2026 ICW Cruising Guide

For your coming adventure on the ICW, it’s good to know what’s ahead as you plan your trip, and I hope to lend you a hand in doing just that with this guide. After all, my motto is:

“I make all the mistakes first, so you don’t have to!” 

2026 ICW Cruising Guide can be purchased at Ama

zon, Waterway Guide, and Landfall Navigation. 

What’s new?

Know your chart symbols! Do you know what SG-SY means for a daymark? Do you know the symbol for a missing or off-station buoy? Do you know how to tell if anchoring is prohibited where you want to drop the hook for the night? The answers to all this and much more are in the new chapter 11.
178 hazard charts have been updated. The one constant on the ICW is change! 2025-2026 was a record year for dredging, but the ICW still has a plentiful supply of shallow areas.

What’s still needed?

ICW Navigation Requires New Skills. You may have been around the world or cruised for 40 years, but if it’s your first time on the Atlantic ICW, you need to read the article in Chapter 10. All your experience still applies, of course, but there are nuances to navigating the ICW that apply more so here than anywhere else.
Are you ready for a boat inspection in Florida? Florida has more requirements than the Coast Guard! See if your boat can pass an inspection by the Florida Wildlife Commission (FWC).
How to Read Bridge Height Boards. Sure, most have tic marks, but what about the ones that don’t?
The ICW Cruising Guide has expanded to over 300 pages to provide essential ICW information with over 500 links to additional online sources. The links are active in the eBook and Waterway Guide versions. An active link list is available on the download site at bobicw.blogspot.com or by accessing the QR code icon on the next page. No more Googling the links!
Technology never sleeps. Many updates have been released since last year and they are covered in this guide.
Split screen basics, display Aqua Map and Navionics side by side on your iPad or Android tablet.
Crowd Sourcing Bathymetry comes to Aqua Map. Share your soundings with NOAA.
Max Parker of Zimmerman Marine continues his article on How to ICW-Proof Your Engine. Max Parker, head of yard operations at Zimmerman Marine, gives insight from 25 years of servicing ICW cruisers on maintaining our engines for trouble-free operation.
I cover the weather models most valuable to boaters and the apps that best display them. Two examples show the differences in predictions from weather fronts and during summer thunderstorms.
Aqua Map Master should be your first navigation app investment. You will find a coupon in the guide for 25% off the initial purchase price of Aqua Map charts, so be sure to take advantage of the offer if you don’t already have Aqua Map

Chapters 1 – 3: Cover getting your house and boat ready for the trip south and your affairs for an extended stay away from your land home.
Chapter 4: Cooking on the ICW, what’s needed, what works
Chapter 5: Staying informed. What apps and sources are most useful
Chapter 6: Basic Knowledge of the ICW – the fundamentals for those new to the ICW
Chapter 7: ICW University – Going beyond the basics for cruisers of all experience levels
Chapter 8: How to ICW-Proof Your Engine by Max Parker of Zimmerman Marine – long distances at slow speeds are not best for your engine; how to compensate?
Chapter 9: Introduction to Weather Apps by Bob423 – Some forecast better than others
Chapter 10: ICW Navigation Requires New Skills – a must-read before you start your ICW adventure
Chapter 11: What do all those chart symbols mean? You could study the 134 page NOAA Chart 1 book but who has the time to do that? I cover the symbols that will affect your cruising and boating safety. It’s a must for those going south.
Chapter 12: Provides charts of shoaling areas by mile marker and shows how to avoid grounding. Also included are the anchorages and marinas conveniently spaced for traveling south. Not every marina or anchorage is covered, since there are many books available for that purpose, most notably the Waterway Guide Series of guidebooks. I wanted to focus on the places I found the most convenient, and in the case of anchorages, those with shore access for pet relief and spaced at convenient stopping points.

To stay informed about current trouble spots, please follow the Waterway Guide Alerts and the ICW Cruising Guide Facebook page.