Lesson 1 – Position and Position Lines

Learning Outcomes
At the end of the lesson, you should be able to:

1. Define a positon and position lines, dead reckoning position (DR) estimated position
(EP) and Fix position
2. Plot a fix positon on the chart by range and bearing method
3. Plot a fix position on the chart by cross bearing method
4. Plot position on the chart from simultaneous cross bearing and from distance off a
landmark
5. Explain the methods used to obtain simultaneous cross bearing with least error
6. Plot a dead reckoning position on the chart and mark accordingly.
7. Determine a position by a combination of range and bearing of terrestrial landmarks
8. Find a position by simultaneous ranges of two objects

Guide Questions

1. What is position and position lines in navigation? What is dead reckoning position,
estimated position and fix position?
2. What are the different fixing position methods used in navigation?
3. How do you plot fix position on the chart by range and bearing and by cross bearing
methods?
4. How do you plot position on the chart by simultaneous cross bearing with least error?
5. How do you plot a dead reckoning position on the chart with appropriate marks?
6. How do you determine a positon by a combination of range and bearing of terrestrial
landmarks?
7. How do you find a position by simultaneous ranges of two objects?
Position and position lines in navigation.

In conducting a vessel safely from one place to another, it is very important to know where
you are in that particular time and place. A position is indicated by the coordinates called
latitude and longitude. Latitude is the angular distance North or South of the equator and is
measured from 0⁰ to 90⁰N or S. Longitude is the angular distance East or West of the Prime
Meridian and is measured from 0⁰ to 180⁰ E or W. The intersection of latitude and longitude
forms a fix position. Aside from the latitude and longitude provided by the satellites, a fix
position can be obtained through several methods. One method is through the intersection of
two position lines (or Lines of Position) taken from visible landmarks. Another method is
through the combination of range (distance) and bearing of a visible landmark and another
method is the simultaneous bearings and ranges of visible landmarks. The fix position is the
most reliable position where your ship is in that particular time and place. When no visible land
mark is available.

Fix position.

In the following illustration, a fix position is obtained through the intersection of two LOP’s
taken from a visible objects such as the two lighthouses.

FIX

Dead reckoning position

A Dead Reckoning (DR) position can be obtained by advancing the last well known fix
position of the ship by using its course and speed without regard to the effect of wind and
current. It is the process of determining one’s present position by projecting course(s) and
speed(s) from a known past position, and predicting a future position by projecting course(s)
and speed(s) from a known present position. The DR position is only an approximate position
because it does not allow for the effect of leeway, current, helmsman error, or compass error.
Watch through the video link about plotting.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t02n1VDSzYI

DR POSITION
0800H 0900H 1000H COURSE - 090°

SPEED 15 KNOTS

In the illustration above, the ship’s fix position at 0800H and 0900H was obtained
since the lighthouse was still visible. At 1000H when the lighthouse was not visible
anymore, a DR position was established using the course and speed of the vessel.
The distance traveled by the ship from 0800H to 0900H will be equal to the distance
traveled from 0900H to 1000H. This is the approximate position of the ship without
the effect of current or other factors that affect the movement of the ship on the
water. The lines with arrow heads from the star representing the lighthouse are the
Lines of Positons (LOP) or position lines.

Estimated position

An Estimated Position can be obtained by advancing the last well known ship’s position
using course and speed and taking into account the effect of external factors affecting the
movement of the ship on the water such as wind and current. The position line tells us only
that the ship’s position is somewhere on that line, but not exactly where she is.
 An estimated position is the best guess that you can make for the ship’s movement across
the earth’s surface. The extra information that you to need to know is the direction of the
current (set) and its speed (drift). The formula Distance = Speed x Time is always used. The
set and rate of the current is represented by the three arrow heads. The set is expressed in
degrees while the drift is expressed in knots. The DR position at 0900H is without the effect of
current while the estimated positon is the probable position of the ship at 0900H taking into
consideration the effect of the current

ESTIMATED POSITION
0900H

0900H

DR POSITION

Position fixing methods used in navigation.

The entire navigation depends upon knowing the position of the ship. This is one of the most
important tasks of a navigator. When I say position, I do not only mean GPS positon. There
are many other ways of plotting the ship’s position. And as with the situation of the GPS
failing, you must be ready to switch to other methods of position fixing.

Method of position Fixes

There are many methods by which we can get a fix of the ship’s position. Some of which are
 Celestial fix by using sextant
 Visual fix
 Radar Fix
 GPS
 Parallel Indexing
Primary method of position fixing

One of the elements of passage planning is to identify the primary and secondary method of
position fixing at each leg of the passage. There should always be at least two method of
position fixing. Now at open sea, the primary method is GPS and secondary method would be
“celestial fix”. If there is a radar conspicuous object, the primary method of position
fixing becomes the “radar fix”. Secondary in this case would be GPS. Now if that object is also
visible, primary method becomes the “Visual fix”. In this case secondary method will be “Radar
fix”. The idea is that Visual fix gets the highest priority followed by radar fix. And radar fix gets
the priority over GPS

. Celestial Fix using sextant

This method is not so popular during coastal navigation because of few reasons.
One because this method requires some time to know the position because of calculations
involved. Second because there are chances of user induced error (like error in taking the
sight). That may not be so nice when ship is navigating in the proximity of dangers during
coastal navigation. But there is a gross misconception about this method among many
seafarers. Misconception is that position by celestial observations are not accurate. Instead, if
you can have your hands set perfectly to take accurate sextant altitude, the position obtained
by this method are quite accurate.
There are few disadvantages with this method. Even though this method do not rely on
electronic equipment and satellites but it needs nature in your favor. you need clear sky and
clear horizon so that you can measure the altitude of the celestial body. Even when the sky is
clear, it is difficult to measure the sextant altitude when ship is rolling.

Position by GPS fixes

This is the most over relied method of position fixing. Over relied for a good reason. It is crisp
accurate (most of the time) and quick fix. On Modern ECDIS, navigators do not need to do
anything in plotting the GPS positions. These are plotted automatically at the set interval.
Some ECDIS can even record the ship’s position when it senses change in any parameters like
change in course. For the passage planning you must ensure that Position Fixing Interval (PFI)
is set in the ECDIS, so that GPS positions are marked and recorded automatically in the ECDIS.
GPS fixes are accurate, no doubt about that. The only issue with GPS fixes is the complacency
and over-reliance. Over-reliance to the extent that you may find yourself uncomfortable if the
GPS fails.
 Radar Fixes
Position by radar gives quite accurate results and must be used whenever you have radar
conspicuous objects. The advantage with radar fixes is that it just needs one object to get the
ship’s position. You can get the range and bearing of this object and plot the same on the
chart. For example let us say you get the bearing of this light as 050 degrees and range as 4.4
NM. You will draw a line of 050 degrees to this light. You will then measure 4.4 NM on the
compass and cut the bearing line with this distance.

In the same way, if you have two objects, you can plot the radar fix by number of
combinations of position lines like;
 bearings of these two objects
 bearing of one object and range of other object
 range of both objects
As more and more ships are moving to the paperless navigation, you must know how to fix
the ship’s position by radar on ECDIS.

Visual Fixes
Visual fixes are least practiced position fixing method despitef being accurate. All it requires is
a visual target and compass for taking its bearing.
Position by Visual bearing of two objects
If you have two objects that are visible from the ship, the bearing of these two can get you
the ship’s position. For a better accuracy of position by two bearings, the two bearings should
neither be too narrow nor too wide. Separation angle close to 45 degrees being the ideal one.
To plot the position by visual bearings of two objects, take the bearings of both the objects
simultaneously. Now draw the bearing of these objects on the charts. The point where these
two bearings (position lines) intersect will be the ship’s position.

Parallel Indexing
The interval between two position fixes should be such that between any two fixes, the vessel
must be safe. But this would mean that during arrival into a port, you need to plot your
position every 60 seconds. Many, including some third party inspectors may insist on this but
this is crazy. Imagine plotting the radar fixes every two minutes. Sometimes even the chart
would not be of such large scale that can distinguish the two positions plotted at two minutes
interval. So how do you ensure the ship does not run into danger if PFI need to be less than 5
minutes and we plot the position every 5 minutes? The answer is by “parallel indexing”. You
identify a fixed object and draw a line parallel to our course. We then monitor the echo of this
object on the radar.
If the echo stays on the line drawn parallel to the course, you are on your course. If the echo
deviates from the line, you are off track and you must alter the course to bring the vessel on
track. This is a method which ensures continuous monitoring of the ship’s position. In the
situations where PFI comes out to be less than 5 minutes, you can set the PFI as 5 minutes
and then monitor the ship’s position by parallel indexing and plotting the position every 5
minutes. Parallel indexing is a fantastic tool for monitoring the ship’s position. For this reason,
it must be used wherever a radar conspicuous object or landmark is available.

Plotting fix position on the chart by range and bearing and by cross
bearing methods.

A line of position is a navigational line drawn on a chart to a known object using a bearing
from a ship’s compass. Plotting a line of position from your ship while you are travelling along
the coast allows you to fix your position, or in other words determine where you are. A single
line of position lets you know that your ship is located somewhere along this line. By plotting
multiple lines of position, you can pinpoint your exact location. While GPS have made offshore
and coastal navigation much easier, it is still important to learn basic plotting skills. Learning
how to plot a line of position will allow you to navigate if your vessel loses power, or if you
simply want to navigate without the use of a GPS.

To determine your location, you can plot a line of position using several tools: you can use the
ship’s compass to take a bearing off landmarks that appear on your chart, you can use radar
to determine a line of position or a range to a landmark, or you can use your depth finder and
plot a fathom curve. The most basic way to create a line of position is to use the ship’s
compass.

Materials

Compass - The ship's gyro compass or magnetic compass will work as long as you can see
your landmarks from the location of the compass. You use the gyro compass to measure true
direction.( Bearing or Course)

Chart - For plotting a line of position, choose the largest scale chart that has all your
landmarks on it.

Pencil

Parallel Ruler or two Triangles - You can use either of these plotting tools based on your own
personal preference.

Step 1

To plot a line of position, locate a landmark that you can identify and that also appears on
your chart. The best objects to use are narrow (i.e. radio tower) and aren't too far away. If
the object is too far away, you may not get an accurate bearing and if it is too close, the
bearing may change too rapidly to get a bearing. It is much better to use completely
stationary objects that are on land, but if you must use a buoy, be aware that the buoy may
not be located exactly where it is drawn on the chart and you should use caution when relying
solely on this bearing for navigation.

Step 2

Once you've located your object and identified it on the chart, it is time to take a sight. Use
the sighting line on the compass to line up the object and take a sight. Using the ships
compass, bring your eyes level with the compass and look across the compass to the
object. Take your sight by marking down the numbers on the far side of the compass. On a
piece of paper record the compass bearing and the time.
Step 3

Now you must convert your compass bearing to a true bearing. To do this you must account
for deviation (differences in your personal compass) and variation (the difference between
magnetic and true north). Unless you know the deviation of your ship's compass, you can
ignore deviation since it is usually minimal. To account for variation look at the variation in
compass rose located on your chart (if you chart is very old, you will need to do extra
calculations since in some locations variation changes significantly over time). If the variation
is East you are going to add the variation to your bearing, and if the variation in your location
is West you are going to subtract the variation from your bearing. For example: if your original
compass bearing was 355(M)° and the variation is 10° E, you would add 10° to 355°. Since
there are only 360° in a compass, your true bearing is 005° T. Record your true bearing on
the piece of paper. You can also skip this entire step by simply using the smaller compass in
the compass rose that is based on magnetic north when you are plotting your bearing, but it is
good practice to be able to convert a compass bearing to a true bearing.
Step 4

The final step is to plot the true bearing on the chart. Assuming you are using the true
bearing, line your parallel ruler or triangle up in the middle of the compass rose with one edge
connecting the center of the compass rose with the true bearing.

Since you are using a true bearing, use the outside circle of the compass rose. If you are using
a parallel ruler walk the ruler across the chart until it lines up with the object you
used for your sight. If you are using triangles, you can line up the triangles and slide them
until you have the edge lined up with the original object. Take your pencil and draw a line
along the edge of your plotting tool.
It is very important to label your line with the time and the bearing. This is your line of
position and your ship was located somewhere along this line at the time you took your
compass reading. In order to determine your exact position on this line you will need to plot
an additional line of position to create a fix. Ideally a fix has 3 lines of position, but this is not
always possible. If you only have one object to use for your sight, you can create a running fix
by taking multiple sights off the same object at different times and advancing your earlier lines
of position based on your ships speed and direction

Watch through this video link ( plotting )https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x93EaSwMVfQ

Tips

Be certain that the object you identify is the object you see on your chart. It is not helpful to
put a line of position on a different object and it can be dangerous to assume that you have
determined you location. For this reason it is helpful to have multiple lines of position.

Please watch “Coastal Navigation - The use of position lines to determine ship's position” from
You Tube. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlKFaIaaZWs)

Please watch “Navigation - Plotting with Triangles” from YouTube

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t02n1VDSzYI)

The line in the picture going upward is the observed compass bearing 045°T of the headland
point. It is transferred to the chart from the compass rose by walking the side of the triangle
or parallel ruler toward the tip of the headline point on the chart and drawing a line which will
represent your line of position on the chart. The other line going downward is the observed
compass bearing (120°T) of the buoy. From the compass rose, walk or slide your parallel ruler
or triangle toward the buoy and draw the line of position on the chart. The intersection of
these two lines of position is now the fix position of your ship. Be very careful when you
walkslide your parallel ruler toward the landmark on the chart. The linepositionothechartmust
correctly represent the lines on the compass rose which are bearings of the landmarks.
.

A vessel’s position may be plotted on a chart from observations of range and bearings of
identified charted objects on the radar display. Such radar information should not be used to
the exclusion of visual information except in poor visibility. The use of radar in clear weather
to verify visual position fixes will increase your confidence in its use in poor visibility.
It is essential that an electronic bearing indicator (EBI) is provided. This is a radial line drawn
from the electronic center which may be rotated by an operator control and which is usually

linked to a numeric readout of its direction from the observer.

The accuracy of bearings obtained from radar should be checked regularly. The absolute
accuracy can then be checked by observing a target right ahead in clear weather and verifying
that the radar image appears under the heading marker.

Ranges can be measured using a variable range marker which consists of a range ring whose
range is varied by an operator control and is linked to a numeric readout The accuracy of the
VRM should be checked from time to time against the fixed range rings and also by
observation of known distances.

In this illustration the ship is 10 miles away from the landmark as indicated by the depth
contour line on the chart. The distance away from the landmark is referred to as the range.
The observed compass bearing of the landmark is 035° and distance or range is 10 miles.
From the center of the compass rose align one side of your triangle to the 035°mark then walk
it toward your landmark on the chart represented by the circle on the land Draw your line of
position along the landmark. Using your compass divider, measure 10 minutes from the
latitude scale. This is equal to 10 nautical miles because one minute of latitude is equal to one
nautical mile. Place one leg of the compass divider on the landmark and follow the line of
position with the other leg of the compass divider marking it with your pencil. This is now your
fix position.
 10’

How to plot position on the chart by simultaneous cross bearing with

least error.
The intersection of two or more LOPs is called a fix. An ideal fix contains bearings that
intersect as a 90-degree angle. Three LOPs will define your fix more accurately. An ideal three-
bearing fix should have 60-degree angles between the bearings at a minimum. Often the
intersecting lines of a fix fail to cross a specific point but form a small triangle. Your position is
said to be located in the center of the triangle. A fix is labeled with the time when the LOPs
were taken. Since a fix is considered high quality position, the time is written horizontally.
Label a fix with a black dot surrounded by a circle, which indicates your position on the chart.

Plotting a dead reckoning position on the chart with appropriate marks.

In the example below the ship’s fix position was obtained at 0900H. The lighthouse is 5 miles
off and directly south of the ship. The method used here is by range (5 miles) and bearing
(180°T). After one hour of travel at (1000H) the ship is 14 miles off and 210°T from the ship.
The same method (range and bearing) is used to establish a fix at 1000H. At 1100H the
lighthouse is not visible anymore but the ship’s position is obtained by advancing the last well
known position basing from the course ( 045°) and speed 10 (knots).

The distance covered from 0900H to 1000H is 10 nautical miles since the speed is 10 knots,
meaning she travels 10 nautical miles per one hour. From this information, it is presumed that
your ship will travel the same distance (10 nautical miles) from 1000H to 1100H. To plot the
DR positon at 1100H, the distance is measured from the latitude scale by using the compass
divider. One minute of latitude is equal to one nautical mile. One leg of the divider is placed at
the 1000H fix and the other leg is placed at the DR position. The symbols used for the fix
position is circle with a dot inside and the symbol for the DR position is half circle.

The fix position at 0900H is obtained by range and bearing method.

The lighthouse is 5 miles off and 180°T from the ship.
This is how you will position the edge of your parallel ruler at the. The line from the center
of the compass rose going outward toward 180° is the line of position representing the
compass bearing of the lighthouse. You walk your parallel ruler towardthe lighthouse and
draw a line fromthe lighthouse representing 180°. You must understand that the light-
house is 180°from your ship therefore its true direction is south of your ship.
After the LOP is drawn on the chart, measure the distance from the latitude scale as shown
on the picture above. Notice that the other leg of the divider is in the 50′mark and the other
is in the 55′mark. The gap between the two legs of the divider is 5′ (minutes) of latitude
which is equal to 5 nautical miles. Now bring the other leg of the divider to the lighthouse
and cut the LOP with the other leg. This is now your fix position. Label it with the time of
observation and mark it with a circle. Be sure that when moving your divider the gap between
its legs is maintained.

Plotting the fix position at 1000H by Range and bearing.

Place the edge of the parallel ruler along the center of the compass rose and in line with the
210° mark of the compass rose as show in the illustration above.
Walk the edge of the parallel ruler towards the lighthouse on the chart making sure that
the LOP is maintained until the edge of the parallel ruler touches the landmark. Draw a line
representing the line of position. It must correspond to 210°T which is the compass bearing
of the lighthouse from the ship.

From the latitude scale, spread out the two legs of the compass divider which would represent
a gap of 14 minutes of latitude between the two legs. Notice that one legof the compass
divider is at 45′ and the other leg is at 59′. So the gap or the difference in minutes of latitude
between the two legs is 14′which is equal to 14 nautical miles. This represents the range or
distance of the lighthouse from the ship.Place the legs of the divider along the LOP with one
leg exactly placed at the locationof the lighthouse and the other leg cutting the LOP to represent
the fix position of your ship.
Position by simultaneous ranges of two objects

This is how the position of your ship is obtained by simultaneous ranges of two objects or
landmarks. The distances or ranges are normally taken from radar observations. In this case
you have two available landmarks. They are indicated by the circle marks on land. The range
of the lighthouse at the lower part is 14 miles and the range of the lighthouse at the upper
part is 20 miles. Using your compass divider, measure from the latitude scale the
corresponding distances of the two lighthouses. Place one leg of the divider exactly on the
lighthouse and with the other leg draw an arc to represent the distance or range of the ship.
Repeat this process with the other light. The intersection of the two arcs forms the fix position
of your ship.