What it is
Animated marine weather drawn directly on the chart: wind and gusts, wave height, currents (with speed and set), precipitation, and air temperature. Forecasts are read at your exact position and feed the instrument panel. Data comes from NOAA and Environment Canada.
Want to compare wind, rain, waves, and other forecast layers directly on your chart?
The 30-day free trial includes the complete experience, so you can evaluate SeaVectors with your own routes and equipment before deciding whether to subscribe.
- Download SeaVectors on the App Store
- Get SeaVectors on Google Play
- Not ready to install? Open the lightweight web chart for a quick preview.
Why it matters on the water
Weather laid over the chart lets you see conditions in place — the wind filling in across a bay, a current setting you off a headland, a rain cell approaching your route. And because the forecast is sampled at your position, the same numbers appear on your instrument panel (wind, waves, current, air temp) without a separate weather station.
How to open it
Open the Weather panel (the sun / weather control). Choose which overlay to display:
| Overlay | Shows |
|---|---|
| Wind | Wind speed and gusts, animated across the chart. |
| Waves | Significant wave height. |
| Currents | Current speed and set (direction). |
| Rain | Precipitation. |
| Tides | Tide state (see module 10 for full tide forecasts). |
How to use it
- Open the Weather panel and pick an overlay (e.g. Wind).
- The overlay animates over the chart; read the legend/scale for values.
- Scrub the forecast time to see how conditions evolve over the coming hours/days.
- Note the instrument panel filling its Wind / Wave Height / Currents / Air Temperature widgets from the forecast at your position.
- Switch overlays to compare (e.g. wind vs. waves before an offshore leg).
Particle animation
Wind and currents render as flowing particle overlays, so you can read direction and relative strength at a glance — denser, faster particles mean stronger flow. It's the fastest way to see a wind shift or a current gradient across an area.
Windy (extended weather)
For deeper meteorology, SeaVectors also offers a Windy view — a richer weather map for big‑picture planning alongside the on‑chart overlays.
Tips
- Before an offshore leg, step through the forecast time on Wind and Waves to find your weather window.
- Use Currents near headlands, inlets, and tidal passes to time your transit with (not against) the flow.
- The overlay you leave on feeds the matching instrument widgets — handy underway.
- Overlays need data for the area/time; where a source has no coverage, the overlay is empty.
- For tides and currents, zoom in to see official CHS/NOAA station markers on the chart — tap one for slack times, turning times, and set/speed (module 10).
- Heading offshore? Download 14‑day forecasts for the visible area first so weather, tides, and currents stay available with no signal (module 15).
Troubleshooting
- Overlay is blank → No forecast data for that area/time, or it hasn't loaded — connect to the internet and reselect. ("Could not load forecast" means the fetch failed; retry.)
- Panel wind/wave widgets empty → No weather overlay/forecast loaded at your position; open the weather panel over your area first.
- Animation looks static → Very light wind/current, or you're zoomed out past the animation's detail; zoom in.
Note
Marine weather is forecast data and can be wrong or outdated. Cross‑check official forecasts and warnings for the area before committing to a passage.