| Active Route
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Route used to determine navigational information such as cross track error, estimated time of arrivals, distance to next waypoint, etc.
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| AIS GPS Antenna Offset
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Same as the GPS Antenna Offset, except the GPS is wired into the AIS system and the AIS is used as the positioning device via the pilot plug.
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| Annotations
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Annotations are explanatory notes and/or illustrations that overlay selected areas.
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| Autopilot
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An automatic device or system that guides or maintains a vessel's course.
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| Bearing
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The direction of an object from an observer, measured in degrees. A bearing can be measured realtive to true north or magnetic north. Bearings can also be measured relative to the heading of the vessel, called a relative bearing.
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| Chart Datum
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A permanently established surface from which soundings or tide heights are referenced; usually low water.
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| Chart Projection
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A way to represent the spherical earth on a flat chart. The most common chart projection in marine navigation is Mercator.
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| Chart Quilting
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A technique used to combine electronic charts to form larger charts.
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| Chart Scale
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On a chart, Scale indicates a graduated range of values forming a standard system for measuring distances on the chart.
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| Chart Object
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Objects are the basic pieces of data and/or information that, when brought together, make a chart. A chart object is embedded into the chart and can be, for example, a submarine cable, light, landmark, contour line, depth area, text, etc.
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| Compass Rose
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A graphical display, usually printed on Charts, used for direction measurement. It consists of two or three concentric circles marked in degrees (and fractions of degrees). The outer circle is aligned with 0° pointing to true north. The term "Rose" comes from the figure's compass points resembling the petals of the well-known flower. The compass rose displays the magnetic declination for the position at its centre.
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| Conning Position
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The place on the bridge with a commanding view of the ship and its position used by navigators when commanding, manoeuvring and controlling the ship.
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| Conning Position Offset
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The location of the conning position relative to the bow and centreline of the ship.
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| Course
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The direction in which it is intended that the boat travel. A true course is referenced to true north. A magnetic course is referenced to magnetic north.
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| Course over ground (COG)
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The actual path of a vessel with respect ot the seabed, measured in degrees. Course may be relative to true north (true course) or magnetic north (magnetic course).
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| Cross Track Error (XTE)
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The Distance from the vessel's present position to the closest point on a line between the origin and destination waypoints of the leg of the active route. If there is no active route, cross track error will show N/A.
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| Current Station
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A current station records current information for a specified location. Within the program, current stations will provide the user with tidal current conditions based on day and time of day.
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| DRBL - Dynamic Range Bearing Line
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DRBL is a tool to display the range and bearing to a fixed point (light house, rock, etc.), which updates as the vessel moves.
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| Dead-reckoning
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The technical term for dead reckoning is the process used to determine (and plot) the current position of a vessel, using the last known position, course and speed. Dead reckoning is what happens when nav systems are not connected to a positioning device (such as a GNSS) or when the positioning device fails.
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| Depth Sounder
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An electronic depth-finding instrument, measuring the time a sound wave takes to go from the vessel to the bottom and return, then displaying the result in feet, fathoms, or metres.
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| GPS
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Global Positioning System. A navigational system using satellite signals to determine the location of a receiver on or above the earth's surface.
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| GPS Antenna Offset
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Location of the GPS antenna relatvie to the bow and centreline of the ship. This offset affects how the ship is displayed. By default, the offset is set to 0,0 (the bow) and the vessel is drawn so that the bow is positioned at the location received by the positioning device.
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| Gyrocompass
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A compass which finds true north by using a fast spinning wheel and friction forces in order to exploit the rotation of the earth.
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| HDOP - Horizontal Dilution of Precision
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Horizontal Dilution of Precision - A GPS term used in to describe the quality of a GPS signal.
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| Heading
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The direction in which a vessel is pointed at any given moment. Heading may be relative to true north (true heading) or magnetic north (magnetic heading).
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| Latitude
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A geographic coordinate that specifies the north–south position of a point on the Earth's surface.
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| Layer
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A collection of all objects of a specific type which can be enabled or disabled for visibility in the Main Chart View.
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| Leg
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A straight line connecting two Waypoints; a component of a Route.
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| Longitude
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A geographic coordinate that specifies the east–west position of a point on the Earth's surface.
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| LOP - Line of Position
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A line of position (LOP) is a line established by observation or measurement on which a vessel can be expected to be located. A vessel can be at an infinite number of positions along any single LOP. In piloting, an LOP may be established by a measured bearing to a known and charted object, or by an alignment of two visible and charted objects, or by a measured distance from a charted object.
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| Magnetic Deviation
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The amount by which a ship's magnetic compass needle points to one side or the other of magnetic north. Iron, steel, magnets and DC currents in wires cause the compass to vary by different amounts on different headings.
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| Magnetic Variation
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The angle between magnetic north and true north. Variation is considered positive east of true north and negative when west.
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| Main Chart View
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The main area of the screen where you can enter routes, markers, annotations etc.
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| Position fix
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A position fix (PF) or simply a fix is a position derived from measuring external reference points.
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| Rate of Turn (ROT)
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In order to make sure a vessel hits its planned course track after a major course alteration, it is adviseable to calculate and plan the turn in advance. This is especially valid for larger vessels. With this method, a safe and controlled turn can be carried out. This method requires that the vessel is equipped with a Rate of Turn indicator. The ROT is measured in degrees-per-minute.
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| Route
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The path from point A to point B is known as a Route. A Route is represented by series of points (called Waypoints) connected by straight lines (known as Legs.)
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| SOG - speed over ground
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The actual speed of a vessel with respect to the seabed.
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| STW - speed through water
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The speed of a vessel relative to the body of water it is in.
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| Trajectory
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While following a route, the path taken may not be exactly the same as the route. (If sailing, wind will likely force the boat slightly off course.) The actual path taken is called a trajectory.
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| Waypoint
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A position (latitude and longitude) which makes up part of a path or area, e.g., Route, Zone.
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| Wheel-over Line (WOL)
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A vessel cannot turn immediately at one point. For safe sailing it is necessary for any vessel to take into account her ability to turn in restricted areas. The simplest method is when the arc between a new course and an old one is drawn by indicating a turning radius. The Wheel-over point is a point where the wheel is put over to initiate the turning of the vessel. The wheel-over line is used to indicate the points of wheel-over when the vessel is not exactly at her course line during the turn or alteration of course. The position of the Wheel Over Line is generally, for larger vessels, about 1-2 cables before the Actual Start Of Turn The Wheel Over Line should be drawn on the chart parallel to final planned course track.
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