Page 207 - NAVAL SCIENCE 3 TEXTBOOK

UNIT

Rules of the Road and

Maneuvering Board

ust as there are rules for drivers of vehicles on land. so there are rules for those
J who handle ships and boats on the water. The automobile and truck driver
must know traffic signals and signs. highway markings. and the rules of the road
for motor vehicles. The ship and boat udriver" must know the buoyage systems,
lights and signals. and nautical rules of the road governing traffic afloat on the
waters of the world. Chapter 1 of this unit will introduce you to the basic nautical
rules of the road that must be followed by all those operating a watercraft on either
inland waters of the United States or on the world's oceans.
When maneuvering a ship or boat either to comply with the rules of the road
or for other purposes. there are two primary safety objectives: (I) do not hit any-
thing (such as another vessel or other object). and (2) do not run aground (i.e .•
hit bottom or shore). In pursuit of the second goal. aU those involved in directing
the movements of vessels study the subject of marine navigation as summarized
in the previous unit of this text. A valuable aid in achieving the first goal is a dia-
gram called a relative 1II0tioll plot- actually a printed sheet-called a lIIalleuver-
illg board. Chapter 2 of this unit will introduce the fundamentals of the maneu-
vering board.