eNavShorebased · intermediate

RYA eNavigation

Almost every boat now navigates electronically, and almost every avoidable incident involving a plotter comes from trusting the screen without checking it. This course teaches electronic navigation as a working skill: how to set up a chartplotter or multifunction display so it tells you what you need, how electronic charts are built and where they mislead, how a GPS fix is actually made and how it fails, and how to use AIS, radar overlay, digital tides and digital weather to make better decisions. You practise on the RYA's own eNavigation training data — real plotter screens, tide tables, tidal streams and forecasts — and finish by planning and monitoring a passage entirely on screen, then proving you can carry on when the screen goes dark.

Syllabus Highlights

0 sections · 0 topics · 151 outcomes

Key topics & assessment areas

Detailed syllabus coming soon. Scan the module list below for course content.

Full RYA syllabus →Shareable preview page →

Prerequisite Knowledge

Before you book

What you should know

but basic chartwork and buoyage knowledge is expected

Required RYA qualifications

RYASuitable from RYA Day Skipper theory level upwards. No previous experience of chartplotters is assumed

Level · intermediate

Where we run it

Available locations

Fornells, Menorca
Menorca
RCMB, Barcelona
Barcelona

See scheduled dates →

Enrollment

Enroll on RYA eNavigation

Enrolling creates your course record so you can follow the syllabus, access course materials, track competencies and book practical sessions when dates suit you.

Delivered by Mt Sail & Power. Questions before you start? sail@mtsail.com

Course Content

What you'll cover

Electronic navigation and its place alongside paper

Video3 lessonsOpen

Explain what electronic navigation does well and what it does badly.

Watch — training videos

Teaching real-world eNav skills
An RYA training conference session on the practical eNavigation habits that keep a crew safe: monitoring position, cross-checking, and knowing what to do when the screen goes blank.
Video: Royal Yachting Association · Watch on YouTube

How to use a Portland plotter
The paper skill that underpins the digital one: using a Portland plotter to take and lay off courses and bearings on a chart.
Video: Royal Yachting Association · Watch on YouTube

Trusted sources of navigation data (RYA #DigitalFirst)
Where the data on your screen comes from, how to tell an official chart source from a crowd-sourced one, and why keeping charts up to date still matters.
Video: Royal Yachting Association · Watch on YouTube

Lessons (3)

Briefing: what electronics changed, and what they did not60 min
Practical: the same passage planned on paper and on screen90 min
Debrief, key points and self-check30 min

Chartplotters and multifunction displays: setting up the screen

3 lessonsOpen

Set up a plotter or MFD so the information you need is visible at a glance.

Lessons (3)

Briefing: display setup, orientation, units and alarms60 min
Practical: set up an unfamiliar plotter from scratch90 min
Debrief and self-check30 min

Electronic charts: raster, vector, scale and their traps

Video3 lessonsOpen

Distinguish raster and vector charts and explain the practical consequences of each.

Watch — training videos

Lessons (3)

Briefing: raster and vector charts, scale and updates60 min
Practical: interrogating chart objects and testing overzoom90 min
Debrief and self-check30 min

GPS and GNSS: how a fix is made, accuracy and failure modes

Video3 lessonsOpen

Explain in outline how a GNSS receiver produces a position.

Watch — training videos

Lessons (3)

Briefing: how GNSS works, accuracy and geometry60 min
Practical: reading status pages and handling a suspect fix90 min
Debrief and self-check30 min

Routes, waypoints and cross-track error

Video3 lessonsOpen

Build a route with waypoints placed where they help rather than where they are convenient.

Watch — training videos

Digital route planning (RYA #DigitalFirst)
An RYA Digital First session on planning a route on screen: building it leg by leg, checking each leg against the chart, and reviewing it before you rely on it.
Video: Royal Yachting Association · Watch on YouTube

Lessons (3)

Briefing: routes, waypoints, corridors and alarms60 min
Practical: build and sail a route, correcting by XTE90 min
Debrief and self-check30 min

AIS: what it shows, what it misses

Video3 lessonsOpen

Explain the difference between Class A and Class B AIS and what each transmits.

Watch — training videos

Relative motion on screen (RYA #DigitalFirst)
How relative motion works on radar and plotter displays, and how to tell whether a target is genuinely on a collision course with you.
Video: Royal Yachting Association · Watch on YouTube

Lessons (3)

Briefing: AIS classes, CPA and TCPA, and limitations60 min
Practical: reading and interpreting a busy AIS picture90 min
Debrief and self-check30 min

Radar overlay and collision avoidance on screen

Video3 lessonsOpen

Explain what radar adds that AIS and GPS cannot.

Watch — training videos

Lessons (3)

Briefing: radar principles, setup and interpretation60 min
Practical: radar overlay, bearing lines and range markers90 min
Debrief and self-check30 min

Tidal heights and streams from electronic sources

3 lessonsOpen

Obtain tidal heights and streams from electronic sources and state their basis.

Lessons (3)

Briefing: electronic tides, sources and cross-checks60 min
Practical: one tidal problem worked three ways on the training data90 min
Debrief and self-check30 min

Weather routing and digital forecasts

3 lessonsOpen

Identify the main digital forecast products and what each is for.

Lessons (3)

Briefing: digital forecast products and model limits60 min
Practical: building one weather picture from the training data90 min
Debrief and self-check30 min

Passage planning end to end on the plotter, and what to do when it fails

Video3 lessonsOpen

Plan a complete passage electronically, with tidal gates, contingencies and a pilotage plan.

Watch — training videos

Garmin ActiveCaptain app: overview
Planning on a phone or tablet and syncing to the plotter.
Garmin's walk-through of the ActiveCaptain app: syncing user data with the plotter, downloading charts, planning waypoints and routes on a phone, and the Helm screen-mirroring feature.
Video: Royal Yachting Association · Watch on YouTube

Lessons (3)

Briefing: building a full electronic passage plan60 min
Practical: plan, sail and monitor the passage on the training data120 min
Practical: the plotter fails — continue on DR, log and chart60 min

Garmin chartplotter and radar in practice

Video7 lessonsOpen

Hands-on work on our own kit: a Garmin GPSMAP 923 and a GMR 18 HDx radar — set-up, routes, radar picture, AIS and failure drills, with Garmin's own tutorials and on-board drills.

Watch — training videos