What it is
Build and edit multi‑leg routes directly on the chart, with live distance, ETA, and fuel estimates at your chosen speed. Save, reverse, and manage routes — then validate any plan with built‑in simulation that drives your vessel along the track so you can watch the whole passage play out before you leave the dock.
Want to plan a route, review its distance and timing, and rehearse it before departure?
The 30-day free trial includes the complete experience, so you can evaluate SeaVectors with your own routes and equipment before deciding whether to subscribe.
- Download SeaVectors on the App Store
- Get SeaVectors on Google Play
- Not ready to install? Open the lightweight web chart for a quick preview.
Why it matters on the water
A route is your plan made explicit: every leg, its distance and bearing, total distance, and when you'll arrive at your speed. Simulation is the killer feature — it lets you pre‑fly the passage, checking that every leg clears hazards, stays out of restricted zones, and that the instruments/ETA behave as expected, with zero risk.
How to plan a route
- Start a new route and tap points on the chart to drop waypoints — each tap adds a leg.
- As you build, watch the live readouts: per‑leg distance and bearing, total distance, ETA, and estimated fuel at your planning speed.
- Adjust — drag a waypoint to move it, insert or remove points to refine legs around hazards and traffic.
- Save the route with a name.
Manage your routes
- Save — store a route to reuse.
- Reverse — flip a route end‑for‑end for the return trip in one tap.
- Edit — reopen and change waypoints, then re‑save.
- Delete / organize — manage them in the My Data hub (module 14).
Routes show live distance, ETA, and fuel at your speed, so changing your planned speed updates the timing and fuel picture.
Measure distances (the ruler)
Sometimes you don't want to commit a route yet — you just want to know how far and which way. The multi‑leg distance measurement tool is a ruler that works like the route planner without saving anything:
- Start distance measurement and tap points on the chart to lay down a multi‑leg line.
- Each leg shows its distance and course, with the total running as you go — a live crosshair previews the next leg before you commit it.
- Read off what you need (range and bearing to a mark, the length of a channel, the sum of several legs).
- Happy with it? Convert it to a saved route in one tap — the measured legs become a real, editable route (name it, reverse it, simulate it).
Use it for a quick "how far is that?" check, to lay out a passage roughly before formalizing it, or to measure a leg against a hazard — then keep it as a route or clear it and move on.
Simulate a route (validate the plan)
- Open a saved route and start Simulation.
- SeaVectors drives your vessel along the track — the boat icon moves leg by leg, feeding COG, SOG, position, and depth just as if you were underway.
- Watch the instrument panel and ETA/cross‑track behave, and confirm each leg clears hazards, restricted areas, and shallow water (safety contour).
- Stop the simulation to return to live navigation.
Simulation is also the best way to demo the app and to generate b‑roll for your videos (a moving boat for AIS, instruments, and nav‑bar shots) without being on the water.
Tips
- Plan at your realistic cruising speed so ETA and fuel mean something; bump the speed to see the trade‑off.
- Simulate before every unfamiliar passage — it surfaces a leg clipping a shoal or a restricted zone far more reliably than eyeballing.
- Keep waypoints off hazard symbols and outside restricted/fishery zones (layers on — module 03).
- Build the outbound route, then Reverse it for the trip home instead of re‑planning.
- Cross‑check fuel estimates against your boat's real burn — the estimate is a planning aid.
- Use the ruler (distance measurement) for a quick range/bearing check; convert it to a route only if you decide to keep the plan.
Troubleshooting
- No ETA/fuel figures → Set a planning speed; ETA/fuel derive from it.
- Simulation won't start → Open a saved/active route first; simulation drives a route.
- Boat jumps back to real position after sim → That's expected — stopping simulation hands control back to live GPS.
Safety note
A simulated or planned route is a plan, not permission. Conditions, traffic, and hazards change; navigate the real passage with a proper watch and current information.