There are tremendous resources available to recreational boaters. Here are some that ABCA members have found useful.
The America’s Boating Club Boat Live 365 which is a collection of educational materials and resources for SAFE and fun recreational boating.
Public Service of United States Power Squadron
CoOpCharting – Cooperative Charting coordinated through Marine Chart Division of NOAA
BoatUS is dedicated to educating and protecting boaters and their rights. They are a strategic partner of America’s Boating Club and the BoatUS Foundation has provided grants to many of the educational initiatives of America’s Boating Club.
Recreational boaters cruising on coastal, inland and especially offshore should get a VHF radio equipped with digital selective calling (DSC) so they can connect their VHF with their GPS and register their vessel for Maritime Mobile Service Identity.
The Coast Guard Auxiliary is a voluntary organization dedicated to providing services to the Coast Guard. Many of those services directly benefit recreational boaters.
Local to Atlanta, the Army Corp of Engineers has maps that come close to being a chart for Lake Lanier. There are boat ramps, bridge and power line clearances.
Download Apps for your Android or Apple device
America’s Boating Club has a very useful mobile app that includes: Nautical Reference Information, Maintenance Records, Float Plans, Weather, Radar, Tides and Currents, and much, much more. For more information click here.
The Coast Guard provides an app that has these features: State Boating Information, Request Safety Check, Review Safety Equipment, File Float Plan, Rules of the Road, NOAA Buoys, Report Hazard, Report Pollution, Report Suspicious Activity and a big red button for Emergency Assistance.
There are many weather apps. Many ABCA members use Weather Underground, Windy and Storm.