Marine NavigationAustralia · 2026

Independent · Australian · Updated for 2026

Build a navigation system that tells you the truth.

A bright chartplotter can present bad heading data beautifully. A precise GNSS fix can be plotted against a reef surveyed with far lower confidence. These guides explain what each sensor actually knows, where it fails, and how to design a boat where several technologies cover one another's blind spots.

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GarminChartplotters, radar & fishing systemsExplore Garmin B&GSailing displays & instrumentsExplore B&G RaymarineCruising navigation & integrationExplore Raymarine SimradPowerboat navigation & sonarExplore Simrad FurunoRadar, navigation & fishfindingExplore Furuno LowranceFishing displays & sonarExplore Lowrance
A cross-section of a modern marine navigation system GNSS satellites overhead, a cruising yacht on the surface with radar and VHF reaching a distant ship, a sonar cone sounding the water column, and a charted seabed with depth figures and a reef. GNSS AIS 18.4 kn VHF LINE OF SIGHT 142218312644383529 ZOC C 0 m10203040
Every sensor answers one question and is blind to another. The whole job is making them cover for each other.
In-depth guides
95
Glossary terms
86
Last reviewed
3 October 2026
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A little help getting underway

Your boat. Your waters. Your navigation plan.

Meet your friendly guide to the next decision. Start with your boat, then explore practical equipment choices, budget tradeoffs and what belongs in the installation.

Find a plan for your boat

Start here

The eight questions every navigation system has to answer

Position, charted geography, physical targets, cooperating traffic, depth, orientation, automatic steering and what survives a failure. No single product answers all eight well — these are the guides that cover each one properly.

A cruising yacht receiving satellite positioning, sweeping radar toward a distant vessel transmitting AIS, radiating VHF to the horizon and sounding the seabed with sonar. 14222631 GNSS · RADAR · AIS · SONAR

Foundations

Marine navigation systems: the complete overview

The system-level guide: eight questions every navigation system has to answer, why sensors matter more than screens, and how to design a boat where technologies cover one another's blind spots.

Foundations5 min read

Read the guide Three navigation satellites transmitting to a vessel on a curved horizon, with the heading arrow pointing 040 degrees and the course over ground arrow pointing 057 degrees, showing the effect of current. HDG 040° COG 057° GPS · GALILEO · BEIDOU

Foundations

Marine GPS and GNSS explained

What a GNSS receiver actually knows, why display precision is not accuracy, how course over ground differs from heading, and how to build position redundancy that survives a network failure.

Foundations8 min read

Read the guide An electronic chart extract showing shallow water shaded blue grading to white in deeper water, depth contours, printed soundings, a drying reef, an isolated danger symbol and a Zone of Confidence category diamond. 3₂5₈11141721263329 B AusENC · ZOC

Foundations

Australian marine charts, AusENC, ZOC and S-100

Why a beautifully rendered electronic chart can still be built on an old survey — and how to read Zone of Confidence, manage chart datum and plan around survey quality in Australian waters.

Foundations7 min read

Read the guide A radar display showing range rings, a rotating sweep, a coastline return, an approaching vessel with a velocity vector, a receding vessel and a rain cell. 6 NM · DOPPLER

Equipment & Sensors

Marine radar: Doppler, solid-state and open array

Radar is the one recreational technology that independently observes the physical world. What it detects, what it misses, why maximum range is overrated, and how to install and learn it.

Equipment & Sensors9 min read

Read the guide A plot of two AIS targets on converging courses, with the closest point of approach circled and CPA and TCPA values labelled. CPA 0.2 NM TCPA 8 min CLASS B · SOTDMA

Equipment & Sensors

AIS for boats: Class B, SOTDMA and MMSI

AIS exchanges identity and movement data brilliantly and shows nothing that is not transmitting. How to choose a transceiver, set sane alarms and combine it with radar.

Equipment & Sensors8 min read

Read the guide A plan view of a hull with the autopilot computer displaying a target heading, the rudder deflected, and a feedback path returning rudder angle to the computer. PILOT 040° FEEDBACK DRIVE · RUDDER REF

Equipment & Sensors

Marine autopilot guide

On a shorthanded offshore yacht the autopilot is often the hardest-working system aboard. The control head matters least; the drive, the heading source and the sizing matter most.

Equipment & Sensors7 min read

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Research your next purchase

Compare, shortlist and see it in action

Start with a product decision or follow a worked boat setup. Each new buying resource separates documented features from editorial advice.

Vessel & budget plans

Choose equipment by hull, passage and budget.

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Head-to-head comparisons

Compare named products and understand what changes between them.

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Top picks

See ranked shortlists with a clear boat brief and reasons for every choice.

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Product guides

Check the package, installation and ownership questions for one product.

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Brand profiles

Explore navigation systems and specialist radio, AIS and sensor brands.

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Examples in action

Follow worked boat setups, calculations and practical training scenarios.

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By topic

Seven shelves of the library

Work through a topic in order, or dive straight at the equipment decision in front of you.

A cruising yacht receiving satellite positioning, sweeping radar toward a distant vessel transmitting AIS, radiating VHF to the horizon and sounding the seabed with sonar. 14222631 GNSS · RADAR · AIS · SONAR

Foundations

How position, charts, orientation and onboard data actually work — the physics and limits behind every screen on the boat.

5 guides

Browse A glass helm showing a chart on the main multifunction display with soundings and a vessel symbol, a wind instrument dial, and an autopilot head holding 040 degrees. 1219824 SOG 6.4DPT 12.4 WIND 040° PILOT · AUTO MFD · INSTRUMENTS · PILOT

Equipment & Sensors

Chartplotters, radar, AIS, sonar, autopilots, networks, radios and power — what each device does well and where it fails.

9 guides

Browse A glass helm showing a chart on the main multifunction display with soundings and a vessel symbol, a wind instrument dial, and an autopilot head holding 040 degrees. 1219824 SOG 6.4DPT 12.4 WIND 040° PILOT · AUTO MFD · INSTRUMENTS · PILOT

Buying Guides

Brand-by-brand and model-by-model comparisons for the 2026 Australian market, with budgets and realistic shortlists.

48 guides

Browse BUILD THE BRIEF BEFORE THE SHOPPING LISTPassages + crewHull + retained gearPower, steering and working positionsSupported package + acceptance planLength informs the layout; it does not size the pilot

By Vessel Type

Complete system designs for sailing yachts, catamarans, motor yachts, offshore fishing boats and trailer boats.

9 guides

Browse A diagram of primary, secondary and non-electronic navigation layers, with a single failure line crossing out the primary layer while the other two survive. PRIMARY MFD · network SECONDARY tablet NON-ELEC compass SINGLE FAILURE FAILURE DOMAINS

Seamanship & Safety

Using the system well: collision avoidance, night passages, passage planning, tides, weather and what survives a failure.

12 guides

Browse A network diagram showing a trunk cable with a terminator at each end, four device drops for display, AIS, wind and autopilot, and a power injection point. TERM TERM MFDAISWINDPILOT 12 V IN NMEA 2000 BACKBONE

Projects & Installation

Refits, wiring, sensor siting, commissioning and the documentation that makes a boat troubleshootable.

7 guides

Browse A nautical compass rose drawn between two depth contour lines. N

Reference

Definitions, quick answers and the acronyms nobody explains on the spec sheet.

5 guides

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Recently reviewed

Make your next equipment decision

Compare radar models, choose a depth instrument and match a transducer to your boat. Start with a specific decision, then check the sources, compatibility and installation requirements.

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Latest additions

Reference

Every acronym on the spec sheet, explained once

SOTDMA, CSTDMA, ZOC, AHRS, CPA, TCPA, MARPA, PGN, CHIRP, AusENC, S-101. 86 definitions, cross-linked to the guide that explains each one in context.

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Open the glossary Read the common questions