User Guide

If you need to get more help, such as frequently asked questions on subscriptions, billings and accessing accounts, then please use our extensive Knowledge Base. We also have a YouTube playlist of video tutorials on how to use the app for all the main features.

This is the main application screen of Savvy Navvy. As it's 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.

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. Take some time to explore the interface to see what is available under each option.

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
• 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
• Anchor alarm set the anchor alarm at your current location
• Offline charts select areas to store for offline use
• 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 which will plot a route instantly from your location. Use Add waypoint to add this location to a route you are currently planning.

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 as an accurate animation.

The weather tab lets you explore the weather at any observed position on the chart. Select the weather tab a marker appears on the on the chart where you want to find out the weather conditions. To explore the weather in other locations drag and zoom the chart under the maker to the desired location.. The weather marker shows the wind speed and wind gust speed a direction at your location. In addition a weather gram chart is displayed that shows the forecast wind and weather. 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 option from the chart detail layers using the layers icon. 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 with a darker blue line 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 graph 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 and predicted rainfall. 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 a marker will spear showing the current tidal direction and speed. A purple diamond tidal station marker will appear: this is the tidal station used for the tidal heights graph timeline, the name and location of the station is displayed. The tidal heights graph timeline will be displayed.

The tidal information is for several days into the future and the length depends on your subscription plan. You can scroll the tidal graph to see the future tidal conditions. The times of low and high water are marked on the graph by dotted lines and timestamps. The height of the tide can also be read off from the graph. The actual observed time is shown at the top of the timeline and changes as you scroll it has a dark blue line. 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.

You can see the current tidal conditions as an overlay by selecting the Tidal streams chart details from the layers icon. This toggles the tidal flow atlas on and off. This will show the wider tidal flow conditions for the observed time.

OHA (over the horizon) AIS

AIS, or Automatic Identification System, is a crucial tool for marine navigation that enhances safety and awareness by providing real-time information about surrounding vessels. It functions like a digital radar, operating through VHF radio waves in the maritime band. Other versions of AIS displays connect directly to the AIS equipment on your vessel, savvy navvy currently does not support this direct connection. This means that vessels without AIS equipment but using savvy navvy can still use AIS.

savvy navvy uses OHA (over the horizon) AIS information, so WiFi or cellular data is needed. If savvy navvy is offline a warning message is shown and the AIS display is disabled. Avoid nasty surprises by knowing where other boats are, especially in busy areas or bad weather. Always use your own judgment and navigation skills in addition to AIS information.

AIS data updates regularly, but might not be instant. For each vessel a positional variance area is shown, this wiggle room is shown around each vessel's position to account for variable update intervals. Also be aware vessels without functioning AIS equipment will not be displayed.

To enable the AIS feature open the layers menu and toggle on the Internet AIS chart details layer. The range of the AIS information shown is based on your savvy navvy product plan. Elite plan will show vessels up to 50 nm from your chart view or position. Other plans will only show vessels a limited distance from your current position.

Vessels are colour coded by vessel type and large vessels are shown differently to small craft. Tap a vessel to see its details, including speed, course, and last update time. By dragging up the information sheet the full details can be seen such as course and position.

The vessel information may very slightly depending on the vessel type. Hide the info panel for a clean chart view. Set waypoints or even navigate directly to another vessel's location.

You can read our article about the savvy navvy AIS launch

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.

You can select a waypoint by tapping it on the chart or scrolling the waypoint list sideways, the selected waypoint is in the center of the waypoint list. The selected waypoint is also shown centered and larger on the chart. Scroll the panel sideways to see all the waypoints on the route. Delete waypoint will delete the selected waypoint. The selected waypoint will show its position and the charted depth. It will also show the outline route distance to the next waypoint.

You can remove the whole route to start again by selecting the Clear option.

Save will save the route waypoints into your Saved items which you can access from the bottom menu bar.

Share will share the route waypoints with any messaging app on the device that supports it.

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.

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 vessel. 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 often you can save the route to your saved routes using the Save button. You can also share the route 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. If the mast is too high for bridges or your minimum depth is too shallow for the charted depth along the route.

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.

Once a route has been plotted there are more actions available.

Start will enter the navigation view.

Dragging up the route panel 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. Drag the panel down to close it or to show just the route actions. If the panel closes completely you can reopen it by pressing Plan in the menu bar at the bottom.

Clear will remove all waypoints so you can start again.

Modify button allows you to edit the route by adding, moving or deleting waypoints. You can add a waypoint by tapping the chart at the location you want to place it. You can add a waypoint by selecting a point of interest like a buoy or anchorage and using Add waypoint. You can insert a waypoint into an existing leg by long pressing on the dotted outline route until a waypoint is inserted, this will relabel all the waypoints in sequence. You can move any waypoint by dragging it. You can delete any waypoint by selecting the waypoint and using the delete waypoint button on the waypoint panel. Select Plot route to return to the routing view, using the modified route.

Save will save the route waypoints into your Saved items which you can access from the bottom menu bar.

Share will share the route waypoints with any messaging app on the device that supports it.

Export will export your route as a GPX file via any messaging app, use the GPX file as an input to a onboard cart plotter or other device.

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

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Scheduler

The departure scheduler will show every 30 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. If you select one of the route bars from the scheduler it will replot your route for that time and display it on the chart. Use the scheduler to save time and fuel by selecting a departure that minimises the tide against you, or pick a time when you can maximise your sailing time.

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The navigation 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. To enter the navigation view select the blue Start button on the chart.

Without a plotted route

Your current GPS Course Over Ground (COG) is shown at the top of the screen in the compass display, this is your true heading based on continuous GPS fixes. 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 true heading to the top of the screen. The distance measuring tool is also available.

The green chevron indicates your position and heading the lead line shows your projected COG. You have to be moving for this to be accurate as it is calculated from your changing position.

In the bottom left of the screen is your Speed Over Ground (SOG) which is calculated from your vessel movement.

The Re-centre button will appear if you pan the chart. It will move the chart back to centre on your vessels position. Your track will be automatically recorded and appear as a red line following the vessel. It will be automatically saved when you exit the navigation view.

To STOP navigation open the weather panel chevron or use the exit options menu. There will be a Stop track option which is the way to exit the navigation view.

The elapsed time duration of the current track is displayed as well as the distance travelled along the current track. The chervron button will open the weather for your current position and reveal the Stop track button.

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With a plotted route

If you have a route plotted which you are following the navigation view will show different information and extra information. The vessel marker. track and speed are the same as when there isn't a plotted route, so are the menu icons and buttons available.

The route will be shown in blue as well as each leg of the route showing the Course To Steer (CTS). The Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA) is shown at the bottom in green. Also the time to the end of the route and the distance remaining to the finish point.

The vessels COG is shown at the top in a compass display and the CTS is shown if the vessel track is deviating from the plotted route. The CTS shows the course you should steer port or starboard to bring you back to the route line. As you near the route line the CTS will not be displayed and the COG is the heading you should now steer. Beneath the compass display in the green box is the distance and time to your next course change on the route.

When you have reached your destination you can stop the track and exit the navigation view from the exit options menu or the weather forecast view.

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The anchor Alarm in Savvy Navvy V2 has been updated significantly. 

When you have reach your destination you can set the anchor alarm by selecting the Anchor Alarm entry from the main menu. 

Your anchor position is shown on the screen as a blue icon as well as the indicator of your vessel position. To change the actual location of the anchor drag the anchor icon to where you dropped the anchor. The distance of the vessel to the anchor position is shown as a guide. 

When the anchor icon is dragged to the correct location for where your anchor is lying you can then set the geofence safety zone. There are two zones shown by the grey area. The outer safety zone is the maximum distance the vessel can be from the anchor position. Set this to be the length of the chain you have out plus a small margin so you don’t get a false alarm. If the vessel moves outside this area then the anchor is dragging as it should not be possible to move here if the anchor is fixed. To change the size of the outer safety zone drag the blue circular handle on the circle edge, a readout shows the distance to the anchor.

There is also a secondary inner safety zone that can be set, this is the swing zone. This is the maximum distance from the anchor that the vessel can travel in all directions. As the vessel is at anchor the winds and tides will move the vessel within this area over a period at anchor. By default the swing zone and the outer safety zone are the same radius. There may be an anchorage where there is a danger in a particular direction such as a submerged rock that you do not want to drag towards while you can have a bigger safety margin in the other directions. 

In this case you can set the swing zone separately. To do this there is a blue handle split by a grey line in the middle of the circle radius. If you drag the split handle you can split the circle and see three new blue handles. The inner circle handle sets the radius of the swing zone, the distance is shown to the anchor. This should be set to the maximum distance the vessel can possibly swing for the anchor chain that is out.

There will also be an exclusion area segment which is the difference between the swing zone and the outer safety zone. To make this segment larger, drag either of the blue handles on the sides of the segment. This will enlarge the segment equally. To rotate the segment to the position you want it to lie you can drag the handles on outer safety zone & inner swing zone circles, dragging in a circular motion. If you want to close the exclusion area segment, drag the segment handles on top of each other until the circle closes and there is a single split handle again.

When you are happy with the area you have defined, enable the alarm with the Set alarm button. If you don’t want to set the alarm, select cancel. Once the alarm is armed the circle will turn green as will the anchor position icon. There will be two buttons one will Disarm the alarm and the other Settings icon will allow you to change the geofence in situ. The vessel's position at anchor is also tracked by a blue trackline so you can see how it is moving in the current conditions relative to the anchor.

When the vessel leaves the safe area the alarm will sound. It is probably a good idea to now check the vessel’s position. There is a mute button to silence the alarm for 5 minutes while you do that. If it’s a false alarm you will need to modify the settings to make it less sensitive. If you are dragging then you will need to safely re-anchor and reset a new alarm at the new location.

When you want to leave the anchorage area disarm the alarm with the Disarm button and confirm that you want to Disarm alarm.

IMPORTANT for the alarm to function correctly:

• Device should be on charge (recommended) or full charged, GPS monitoring can drain the battery so on charge is best
• Device needs a good view of the sky to enable an accurate GPS position
• Device should not be on silent or low volume setting or do not disturb mode
• On iPhone/iPad it will honour the silent setting, so check it is not in silent mode before turning in
• The savvy navvy app needs to be running
• Device needs to remain on the vessel

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If using your vessel in areas where there is no mobile 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 for a specific time period. Access offline charts from the main application menu.

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 labelled offline with a dotted outline.

To create a new offline chart pack select the download a new chart pack button. 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 Update or 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 Wi-Fi 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.

All recorded tracks are saved automatically 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 bottom navigation menubar. 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 routes waypoints 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. You can Share a link to the track so that your friends can see where you went.

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Find out how to import markers to Savvy Navvy from other popular navigation applications.