User Guide

This is the main application screen of savvy navvy. As is a nautical navigation app the chart is the most important view. The chart behaves like most map apps you can pinch to zoom in and out and scroll the map by dragging. If you are not using a touchscreen then onscreen controls will be available instead of gestures and you can zoom using the mouse wheel.

Note not all features are available on all plans if you can’t see the feature then your plan doesn’t have it.

There is also a detailed knowledge base that has more detailed answers about specific features and questions.

The main menu has the following features and is accessible via the three bar Menu icon from the main screens.

• Account manage your communications preferences and your email address, logout of the app
• Tips simple helpful tips for common actions in the app
• Membership manage your subscription, upgrade or cancel from here
• Settings manage what sort of craft you have, the units to use, customise the boat polar
• Offline charts select areas to store for offline use
• Saved lists your saved routes and tracks
• Tell a friend share savvy navvy with your friends
• Help link to our knowledge base
• Chat with us if you need specific help
• Language this will be set to the default for your device change it here
• Privacy policy how we manage your data
• Third party notices explains the licenses we use for the app
• Terms of service are the rules that apply when using the app

savvy navvy integrates marina and anchorage information from our partners and also has buoy and beacon information from our hydrographic data providers. There is a search function to find areas and locations on the chart.

Anchorage and marina information can be found by selecting the blue anchorage and marina markers on the chart. The information for the anchorage will show conditions and how suitable it might be for anchoring. The marina will show opening hours, berths and contact details. You can quickly route to the anchorage or marina using the navigate to button or add it as a waypoint for your route.

To find out the information on any buoy or beacon select it on the chart. This will display the information for the buoy such as its type name and any light sequence it has, which will be shown in an animation.

The weather tab lets you explore the weather at any observed position on the chart. Select the weather tab and then tap/click on the chart where you want to find out the weather conditions. A green marker will appear and the weather timeline will be displayed. The weather forecast is for several days into the future and the forecast length depends on your subscription plan. 

You can see the current wind conditions as an animated overlay by selecting the wind animation action button of the chart. This toggles the animation on and off. The animation can be power hungry so it’s best not to leave it running continually, rather to get an idea of how conditions are going to change in the future.

The weather timeline can be scrolled into the future and the current time now is marked by a light blue line. You cannot scroll very far back past now. The timeline also shows the day and night cycle, night has a darker background. The actual observed time is shown at the top of the timeline and changes as you scroll. 

The wind speed is colour coded using the following scheme:

• Blue light winds
• Green ideal conditions
• Yellow - Orange uncomfortable conditions
• Red dangerous conditions
• Purple extreme conditions 

The wind trend line shows future wind forecast by colour and the observed time forecast wind speed in your chosen units. The wind direction shows the forecast direction of the wind at the observed point and is colour coded and the forecast average speed is shown below.

The weather forecast is shown in addition to the average air temperature. The forecast model can be changed, ECMWF Mixed is a much more accurate model and is available depending on the subscription plan.

In areas where it is tidal you can find out the local tidal conditions from the times tab. The tidal features that are available will depend on your subscription plan. Select the Tides tab and then tap/click on the chart where you want to find out the tidal conditions. A purple marker will appear and the tidal heights graph timeline will be displayed. The purple marker will show the direction and flow strength at the observed time at this position. 

A purple and white diamond will also appear; this is the tidal station used for the tidal heights graph timeline. The tidal information is for several days into the future and the length depends on your subscription plan. 

You can see the current tidal conditions as an overlay by selecting the tidal streams action button of the chart. This toggles the tidal flow atlas on and off. This will show the wider tidal flow conditions for the observed time.

The tidal timeline can be scrolled into the future and the current time now is marked by a light blue line. You cannot scroll very far back past now. The timeline also shows the day and night cycle, night has a darker background. The actual observed time is shown at the top of the timeline and changes as you scroll. 

The tidal graph line shows the future tidal heights over time and the observed tidal height in your chosen units. The tidal station where these heights are from is shown at the button left of the graph.

A route also known as a float plan is a way of planning a trip when using your boat. Savvy navvy uses a system called weather routing which takes account of the weather and tides when planning your route.

A route consists of several waypoints which at a minimum include the start point and endpoint, intermediate waypoints can also be added.

Waypoints are added to the chart by tapping or clicking on the chart.

As the waypoints are added a dotted line will appear, this shows the direct route calculated by savvy navvy. This route is only temporary, the full route is calculated when you have added all your way points and use the Plot route button.

Any waypoint can be moved to a different location by dragging the waypoint.

The selected waypoint is also shown larger on the chart and also appears in the route waypoint panel.

The waypoint panel allows you to see a summary of the waypoints and delete the selected waypoint. Scroll the panel to see all the waypoints on the route.

You can remove the whole route by selecting the clear option.

Waypoints are useful for guiding the route to specific locations or around specific features. Waypoints should always be placed in navigable water.

Use waypoints sparingly because the route is calculated automatically between them and they are not required for the whole route.

The Route options from the top menu allow:

• Change boat settings
• Save the route area as an offline chart area

When you are happy with your waypoints for the planned route, select the Plot route button. This will calculate a weather route tailored for your craft. The weather route is calculated for the weather and tide conditions at the current time. To change the departure time select the depart at time drop down at the top of the chart window. Changing the time will cause the weather route to be recalculated.

The weather route panel shows the expected arrival time,  the duration ,the distance and a summary of the conditions.

The weather route has several features. If using a sailboat the sailing portion is marked in blue. If using the engine or a motor boat the power portion is marked in yellow. Legs on the course are marked by the way points or circular markers.

If you create a route you  use a lot you can save the route to your saved routes panel using the save button. You can also share out with your friends using the share button.

If a route is not found, select the modify button to change the waypoints or the departure time. 

Sometimes a route cannot be found because of the settings for your boat. Check that these are set as you expect for the conditions. For example if there is no wind and you have a sailboat you need to enable the engine option. 

Another common issue is narrow channels. In these cases move the waypoint into more open water. A route cannot be plotted if there is no navigable water between the waypoints.

The Route options from the top menu allow:

• Change boat settings
• Export the route to the chart plotter
• Reverse the route
• Save the route area as an offline chart area

Once a route has been plotted there are more actions available. Show details will display a step-by-step summary or float plan for the route. Each leg of the route will have details of course and timings. The sail icon means raise sails for a sailboat. The steering icon indicates course changes. The wind icon indicates slight change to your direction to suit conditions. Select the show less button to close the panel.

You can modify the route from the modify button. You can add waypoints to the end of the route. You can move anyway point by dragging it. You can delete any waypoint by selecting the waypoint and using the delete waypoint button on the waypoint panel.

You can preview the route. Preview will show the route step by step. The previews show the course to steer and your course over ground. It will show the next change of heading. You can step through the route legs using the arrow keys.

If your plan has the departure schedule feature select the schedule icon at the top of the chart to plan the optimal departure time.

The departure scheduler I will show every 15 minutes how your planned weather route will perform for future conditions. The calculated time for each route is shown as well as the portion spent against the tide sailing or on engine. The colour coding represents the wind conditions and the wind colour legend is at the bottom of the scheduler. This allows you to pick an optimal time to complete your route. By scrolling up and down the scheduler you can see the options. The scheduler is limited by the length of your weather forecast.

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The GPS view is your virtual chart plotter and allows you to see what is around the boat as you travel. You can use this view if you have a route or if you don’t. When you have a route the route track is shown.

The latitude and longitude of your current position is shown at the top of the screen. The compass action button allows you to change route orientation to either North up which aligns north to the top of the screen or heading up which aligns the vessel’s heading to the top of the screen. 

The green chevron indicates your position and the lead line shows your projected Course over Ground. You have to be moving for this to be accurate as it is calculated from your changing position. The range circles show distances depending on the chart zoom level to help in determining the range to chart features. 

The Re-centre button will appear if you pan the chart. It will move the chart back to centre on your position. The Record button will record your track and save it once you stop recording. The Course over Ground COG shows your actual true position and direction on the charts. The Speed over Ground SOG shows your speed along your course. The Course to Steer CTS is shown for the current leg of the route. By steering on this CTS heading the vessel should follow the route's COG taking into account tidal currents.

When you are recording a track the vessel track is shown as a red line. To stop recording and view the track summary press the Stop icon or button.

When you have reached your destination and want to set the anchor alarm press the anchor icon. When the button is pressed this is the assumed drop point of the anchor. You can then set the exclusion angle. 

Remember the GPS position is for your device which must be on the vessel for this to be useful for navigation or for the anchor alarm feature.

How to set the anchor alarm. Select the anchor alarm  button when you anchor the boat. Ideally do this when you drop the anchor. 

Alternatively when the boat is in reverse pulling against the anchor, press the anchor button and then move the anchor by dragging on the chart to the position where the anchor was dropped. If you are recording a track this position may be visible on the track. The distance shown between the boat and the anchor should be the approximate length of the amount of chain you have out. This is the safe swing area and represents the maximum distance you can be from your anchor.

When setting the safe swing area the system will add a small buffer between the location of the anchor and the location of the boat so as not to trigger a false alarm.

If you are near an obstruction or the shore you may want to exclude that area from the safe swing area. Adjust the Angle to anchor slider and ensure that the exclusion zone covers the obstruction you are trying to avoid. The angle to anchor is based on your position relative to the anchor so use trial and error to get it in the right place.

Once you are happy with the safe swing area displayed by the dotted line press the set alarm button. The safe swing area will be coloured green and the anchor  alarm will be armed. If the boat  moves out of the safe swing area the alarm will sound. To stop the alarm press the disarm button. 

For the alarm to sound make sure the device will be charged, it is not in silent or do not disturb mode and the savvy navvy app needs to be running. The device also needs to remain on the boat.

If you get a false alarm you can adjust the settings by pressing the settings icon. You can modify the exclusion zone by moving the Angle to anchor,  slider. You can modify the safe swing radius by dragging the anchor icon.

To fully turn off the anchor alarm press Disarm and then press the close icon.

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If using your vessel in areas where there is no data coverage you can download charts and weather to use offline. These are called offline chart packs. Currently offline chart packs do not include tidal information but support for this is planned. The system allows you to choose a rectangular area which will then be used to download the chart information and the weather forecast. 

The length of the forecast can be chosen to limit data use. To access Offline charts select them from the main menu. When your device has no data coverage it will appear as offline and any saved offline chart area will appear labeled offline with a dotted outline.

To create a new offline chart pack select the map download icon. Existing chart packs will appear as a list. These can be renamed, updated or deleted from the options menu. If the chart pack data is out of date then a warning message will appear. If you select an existing offline area in the list then you will see a summary of the area and its status. You can delete the pack. If you want to redefine the offline area then delete it and create a new pack.

When you create a new pack a chart view will appear with the offline area  viewport. The  offline area is the area that will be saved. You can refine the area you want by zooming and panning the chart.

There are some things to consider when defining the offline area . The size of the area will have a direct influence on the amount of data stored and the ability to download the data. If the pack download fails try a smaller area as this will be more likely to succeed.  It's much easier to download these offline packs on wifi before setting off.

The forecast slider allows you to select the forecast future days duration and the longer it is the more data is downloaded, the data storage required is shown. Forecast accuracy can diverge over time so long range forecasts are more changeable. The download button will create the offline chart pack and it will appear in your offline chart pack list.

Note that when plotting a route or viewing a saved route the Route options top menu has an option to Save the route offline. This will create an offline pack to contain the route and is an easy way to make sure you have the charts and weather for your planned activity.

All recorded tracks are saved so you can review your progress and share it with others. You can also save routes you use frequently so you don’t have to re-enter the waypoints. The saved routes and racks are found under the Saved entry in the main menu. You can share, rename and delete routes and tracks using the options menu.

Selecting a saved route will take you to the Route view with that route already input select Plot route to replot the route for the current conditions.

Selecting a saved track will show the track on the chart with a summary of the distance time and speed and a pace chart. You can share a link to the track.

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