Certifying a race on a ship?

I would use the method Pete Reigel used in the post that Jeff John referenced in the other thread.
http://www.usatf.org/events/co...p?courseID=OH10005PR

I did this for a track near me that wasn't coming out correctly in a google earth measurement. It did come out to very close to 400m when I measured it on site with this method.

But you really need to have a measuring wheel, or Rolatape as Pete called it, that measures continuously, as opposed to a wheel that clicks off a meter with each revolution. The latter kind makes it difficult to do an accurate calibration. I bought one online for about $20. It is plastic and cheap, but it gives repeatable results when doing multiple "rides" of a calibration course, and that's all that really matters.

BTW, your calibration course for a measuring wheel does not need to be long because there is no initial wobble.

Calibrated lifeboat?

I can see Jim's post (to be released April 1, 2017), regarding this particular measurement. I am looking forward to reading about it!

I would steel-tape a calibration course on a straight stretch, using railing posts as endpoints. I don't see a problem using a 1-meter wheel, though, if you mark 5 cm increments on the wheel prior to use. That is similar to using spokes on a bike tire for portions of a revolution. I would rather use a larger wheel, instead of a Rolotape.

I assume the ship will be in port for a change of passengers, allowing the measurement to be completed while there are few people milling around. I would try to get a full cruise out of it, though, (I'd even accept a discounted cruise rate), and measure late at night or early in the morning, so there was no one milling around at all.

The next question, though, is: Who has jurisdiction for records? Today the ship may be in U.S. waters, tomorrow in the Caribbean, next month in the Mediterranean or Pacific.

This may be the ship we cruised on down to Honduras earlier this year. Before we sailed out of Galveston (ship not moving), I walked the track on the uppermost deck with my gps watch. The sign said that it was seven laps to the mile, but seven laps turned out to be only about 0.80 miles.

You can measure it anyway you want but if you want to attach the word "Certify" then you only have one choice.
IAAF Rule 240.3 note
Note (i): For measurement, the “Calibrated Bicycle Method” shall be used.
The word "shall" does not give an option

I'm the guilty party. I certified a marathon, half marathon, 10k and 5k on the Oasis of the Seas. My husband built me a bike wheel on a fork with a handle. We put a Jones counter on the hub. I calibrated the wheel on a 1000' calibration course. I created a 60 meter course on the ship, just to check my numbers. Then I measured the circuit twice, using the calibrated bicycle method with a SCPF. I figured out how many loops were needed for each race and the partial needed for each race. There was a different start line for each race. Then I recalibrated the wheel. Since we don't know exactly where the ship will be at any time the races may be put on, we used the reference of ship terminology for the compass.

The race director was selling a package deal for participants who were taking the cruise. Who am I to question the what the customer wants?