1. 5 Your “Highway” Signs Chapter
Copyright Coast Guard Auxiliary Association, Inc. 14th ed.

2. Chapter 5
Your “Highway” Signs

3. Lesson Objectives Aids to Navigation (ATONS) Cautions in using ATONS
Meaning of charts symbols
Availability of electronic ATONS
Reference materials – changes in ATONS

4. Buoyage System There are 4 Buoyage Systems in US US ATON System
Intracoastal Waterway System
Western Rivers System
Private Aids to Navigation – PATONS

5. US Direction of Bouyage
Red, Right, Returning
Returning from sea!
Clockwise around U.S.
Numbering system

6. US ATON System

7. US ATON System

8. US ATON Lateral System
Made up of Shapes, Colors, Alpha Numeric, and Lights

9. ATON Channels
INTRACOASTAL WATERWAY
INTRACOASTAL WATERWAY

10. ATONS Help determine a safe course Help determine where you are
Help navigate to reach destination
Are shown on chart
Any object visible from the water

11. ATONS Short Range Buoys Day beacons Lights Major lights
Directional or sector lights
Ranges
Racons
Sound Signals

12. ATONS Anything visible from the water
Towers and smokestacks (usually lighted)
Monuments
Bridges
Distinctive land formations
Buildings
Objects must appear on chart to take accurate fixes

13. ATONS ATONS are protected by law Do not: Alter Destroy Move Tie up to
Climb on
Obscure others view

14. Isolated Danger

15. Safe Water

16. Special Marks

17. Information and Regulatory

18. Mooring Buoy

19. Student Activity What are types of ATONS? CANS NUNS Preferred
Channel Marker
Safe Water Marker 1 2 3

20. Uniform State Waterway Marking System
Merged with US ATON system in 2003

21. Waterway Marks/Buoys Characteristics Reprinted with permission from
The Weekend Navigator by Bob Sweet

22. Waterway Marks / Pillar Buoys

23. Waterway Marks / Spherical Buoy

24. Waterway Marks/Nun & Can Buoy

25. Waterway Marks/Cautions
Watch circle
Position Approximate - PA
Light and acoustics may fail
Off station due to drifting

26. Waterway Marks/Day Beacons
Daymarks
Day beacon

27. Waterway Marks
Triangular Daymark
Square Daymark

28. Waterway Marks
Diamond shaped day marks
Location Only

29. Waterway Marks
Safe Water ATONS

30. Waterway Marks
Preferred Channel Mark

31. Waterway Marks
Light structures

32. Waterway Marks Ranges Pair of ATONS Rear ATON higher
Determines center of channel
May be lighted or not

33. Student Activity Name different Waterway Marks Range Markers
Day Markers
Regulatory Markers 1 2 3

34. Light Characteristics
Fixed - ON continuously
Occulting - ON time greater than OFF
Isophase -ON time equal to OFF
Flashing (2.5, 4, or 6 Sec)
Quick flashing

35. Light Characteristics
Preferred channel lights
Color Green or Red
Characteristic:
2 flashes followed by 1 flash

36. Chart Symbols Symbols for fixed lights Symbols for buoys
Symbols for day marks

37. Intracoastal Waterway
ICW
Yellow triangles, squares
Note yellow on marks

38. Intracoastal Waterway

39. Intracoastal Waterway
Dual Purpose Marks
Used to mark coastal waters and ICW
Sometimes: yellow triangle on square lateral mark, or a yellow square on triangle lateral mark
If following ICW, use yellow marks
If following main channel, follow red/green lateral marks

40. Light Structures Light houses Classes of lights Light structures
Light sectors
Sound signals

41. Lights on Bridges Bridges marked on charts by type:
Fixed, Swing, Bascule, Lift, etc.
Lights on bridges are not part of buoyage system
Drawbridges
RED Lights - Bridge is closed
GREEN Lights - Bridge is open
Green lights mark channel centerline for fixed bridge - Red lights mark sides of channel
Preferred channel marked with white lights

42. Electronic ATONS GPS RACON Global Positioning System (GPS)
Differential GPS
Wide Area Augmentation Systems (WAAS-GPS)
RACON
RAdar beaCON

43. Navigation Publications
Local notice to mariners
Local Notice to Mariners Online
Chart No. 1: Nautical Chart Symbols, Abbreviations, and Terms
Light List (Seven Volumes)
Coast Pilots
Approved by DC-E USCG AuxA, Inc

44. Thank you
Illustrations provided by McGraw Hill Education
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