Exam preparation
The exam documents, reliable navigation tools and a practice sequence without material clutter.
Retailer links: Links marked * lead to external shops. Keelwake currently receives no commission from them. Selection and order are independent of retailers.
First decide, then buy
SKS navigation requires both the right result and a clean, traceable method. Practise with the same chart edition, tools and notation system every time. The digital trainer reinforces terms and theory; plotting belongs on paper.
Practical selection
Choose materials that let you practise the required skill under exam conditions: chart work, knots or a complete paper session.
Core document
For the official SKS navigation tasks
D49 is the working surface for the chart tasks. Protect it in transport and avoid creating new folds; it is not a chart for navigation on board.
Exam format
For questions and chart work under time pressure
A current set combines theory and navigation tasks with model solutions. Do not open the solution before completing your own attempt.
Tools
For accurate courses, bearings and distances
Tools should move smoothly without play. Very small triangles save space but make long parallel movements less reliable.
Optional
For connecting navigation, law, weather and seamanship
A textbook helps when the model between a question and a plotted task is missing. Choose an edition that identifies the current catalogues and navigation documents.
Links and editions checked: 2026-08-30. Retailer availability can change.
Keelwake Trainer
Use the SKS course for questions, error analysis and theory, and plot every navigation task on the specified paper documents.
The SKS course costs 6,99 € once. No subscription.
FAQ
Digital tools help with concepts and calculations, but not as the only preparation. Handling, accuracy and timing with dividers and triangles need real paper practice.
It is based on official chart material but is explicitly a training chart and must not be used for navigation.
