Welcome Aboard!

You've arrived at the digital home port of Marine Publishing Co.'s annual field guide Know Your Ships: Guide to Boats & Boatwatching on the Great Lakes & St. Lawrence Seaway, now in its 53rd year. Meant not only for those with a casual interest in the parade of nautical commerce that passes our shores, Know Your Ships also has plenty to interest the more serious-minded individuals who have a passion for the ships that ply the inland seas.

Besides the essential stats (owner, year built, length, capacity and former names) for hundreds of freighters, tugs, barges, Coast Guard cutters and saltwater visitors, Know Your Ships also contains essentials about the cargoes the big boats carry; where they load and unload; the locks, canals and waterways they transit; what the boat whistles mean; a guide to stack markings and nation flags, plus ways to follow the freighters as they make their way from port to port. And 2012 adds a section dedicated to Marine Museums.

If you'd like to find out more about the new edition of Know Your Ships, visit our 2012 KYS section.

The 2012 edition of Know Your Ships is now available!

The standard, perfect-bound edition of KYS is still only $18.95 and the special spiral-bound edition is just $20.95 (Limited Quantities). Order yours now!

More from KYS!

We've recently added a line of fashionable t-shirts and hats. If you're proud to be from the Great Lakes region, a hardcore fan of BoatNerd.com, or just like the idea of steaming Full Ahead!, these shirts are just the thing to show your passion. We've even added a shirt for Little BoatNerds.

The presses have also rolled on the new edition of our popular Stack & Flag Chart, showing the funnel markings, house flags and flags of registry for the major Great Lakes and Seaway fleets, as well as frequent saltwater visitors. It measures 18x24 inches and is perfect for framing.

Not sure what to get the BoatNerd in your life? We now offer gift certificates, redeemable on PayPal orders. And don't forget to "friend" us on Facebook (click the link at right) to receive special announcements and updates from Know Your Ships.

Be sure to check out the KYS Gallery. We've just added a gallery of historic ship stack markings as well as a selection of Great Lakes shipping-related videos from Know Your Ships Home Movies for you to enjoy.

Thanks for stopping by!