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My project idea comes from my interest in boating navigation, thus the title, Electronic Navigation. Interning in the electronic chart department gave me more of an advantage then I had expected. Not only did I learn an enormous amount of information for chip burning and trip planning, but I also was able to gather the necessary components needed to complete my project.

I choose to do my project on electronic navigation because I felt that the average mariner doesn't really know about all that is needed to have a successful and safe voyage. My intent was to inform them in such a way that they could better understand and comprehend all the important information that they should consider when obtaining their navigating resources.

The steps taken to reach this goal included customer service, research in magazines, and one-on-one time with my mentor, Justin. The customer service end of it allowed me to get personal with the travelers themselves, and maybe get a better understanding of how and why they chose the navigation resources they did.

During this time I was actively involved in chip burning. My tasks included looking up the plotter and the series the customer had, and then finding out which type of chip that particular plotter used. Chips ranged from C-Map NT+, to Navionics Gold, ROW (Rest of World) and The Americas. After that was established, I would find out which coverage the customer was interested in, and would finally burn the chip. I liked this end of it, because I was soon able to become familiar with the different cartography each program had for each chip that played in certain plotters. The research end of it came from reading articles on navigation, and just constant lectures from my mentor, Justin. These benefited me in by expanding my knowledge of electronic navigation.

The outcome of my project came out quite positive. In preparation for it, I learned that there are two kinds of electronic navigation: plotter based and PC based. Plotter based deals with chips, which hold your navigational charts on them, and typically come in vector data. Your PC based navigation has programs that, when installed onto your PC, have the charts right there on them. PC based navigation is more beneficial in terms of being able to play both Raster and Vector charts, and you not only get vector charts with various layers, but you also get the capability of using more then one monitor for navigating. One example of a PC based navigation program is Nobeltec. This program provides you with the freedom to have your navigational charts on one monitor, your depth reading on another, and even a live visual of a location of your boat on a separate monitor.

With all the information gathered for my project and the final touches added, I found that I benefited the most from my mentor, Justin. This project gave me a fun and easy way to learn about electronic navigation, making me a more knowledgeable person when it comes to helping customers in the store. I'm a perfectly shaped guide on Electronic Navigation for Dummies!