Mariner's Library

SEAMANSHIP
• Seamanship Techniques 3rd Edition
• Seamanship Techniques by DJ House is the comprehensive guide to being a deckhand, outlining all duties that a deckhand may encounter across the industry. Discusses anchoring, ropework, ship husbandry, steering techniques, etc... Aimed at the 'Ordinary Seaman' when studying to attain a 'Bridge Watchman' or the senior 'Able-Bodied Seaman' rating.

METEOROLOGY
• Reed's Maritime Meteorology 3rd Edition
• Reed's has a collection of easy-to-parse marine textbooks with plenty of illustrations. This is the most widely used meteorology textbook by my peers in the industry who have self-studied and challenged their meterology level 1 examinations.

NAVIGATION
• Bowditch: The American Practical Navigator, Volume 1
• Bowditch Volume 2
• Bowditch, by Nathaniel Bowditch, is the comprehensive navigation textbook for those studying to become ships officers. This is a monster 1000 page textbook that can be found in high-quality for free here, though I am hosting a lower resolution version on my site for ease of access. Bowditch volume 1 covers practical navigation techniques from dead-reckoning, to coastal pilotage, to celestial navigation and use of the marine sextant. Bowditch volume 2 has a 140 page long glossary of marine navigation terminology, jargon, and acronyms, and focuses on mathematical calucations used in navigation. An invaluable book to the studying watchkeeper. By no means can I claim to have read this whole book, but I did make use of it while studying for my chartwork and pilotage level 2 examinations.

COLLISION AVOIDANCE
• Collision Regulations
• The international regulations for the prevention of collision at sea. The "rules of the road" and baseline for all traffic conduct on the high seas. This is the version with canadian modifications and comes in english and french. Most recent version always available in multiple formats here.
• The Colregs Guide (Dokmar)
• Illustrated guide to the collision regulations. The quality of this particular pdf upload is poor but this textbook helped me so much. Clearly breaks down each rule and discusses the considerations to be had in collision avoidance. Great diagrams of vessel light characteristics and the effect of ship size on perspective.
• Guide to the Collision Avoidance Rules (Cockroft)
• A practical breakdown and explaination of the collision regulations. Probably the most widely used colregs guidebook for watchkeepers. Also includes a brief summary of STCW watchkeeping conventions relevant to the navigation safety curriculum.

EXAMINATIONS
• TP2293E Examination Syllabus
• This is the guideline for marine examinations in Canada and provides an outline of what knowledge is required to challenge an examination. Used mostly as a guideline when self-studying to challenge an exam on your own. Also provides guidelines for what may be covered in the oral examinations. Goes hand-in-hand with the marine personnel regulations which outline the competencies and certifications required to fill certain positions onboard. The most recent version of this document can always be requested here. This is only relevant for canadian seafarers.