This book focuses on large, modern commercial vessels. Unique in its emphasis on the art of shiphandling and maneuvers for such vessels, it is a classic work designed to teach mariners and pilots practical shiphandling skills. The book is used as a text by maritime academies, shiphandling training facilities, ships' officers, and apprentice pilots. The text is a compendium of shiphandling information written by a father and son team of pilots, with contributions from several other pilots and shipmasters who provided material relating to their specialized skills. It is written primarily for the practicing mariner the shipmaster, mate, naval or Coast Guard officer who already possesses some degree of professional knowledge, experience, and training. The text follows a nontechnical format, stressing maneuvers routinely used by working pilots and mariners. The material incorporates information from recent tests of the hydrodynamics of ship behavior and simulator-developed data, with procedures and practices based on the authors' experience, gained while working as shipmasters, canal pilots, mooring masters, and river pilots. The fourth edition includes new information on squat and underkeel clearance in shallow water, bridge resource management for pilots, and discussions of new propulsion systems and hull types, including VMax ships and Azipod propulsion systems, proposals for a more modern approach to VTS, and laptop navigation systems for maneuvering in pilot waters. Most maneuvers used in docking, undocking, and shiphandling are covered, and many less commonly performed maneuvers, including docking at single-point and multiple-buoy moorings, use of anchors in shiphandling, offshore lightering, and transiting of locks and canals. Good bridge practices in pilot waters and training techniques, including simulator training, are discussed, so that the potential deck officer or master can develop the shiphandling skills essential to the marine profession.
