Hawaii Afloat aims to provide the most essential and helpful resources for boating in Hawaii. On the drop down menu first you’ll find the Hawaii All Islands Marine Directory of all the important web links and phone numbers that every boater in Hawaii should know. No need to ask who to call for boat bottom cleaning, diesel engine repair, etc. it’s all right here. Now, who is the best person to call? We’ll let you decide but here are all the links. The drop down menu also lists a page about general boating and navigation resources, applicable anywhere.
Besides the quick links on the homepage to government and weather sites, other essential resources that every Hawaii boater would be interested in are:
Noodle’s Notes – A free .pdf booklet that local sailor Bill Leary wrote that details his 50 years of notes about sailing around the Hawaiian islands. Updated in 2020, Bill has written a truly remarkable and indispensable complete cruising guide that is comprehensive and easy to read. An absolute must have reference for anyone sailing around the Hawaiian islands. Mahalo Bill for making this for everyone and giving it to the world for free!
Cruising Guide to the Hawaiian Islands – Link to purchase this book (3rd Edition, 2018) on Amazon. This book by Carolyn and Bob Mehaffy is the most comprehensive book that you can buy* about cruising by boat in Hawaii.
US Coast Pilot 10 – Link to free online version of this official US government publication, updated annually by NOAA. Coast Pilot 10 is like a cruising guide for Oregon, Washington, Hawaii and Pacific Islands. If you want to purchase a hard copy of this thick book, you can get it here. Chapter 9, pages 349- 418 are about Hawaii. Most of the book, especially the first two chapters and the appendix are of general interest. There are some interesting things in this official publication about Hawaii cruising, meant to supplement NOAA charts, but you wouldn’t necessarily use it in place of local knowledge.
* Another book familiar to cruisers was going to be listed here: Charlie’s Charts of Hawaii. This book was a trusted reference in the past and had a lot of good useful information but the book hasn’t been updated in so long that as of 2022 the information is now seriously outdated and isn’t recommended as a resource.