Chartwork and coastal navigation

Chartwork is the practical core of coastal navigation: taking a latitude and longitude, a bearing or a distance, and putting the vessel somewhere honest on the chart. This chartwork course covers the plotting a watchkeeper and a Yachtmaster candidate are asked to do by hand.

You work through chart symbols, distance, direction, variation and deviation, dead reckoning and estimated position, fixes and running fixes, tidal heights and tidal streams, and the clearing lines that keep you off the rocks. The aim is a short coastal passage you can plot and then explain.

This is independent study written in the shape of RYA chartwork. It is not an RYA shorebased course. Your enrolment is stored on your account from checkout.

What you will learn

• Read the scale, datums and symbols of a coastal chart
• Plot a latitude and longitude, and take one off the chart
• Measure distance and lay off a course or a bearing
• Apply variation and deviation to convert between true, magnetic and compass
• Keep a dead reckoning and an estimated position
• Fix the vessel by bearings, and by a running fix
• Find a tidal height and a tidal stream for a time on passage
• Use a clearing bearing or a clearing line to stay in safe water

Who this course is for

Course format

Self-paced online. Plan for about 15–20 hours. Lessons run in a browser on a laptop, tablet or phone. There is nothing to install. When you finish, Sea Skills Online issues a certificate of completion. That certificate records your study. It is not an STCW, MCA or RYA certificate.

Coastal navigators and theory candidates. Price £39. Checkout creates your account, or signs you in, takes payment through Stripe, and adds the course to your dashboard.

Tutor support

Unlimited free tutor support is included. If a lesson does not make sense, email hello@seaskillsonline.com. There is no extra charge, and there is no limit on how often you write.

Course contents

1. The chart

   Module 1

   Title, scale, depth datums, heights, colours and the symbols you actually use on a coastal passage.

2. Position, latitude and distance

   Module 2

   Latitude and longitude, minutes of latitude as a mile, and plotting a position given in numbers.

3. Courses, bearings and the compass

   Module 3

   True direction on the chart, variation, deviation, and converting a course you steer into a course you plot.

4. Dead reckoning and estimated position

   Module 4

   Where the vessel should be from course and distance, then the same position once leeway and tide are allowed.

5. Fixes and running fixes

   Module 5

   Visual bearings, a three-point fix, a running fix, and what a cocked hat is telling you about the plot.

6. Tidal heights

   Module 6

   Springs and neaps, standard ports, and finding a height of tide for drying heights, anchor scope and under-keel clearance.

7. Tidal streams

   Module 7

   Diamonds, stream atlases and the set and drift you apply to an estimated position or a course to steer.

8. Clearing lines and safety

   Module 8

   Clearing bearings, transits and depth contours used as a limit, so the plot has a line you will not cross.

9. A short coastal passage

   Module 9

   One plotted passage that uses course, tide, a fix and a clearing line, written up the way you would keep the notebook.

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Common questions