BLUEMOMENT

I attended a conference where digital navigation was a session. At the end of the session I had a discussion with associates and a Raymarine representative about how withdrawal of paper charts will impact UK sailors in the leisure sector. Some insights from my notes: -

1. UKHO paper chart removal has started and will be completed "no earlier" than 2030. The charts currently being withdrawn are based on demand, from the worldwide catalogue.
2. Imray have stated they too will withdraw based on demand but that will be completed by end of 2025.
3. Thinking about consumers (not commercial) a straw poll implied that boat insurance actually does not states what you have to use for navigation. The implication being that there might not be any insurance implications navigating with consumer products.
4. There are no Small Vessel Electronic Chart Systems (SV-ECS) for small vessels that are approved to use, only ECDIS systems for large vessels.
5. All the major consumer plotter suppliers are working on solutions for the SV-ECS market. However, their key market areas are outside the UK and getting development slots from their resource pool is challenging. This is because product development for the sport fishing market, or racing market, for example, in the USA outstrips the UK market by a country mile.
6. A compliant Electronic Navigation Chart (ENC) must come from a recognised International Hydrographic Office (IHO) recognised competent organisation such as the UKHO and meet the defined standards from the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) standard, managed by IHO such as S52, S57, S63, S65, which define how data is transferred, displayed, colour palettes, refresh rates, performance standards. No consumer chart whether Vector or RASTER meet these requirements.
7. Consumer charts from Raymarine, Garmin, Orca, Savy Navy. for example, buy vector chart data from agencies that may or may not be approved by IHO, then make decisions what vector data to include in their offerings to the market. None have an update service that meets any recognised standard. There is no requirement to show sources of information and while some do, it tends to be a generalised list of many, many source providers, rather than chart area specific, some do not provide any source supplier information.
8. Typical ENC for the south coast of England costs £3000 per year to receive the official vector charts and updates. The update can be through a network connected to the internet, or via memory stick on current ECDIS systems. Network security is a big deal for ship owners and most consumers will not be running the same security protocols.
9. Raymarine stated that their current products might be suitable to use an ENC with a software change but that is not yet demonstrated. They may end up with a "black box" that you buy, which allows the MFD to display the ENC. Final solution is a long way off and could end up being a new product.
10. MCA have issued MGN 319 (M+F) Amendment 2 that defines SV-ECS
11. Screen sizes less than 12" will not be compliant.
12. Training might be required, especially if integrated with AIS, Radar. Understanding what the inputs are and how they impact displayed information is generally found to be poor amongst users. MCA don't have an opinion consumers, non commercial and training.
13. RYA has not modified the syllabus too much, except wording, as most of the requirments used in non digital navigation are transferable to digital. Instructors will change the teaching method through the RYA's Digital First program. For example EP on a plotter is shown by the direction vectors ship's head and COG. The vector length is customised for time i.e. the COG vector arrow head shows where you will be in that defined time. You need to know what the time interval has been set at e.g. 6 minutes, 12 minutes. Without much thought, unlike working up a CTS on paper, on a plotter turn the boat until the COG vector points at where you want to go. Easy peasy. RYA course tuition is expected to show practical use of plotters as the primary method of navigation.

The above is mostly applicable to leisure vessels that are coded and used in commercial operations e.g. charter boats and sailing schools. How much will be pushed down to consumers has not yet been discussed or known, as the focus is only on commercial because that is what the MCA is managing. In the UK, we have a legislative and regulatory system that has very little impact on leisure sailors i.e. you can buy a yacht and go sailing with no legal obligations in UK territorial waters, beyond making a passage plan (SOLAS requirement irrespective of vessel size and use). There is a belief that the RYA will not create a discussion in the consumer space if there is no need for it and the MCA likely will not either.

Any ideas, opinions, or thoughts on going 100% digital? What do you think?

For coded vessels, the MCA will likely take their usual path of least resistance and insist on a commercial standard, so increased costs for charter and training boats.
for leisure users: digital creep has been taking place for years, but becoming totally reliant on digital is not a great prospect. charts and chart folios are great for planning and giving a sense of scale, as well as being a back up should the lights go out. Reality is that few if any update charts to keep the fully up to date so they wouldn't meet commercial standards, and the same will be the way that we all manage our digital charts in the future. Update irregularly or when your subscription is updated or when it's absolutely necessary.

Optimistically, someone will buy the Imray chart business and keep it alive, or a new company will do a deal with UKHO to allow on-demand printing of paper charts from the updated electronic charts, perhaps more cost effectively than takes place today.

in the interim, I'll be buying the latest copies of my west coast charts and taking better care of them than I have of charts that I've bought previously!

Some of this is pretty concerning:

1. Power supply, how long do you need your charts to last in the case of a power outage? 1 hour, 5 hours, 1 day? How is that power to be provided?
2. How expensive is a new SV-ECS setup going to be? The Raymarine "black box" sounds like a slightly desperate stop gap, most people won't have 12' screens. My guess is not cheap, so who, apart from new builds will have the kit? Will it retro fit with older radar systems? I know the answer to that, its no.
3. A 12" screen, will require a fair amount of chopping on a lot of boats, it wouldn't fit simply into a 2004 Dufour 40.
4. Plenty of charter companies require a level of RYA skipper qualification. That is about to be made out of date. How are yacht charter companies, insurance companies and the yacht charter customers going to resolve this? A short catch up course? Similar for small commercial vessels?


My chart plotter ( old Raymarine C80 from 2004) had a hardware issue, and I decided this year was the year to replace it. So I have just bought a very expensive white elephant ( the new screen size is not 12" ). I have never really been happy using a chartplotter for navigation, I always have a set of paper charts on the nav table. They are the primary means of nav on the boat. The plotter was used more as a viewer for the GPS position or for a radar screen. About 10 years ago the chartplotter failed ( not a power issue ) the screen blew, so there was no image available. Electronic nav was happily abandoned and we set course around the MoK using lighthouses as a primary means of navigation ( it was a night passage ), it was so easy, my nagging doubts about the electrickery were confirmed. I am no luddite. I am a Chartered semiconductor design engineer. My real issue stems from the practical robustness/quality of yacht kit, and the power supply system.

None of these issues are insurmountable, but they will be expensive to implement on small boats safely and reliably. The running costs will be high.

At the moment I am buying paper charts to serve me the next big trips and will plan to continue to use paper charts to the end of my sailing days. I have no intention of updating to SV-ECS unless forced in extremis by insurance requirements.

Don't get me started on the idea of electronic pilot books!

I have got used to the idea of all digital in the non commercial space. In the commercial space, as a coded boat owner, it will likely end my participation if the costs do not come down. Digital only navigation and control technology is well embedded in many sectors, including leisure sailing, so the leap to SV-EVS must not, and should not, be expensive.

Personally, withdrawal of paper charts aside, I think leisure sailors will carry on as they do now with various plotter products. The uptake of MFDs, tablets, laptops and navigation Apps will continue as cost is ridiculously low.

The “black box” was just a comment, not a proposal for technical review.