boils backwash
• Dam Gates
• Wicket v. Tainter

40
Locks

• Operation
• Priorities for Use
• Commercial Traffic
• Hazardous Cargo
• Communications

41
Lock Operation

• 1999 PAFBC

42
Lock Operation
43
Lock Operation

• Upstream lock door RISES from floor

44
Lock Operation

• Downstream doors swing or lift
• Watch for air BLAST as it opens

45
Locking Through

• Do Not Enter Without Appropriate Signal
• Green light or prolonged blast
• Follow Commands of Lockmaster
• No Wake!
• Wear PFD
• Tie-Up to Appropriate Fitting
• Tend Lines Carefully

46
River Charts

• Sources
• NOAA (some)
• U.S. Corp of Engineers (most)
• Characteristics
• NOAA - essentially the same as coastal charts

47
River Charts

• Characteristics - Non-NOAA Charts
• Many show limited information
• Principal geographic features
• Channel sailing line
• Fixed ATONs
• Mile markers
• Navigation lights sometimes shown
• Water depths and buoys rarely shown

48
River Charts

• Study River Charts Beforehand
• Symbols may be different than those on coastal
  charts
• North is rarely up
• Note downstream direction

49
Non NOAA River Chart
50
NOAA River Chart
Portion of NOAA Chart 12375 - CT River
51
Commercial Traffic

• Ocean-Going v. River Tows
• Beware Ocean-going tows can be found on many
  rivers, especially near the mouth
• Watch Out For The Tow
• Keep clear
• Prop wash
• Blind spot
• VHF Communication

52
Summary

• Inland Waters
• Western River ATON, USWMS
• Inland Seamanship
• River Characteristics
• River Maintenance
• Low and High Dams
• Locks
• River Charts
• Commercial Traffic