Help & Tutorial
Getting Started
1. Add Your Boat
Before planning your first passage, you need to add at least one vessel to your fleet. Navigate to Boats in the main menu and click Add Boat.
Required Information:
- Name - Your vessel's name
- Type - Sailing boat, motorboat, catamaran, etc.
- LOA - Length Overall (in meters)
- Draft - Depth of keel (in meters)
- Cruise Speed - Your typical passage speed in knots
Recommended Optional:
- Fuel Capacity & Consumption - For range calculations
- Displacement & Waterline Length - For personalized comfort ratings
- Air Draft - For bridge clearance planning
Why it matters: Your boat's specifications are used to calculate comfort ratings, fuel range, and provide personalized passage analysis. A 40ft cruiser handles conditions differently than a 25ft sport boat.
2. Create a New Passage
Click New Passage from the navigation menu to start planning your route.
Planning Steps:
- Select Boat - Choose from your fleet (auto-selected if you only have one)
- Set Departure Time - When you plan to leave (defaults to 3 hours from now)
- Plan Your Route - Click on the map to add waypoints, or click "Add Waypoint" to place one at the map center
- Adjust Speed - Fine-tune your planned speed for the passage
- Save - Click "Save Passage" when your route is complete
Pro Tip: Use the POIs layer to find harbours and waypoints. Click on a harbour marker to add it as a waypoint directly.
3. View Passage Details
After saving, you'll be taken to the passage detail view where you can explore conditions along your route.
Key Panels:
- Map - Interactive route display with all waypoints
- Playback - Step through your passage at each waypoint
- Inspection Waypoints - Detailed waypoint list with weather data
- AI Recommendations - Analysis of your passage conditions
- Notebook - Rich text log with AI assistant
Weather and tide data are fetched automatically for each waypoint. If data is stale, click "Update Weather Data" to refresh.
4. Playback & Simulation
The playback panel lets you simulate your passage and see conditions at each waypoint.
Playback Controls:
- Play/Pause - Automatically step through waypoints
- Previous/Next - Manual navigation between waypoints
- Slider - Jump to any point in the passage
- Add to Notebook - Capture current conditions as a card
Sail Analysis Shows:
- Visual boat diagram with wind, tide, and wave angles
- True Wind Speed (TWS) with Beaufort scale indicator
- True Wind Angle (TWA) and sailing point of sail
- Tidal stream direction and speed
- Combined wave height and period
- Comfort rating for conditions
- ETA impact from current conditions
Passage View Deep Dive
Passage Header & Stats
The header shows your vessel and passage status. The stats panel displays route information and allows inline editing of key parameters.
Editable Fields:
- Status - Draft, Planned, Active, or Completed
- Planned Start - Departure date and time
- Planned Speed - Vessel speed in knots (affects all ETAs)
- Actual Fuel - Current fuel level for range calculation
Calculated Values:
- Total Distance - Great Circle distance of entire route
- Duration - Total passage time based on speed
- ETA - Estimated arrival based on start time and speed
Vessel Specs Panel
Shows boat dimensions and fuel calculations. Critical for understanding if you have sufficient range for your passage.
Fuel Calculations:
- Range = (Available Fuel ÷ Consumption Rate) × Speed
- Sufficiency Check - Compares range to passage distance
- Engine Hours - Estimated hours under power required
Always plan with a 20-30% fuel reserve for unexpected conditions.
Inspection Waypoints Panel
This panel lists all waypoints along your route with generated inspection points. These points show weather, tidal, and current conditions at specific times during your passage.
Waypoint Interval Options:
- 1 hour - Detailed analysis for short passages
- 2 hours - Balanced for most passages
- 3 hours - Overview for longer passages
- Custom - Set your own interval
Weather Model Selection:
- ICON - European model, best for UK/Europe
- GFS - Global model, good for remote areas
- ECMWF - Premium accuracy through Open-Meteo
Each waypoint shows: sequence, name, ETA, time to next, coordinates, distance remaining, and last weather update time.
Sail Analysis & Navigation Theory
The Sail Analysis section is the heart of the playback panel, providing real-time interpretation of conditions for navigation decisions.
True Wind Speed (TWS)
The actual wind speed over the water, not affected by your boat's movement. Displayed with Beaufort scale indicators (0-12) for quick interpretation.
Beaufort Scale Reference:
Why TWS vs. Apparent Wind: TWS is what the forecast predicts. Apparent wind (what you feel) increases upwind and decreases downwind. TWS lets you compare actual conditions to forecasts accurately.
True Wind Angle (TWA)
The angle between wind direction and your heading. Determines your point of sail and expected boat performance.
Points of Sail:
The visual display shows your boat with wind arrow, plus Port/Starboard tack indicator. Understanding TWA helps optimize sail trim and anticipate speed.
Tidal Stream Effects
Tidal currents can significantly affect your passage - either as a help or hindrance.
With the tide: Adds to your speed over ground (SOG)
Against the tide: Reduces SOG, potentially creating dangerous waves
Across the tide: Causes lateral drift, requires course correction
Sail Analysis shows current speed, direction, and displays a tide arrow on the boat diagram showing the stream's effect relative to your heading.
Wind Over Tide Warning
One of the most dangerous conditions for small vessels. Occurs when wind opposes tidal current direction.
Warning Levels:
- RED: Wind directly opposing tide - Potentially dangerous
- YELLOW: Partial opposition - Expect rougher seas
- GREEN: Wind with tide or minimal opposition
A 15-knot wind against a 3-knot tide can create waves equivalent to 25 knots with no tide. Always check wind-over-tide before departing, especially in areas with strong currents.
Sea State Analysis
Combined wave analysis including height, period, and direction.
Combined Wave Height: Total wave height including swell and wind waves
Wave Period: Time between wave crests - longer periods = smoother motion
Wave Direction: Relative to your heading - head seas vs. following seas
Short period waves (4-6 seconds) are choppy and uncomfortable. Long period swell (10+ seconds) is typically more comfortable despite larger height.
Tide Information
Detailed tidal predictions from WorldTides.info, including lunar data for spring/neap awareness.
Information Provided:
- Nearest Tide Station - Source of predictions with distance from route
- Tide Extremes - High Water (HW) and Low Water (LW) times and heights
- Tidal Stream - Speed and direction at current waypoint
- Lunar Data - Moon phase, sunrise/sunset, moonrise/moonset
- Spring/Neap Indicator - Whether tides are stronger or weaker
Spring vs. Neap Tides:
Spring tides (Full/New Moon) have larger ranges and stronger currents. Neap tides (Quarter Moons) have smaller ranges and gentler currents. Plan passages accordingly - spring tides in areas like the Solent can exceed 4 knots.
AI Recommendations
AI-generated analysis of your passage with risk assessment, recommended windows, and actionable items.
Risk Score:
1-10 scale assessing overall passage safety based on weather, tides, and vessel specs.
Recommendations:
Prioritized items (HIGH/MEDIUM/LOW) with categories for weather, tides, timing, and safety.
Disclaimer: AI recommendations are advisory only. Always verify with official sources and apply your own judgment.
Passage Notebook
A rich-text editor with AI assistant for documenting your passage plan, observations, and notes.
Editor Features:
- Slash commands (/h1, /bullet, /todo, etc.)
- Formatting toolbar (bold, italic, headings)
- Auto-save with status indicator
- Table of Contents sidebar
AI Assistant:
- Context-aware of your passage
- Generate checklists and plans
- Analyze hazards and alternatives
- Insert generated content directly
PDF Export:
Export your notebook as a formatted PDF with passage header (route, boat, departure) and footer (timestamp, page numbers) for offline reference or sharing with crew.
Important Safety Disclaimer
Yachtmaster.AI provides passage planning assistance and weather data for informational purposes only. You remain solely responsible for navigation decisions and the safety of your vessel and crew.Always consult official sources (Admiralty charts, Notices to Mariners, weather services), use proper judgment, and follow maritime regulations. This service, underlying data providers, and our code may contain errors. AI-generated recommendations are advisory only and should never replace your own seamanship, experience, and judgment.
Frequently Asked Questions
Last updated: February 2026