How NAVOPLAN Was Born July 23, 2023 For decades, I dreamed of owning a sailboat and exploring the world. I taught myself to sail, devoured books, took classes, watched videos, and spent as much time on the water as I could. Each month, I looked forward to Sail and Passagemaker magazines, pouring over every article as if they were roadmaps to a life I hadn’t yet begun. My first boat was a humble Catalina 22 on Smith Mountain Lake in Virginia — a boat I purchased from Buena Vista Pictures (Disney) after it appeared in the film What About Bob? with Bill Murray and Richard Dreyfuss. Read More
The Best Bluewater Cruising Boat May 3, 2025 The 5 Critical Factors Crew Adaptation Factor – Stability, comfort ratio, and motion tolerance for your crew. Range Under Power – Measured in nautical miles before refueling. 600nm may be enough for coastal, 3,500+nm for ocean crossings. Sleep Size – Berth capacity compared with crew numbers. Rest and privacy matter at sea. Water Underway – Storage and/or watermaker capacity to sustain the crew between ports. Skill & Purpose – Matching vessel complexity and mission to your experience and goals. These factors can be quantified. NAVOPLAN uses your profile and vessel data to generate fit scores that highlight the most suitable boats. Read More
Why Every Cruiser Needs a Digital Float Plan July 5, 2025 Traditional float plans are almost always out of date the moment they’re printed. Routes change, weather shifts, and delays happen. A plan scribbled on paper or buried in an email thread can’t keep up. If a vessel has a catastrophic failure and there is a search and rescue effort the area to search can be vast. That's why NAVOPLAN offers Active Tracking which records your passage on land as you progress. Stop progressing and we start to notice. Read More