NAVOPLAN
Make smarter cruising decisions with FIRST-MATE AI decision support.
About NAVOPLAN
NAVOPLAN is a membership platform for current and future coastal and bluewater cruisers. Its FIRST-MATE AI assistant uses your vessel, crew, goals, passage details, and local weather to support decisions across three phases: exploring the lifestyle, buying a boat, and operating it at the helm. Membership also bundles passage planning, vessel readiness tracking, digital float plans, 235+ Bluewater Briefs, eBooks, and 1-on-1 time with a captain.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Covers the full cruising journey, from lifestyle research and boat buying to passage operations, in one account
- AI guidance draws on stored vessel, crew, passage, and weather context instead of generic chatbot answers
- Digital float plan builds itself from the planned passage and supports Starlink and satellite SMS tracking
- Large built-in knowledge base (235+ Bluewater Briefs, two eBooks, an 8-module course)
- Includes human support through Captain's Minutes, and the annual plan bundles a $400 credit
- 30-day free trial and a free sample passage brief, lifestyle briefing, and affordability calculator
Cons
- At $95/month it costs far more than standard navigation or routing apps
- Newer, founder-led product launched in 2026 with no independent user reviews yet
- Not a chartplotter or routing tool, so you still need separate navigation software
- Built around coastal and bluewater cruising, so it offers little for day sailors or commercial operators
Key Features
FIRST-MATE AI decision support
AI co-pilot that answers cruising, vessel, and operational questions using your stored vessel, crew, goals, prior answers, passage details, and current and forecast local weather.
FIRST-MATE Case
Structured case workflow for working through a specific question or event, from what is happening to practical next steps.
Phased passage planning
Start a passage from a GPX route and work through planning, departure, underway, arrival, and completion with a living Passage Brief, checklists, and watch support.
Digital Float Plan with active tracking
Float plan generated from the planned passage, with vessel track, last known position, and last contact time; tracking supports Starlink-connected devices and satellite SMS.
Vessel Readiness
Central record of maintenance history, vessel documents and manuals, vendors, parts, tools, and supplies, with scheduled maintenance tracking.
Ship's Log, calendar, and checklists
Passage logs and events, a shared ship's calendar for passages and maintenance, and an editable checklist library for each phase.
Bluewater Briefs and eBooks
Library of 235+ briefs on cruising, vessels, safety, destinations, maintenance, and passage planning, plus the two-volume Bluewater Living eBook series and an 8-module course.
Planning calculators and briefings
First-year affordability calculator for owning and running a cruising boat and a personalized lifestyle briefing for people still exploring.
Captain's Minutes and Roundtable
Non-expiring minutes for 1-on-1 sessions with a NAVOPLAN captain, plus subscriber Bluewater Roundtable discussions.
Emergency Assistance Coordination
Shore-based support layer for monitoring, communication, decision support, and coordination when a passage goes wrong, depending on license level.
Pricing
- Full FIRST-MATE Membership
- Month-to-month, cancel anytime
- Immediate access
- 1-on-1 orientation
- Access for your crew
- Full FIRST-MATE Membership
- Works out to $79/month
- Two months free each year
- $400 Captain's Minutes credit included
- 1-on-1 orientation
- Access for your crew
Best For
Deciding whether cruising life fits
Aspiring cruisers use the lifestyle briefing, Bluewater Briefs, and FIRST-MATE to test goals, budget, and experience gaps before committing.
Buying a cruising boat
Buyers estimate first-year ownership costs, compare vessel types against planned use, and prepare for survey before purchase.
Planning and running passages
Owner-operators load a GPX route, work through phased checklists and watch schedules, and share an automatic digital float plan with shore contacts.
Maintaining a liveaboard vessel
Owners track maintenance schedules, spares, vendors, and documents so the boat stays ready between passages.
Getting help underway
Captains use FIRST-MATE Case and Emergency Assistance Coordination to work through changed weather, system failures, or uncertain situations.
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