River Flow Compensation

$theta = sin^-1( | V_(WL) |/| V_(BW) |)$

$(V_(WL))"Velocity of the water current."$

$(V_(BW))"Forward velocity of the boat."$

Tags

The Flow Compensation Angle equation computes the angle (Θ) needed to steer /attachments/0089582b-2808-11e6-9770-bc764e2038f2/Boat and River.png Boat traversing river up-stream enough to achieve a straight course across a flow based on the speed of the vehicle (V_BW) and the speed of the current (V_LW). This is an exercise in vectors. See Diagram.

INSTRUCTIONS: Choose your preferred velocity units and enterr the following:

(V_BW) - Velocity of the boat
(V_LW) - Velocity of the current of the river.

The calculator returns the needed angle (Θ) upstream to keep a direct coarse across the river. Note, if the velocity of the boat is less than the velocity of the current, it is impossible to go straight across.

Reference

Light and Matter (B.Crowell) Chapter 8.1 The velocity vector.