Syllabus map
Every Day Skipper topic, mapped
The RYA Day Skipper Theory syllabus, line by line, with the module that teaches each topic and what is live today.
Source of the topic list: the RYA Day Skipper Theory course syllabus, 17 sections, as published by the RYA and reproduced publicly by Classic Sailing (https://classic-sailing.co.uk/article/rya-day-skipper-theory-syllabus). No paid course material was used. All teaching text on the site is original. Facts and their sources are on our sources page.
Practice chart: chartwork uses a fictional chart, Kerran Sound, drawn in SVG for this course (the home-page course map is the first version of it). RYA training charts are copyrighted and are not used.
Every module below is live: a lesson, a narrated film (16:9, plus a 9:16 phone cut) and an end-of-module quiz. All the quizzes feed the 50-question mock exam at /exam/.
Modules
| # | Module | RYA § | Lesson contents | Film | Quiz | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | The boat & nautical terms | 1 | bow/stern/port/starboard, relative directions, hull, keel, rudder, transom, LOA/beam/draught/freeboard/air draught, standing & running rigging, halyards & sheets, parts of a sail; Catamaran: bridgedeck, beam, no heel, twin rudders/engines, windage | 16:9 + 9:16 | 10 Q | live |
| 02 | Ropework & knots | 2 | rope types & construction; 8 animated knots (bowline, figure-of-eight, clove hitch, round turn & two half hitches, reef, sheet bend, rolling hitch, cleating); Catamaran: bridle | 16:9 + 9:16 | 8 Q | live |
| 03 | Safety equipment & lifejackets | 4 | safety equipment carried, stowage & use; lifejackets & harnesses, jackstays; liferaft; flares; fire precautions & extinguishers | 16:9 + 9:16 | 10 Q | live |
| 04 | Rules of the road | 5 | IRPCS steering & sailing rules 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12–19: lookout, risk of collision, action to avoid, narrow channels, TSS, sail vs sail, overtaking, head-on, crossing, give-way/stand-on, responsibilities, restricted visibility | 16:9 + 9:16 | 10 Q | live |
| 05 | Lights, shapes & sound signals | 5 | IRPCS general rules: navigation lights & arcs, power/sail/fishing/towing/NUC/RAM/CBD/anchored/aground, day shapes, sound & light signals, distress signals (Annex IV) | 16:9 + 9:16 | 10 Q | live |
| 06 | IALA A buoyage | 16, 12 | Regions A/B, direction of buoyage, lateral & preferred-channel marks, cardinal marks & lights, isolated danger, safe water, special, emergency wreck marks, light characteristics; Catamaran: shallow draught vs channel | 16:9 + 9:16 | 10 Q | live |
| 07 | Position, charts & publications | 6, 7, 8 | latitude & longitude, nautical mile & knot, true bearings/courses, chart symbols, direction & distance, publications (almanac, pilot books, tide tables, Notices to Mariners), chart correction, plotter & dividers; Kerran Sound lat/long scale; Catamaran: draught vs charted depths | 16:9 + 9:16 | 10 Q | live |
| 08 | The compass | 9 | variation, deviation (causes, deviation card), true/magnetic/compass conversion, hand-bearing compass; Kerran Sound rose, TVMDC converter; Catamaran: helm-station compass deviation | 16:9 + 9:16 | 10 Q | live |
| 09 | Tides: heights & the rule of twelfths | 11 | springs & neaps, definitions (chart datum, LAT, MHWS/MLWS, height of tide, charted depth, drying height, range), tide tables, Admiralty tidal curve at a standard port, rule of twelfths, clearance under keel; Port Kerran tide day, interactive curve; Catamaran: draught changes the clearance sum | 16:9 + 9:16 | 10 Q | live |
| 10 | Tides: secondary ports | 11 | time and height differences, interpolation, secondary port curve method; Carrick Haven worked example on the Port Kerran practice day; Catamaran: same working, draught changes the clearance | 16:9 + 9:16 | 10 Q | live |
| 11 | Tidal streams | 11 | tidal diamonds, tidal stream atlases, rates at springs/neaps and interpolation, set & drift; Kerran Point diamond A on the Port Kerran practice day; Catamaran: same working, the stream carries any hull | 16:9 + 9:16 | 10 Q | live |
| 12 | Chartwork: DR, EP, fixes & course to steer | 10 | dead reckoning, estimated position, leeway, three-point visual fix, GPS/satellite positions, waypoints, course to steer across a tidal stream (Kerran Sound practice chart); 0830 fix → EP 0930, cocked hat, KS1/KS2 waypoints; Catamaran: leeway differs (keels vs daggerboards), same construction | 16:9 + 9:16 | 10 Q | live |
| 13 | Pilotage & harbour entry | 16, 12 | transits, leading lines, clearing lines & bearings, sailing directions, pilotage plans, harbour entry, lighthouses & sectored lights; Port Kerran entry plan: leading marks 352°T, Gull Island light NLT 030°T, Iso WRG sector; Catamaran: wider beam, draught no substitute for the plan | 16:9 + 9:16 | 10 Q | live |
| 14 | Meteorology & forecasts | 13 | forecast sources (shipping forecast, inshore waters, Navtex, VHF), forecast terms & Beaufort scale, highs, lows & fronts, sea & land breezes | 16:9 + 9:16 | 10 Q | live |
| 15 | Passage planning, watchkeeping & fog | 14, 15, 17 | planning short coastal passages, weather & tide windows, waypoints, independent position checks, navigational watch, fog precautions, marine environment & pollution | 16:9 + 9:16 | 10 Q | live |
| 16 | Anchoring & mooring | 3 | anchor types, choosing an anchorage, scope (4× depth chain / 6× rope), swinging circle, laying & weighing, mooring buoys, berthing lines (bow, stern, springs); Catamaran: bridle | 16:9 + 9:16 | 10 Q | live |
| 17 | VHF radio & distress calls | 4 | VHF basics, channels 16/67, Mayday / Pan-Pan / Sécurité, DSC distress alert, licences (SRC) | 16:9 + 9:16 | 10 Q | live |
| 18 | Emergencies: MOB, fire & rescue | 4 | man overboard recovery, fire fighting, abandon ship & liferaft, helicopter rescue | 16:9 + 9:16 | 10 Q | live |
Games
| Game | Teaches | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Docking alongside v1 | momentum, prop walk, windage, pivot point, tide, bow thruster; monohull + catamaran; 3 levels (calm · crosswind & tide · gusty, tight, no thruster) | live /game/ |
| Entering a marina berth | reversing into a finger berth, prop walk, tight turns, other boats; monohull + catamaran; 3 levels | live /game/berthing/ |
| Anchoring | choosing a spot, scope 4×/6× depth, swinging circle, dragging; monohull + catamaran bridle; 3 levels | live /game/anchoring/ |
Topic-by-topic checklist — RYA Day Skipper Theory syllabus
Every line of the 17-section syllabus, mapped to a module.
| RYA § | Syllabus topic | Module | ✓ |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Parts of a boat and hull | 01 | ✅ live |
| 1 | General nautical terminology | 01 | ✅ live |
| 2 | Properties and construction of rope in common use | 02 | ✅ live |
| 2 | Commonly used knots: when to use them and how to tie them | 02 | ✅ live |
| 3 | Characteristics of different types of anchor | 16 | ✅ live |
| 3 | Considerations when anchoring | 16 (+ anchoring game) | ✅ live |
| 4 | Safety equipment to be carried, its stowage and use | 03 | ✅ live |
| 4 | Fire precautions and fire fighting | 03, 18 | ✅ live |
| 4 | Personal safety equipment, harnesses and lifejackets | 03 | ✅ live |
| 4 | Sending a distress signal by VHF radio | 17 | ✅ live |
| 4 | Basic rescue procedures including helicopter rescue | 18 | ✅ live |
| 5 | IRPCS steering and sailing rules (5, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 12–19) | 04 | ✅ live |
| 5 | IRPCS general rules (all other rules: lights, shapes, sound signals) | 05 | ✅ live |
| 6 | Latitude and longitude | 07 | ✅ live |
| 6 | Standard navigational terms | 07 | ✅ live |
| 6 | True bearings and courses | 07 | ✅ live |
| 6 | The knot | 07 | ✅ live |
| 7 | Information on charts, chart symbols, direction and distance | 07 | ✅ live |
| 7 | Navigational publications in common use | 07 | ✅ live |
| 7 | Chart correction | 07 | ✅ live |
| 8 | Parallel rulers, dividers and proprietary plotters | 07 | ✅ live |
| 9 | Application of variation | 08 | ✅ live |
| 9 | Deviation and its causes | 08 | ✅ live |
| 9 | Use of hand-bearing compass | 08 | ✅ live |
| 10 | Dead reckoning and estimated position, awareness of leeway | 12 | ✅ live |
| 10 | Techniques of visual fixing | 12 | ✅ live |
| 10 | Satellite-derived positions | 12 | ✅ live |
| 10 | Use of waypoints to fix position | 12 | ✅ live |
| 10 | Course to steer | 12 | ✅ live |
| 11 | Tidal definitions, levels and datum | 09 | ✅ live |
| 11 | Tide tables | 09 | ✅ live |
| 11 | Admiralty method for tidal height at a standard port | 09 | ✅ live |
| 11 | Corrections for secondary ports | 10 | ✅ live |
| 11 | Tidal diamonds and tidal stream atlases for chartwork | 11 | ✅ live |
| 12 | Lighthouses and beacons, light characteristics | 06 (characteristics), 13 (lighthouses & sectors) | ✅ live |
| 13 | Sources of broadcast meteorological information | 14 | ✅ live |
| 13 | Shipping forecast terms, Beaufort scale, significance to small craft | 14 | ✅ live |
| 13 | Highs, lows and fronts | 14 | ✅ live |
| 14 | Navigational plan for short coastal passages | 15 | ✅ live |
| 14 | Meteorological considerations in passage planning | 15 | ✅ live |
| 14 | Waypoints on passage; confirming position by an independent source | 15 | ✅ live |
| 14 | Keeping a navigational watch | 15 | ✅ live |
| 15 | Precautions in, and limitations imposed by, fog | 15 | ✅ live |
| 16 | Transits, leading lines and clearing lines | 13 | ✅ live |
| 16 | IALA buoyage Region A | 06 | ✅ live |
| 16 | Use of sailing directions | 13 | ✅ live |
| 16 | Pilotage plans and harbour entry | 13 | ✅ live |
| 17 | Avoiding pollution, protecting the marine environment | 15 | ✅ live |
Result: 48 of 48 syllabus lines mapped to a module, and all 18 modules live with a quiz and a narrated film.