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GNSS and RTK for Marine Applications
GNSS and RTK for Marine Applications
Reliable GPS positioning and heading. Compatible with NMEA 2000 (N2K)
Are you a proud owner of a boat or yacht with an NMEA 2000 (N2K) marine display? Now is the perfect moment to upgrade your vessel with centimeter-level GNSS positioning and satellite-based heading at a low cost, fully compatible with all major NMEA 2000 manufacturers (Raymarine, Garmin, Furuno, and others).
GPS/RTK boards provide:
- Centimeter-level positioning when RTK corrections are available (typically near shore or via internet/satellite correction services).
- Sub-meter positioning using standalone multi-band GNSS when RTK corrections are unavailable.
- Heading with sub-degree accuracy using a dual-antenna baseline (the baseline between two GNSS antennas), independent of vehicle motion.
Let’s get you started—choose your use case below.
Add centimeter-level GPS position to your current marine navigation system
Most boats today already include an onboard navigation computer, an autopilot for steering, and an AIS transponder for safety and tracking. In many cases, all of these systems work well — but they still rely on standard GPS, which limits the accuracy of the position data they receive.
If you want better precision, you can add a high-accuracy GNSS receiver and connect it directly to your existing navigation NMEA 2000 network using a CANBus compatible interface. This can be easily achieved using one of the our RTK boards paired with the CANBus GNSS plugin. This means you don’t replace anything in your current system — you simply improve the navigation data source that all your devices use. Once installed, your onboard computer continue working exactly as before, but now they receive much more accurate positioning data. This can noticeably improve navigation precision, route tracking, and overall system performance.
For example, this type of upgrade has already been successfully done on sailing yachts equipped with systems like the Raymarine EV-100, where a high-precision GNSS receiver was added to the existing NMEA 2000 network and immediately improved positioning accuracy.
In short, if your boat already has a navigation system and onboard computer, this is a straightforward way to bring it to a higher level of precision.
Here you can find a customer project: High-precision GNSS integration for Raymarine autopilot via NMEA 2000.
Add a low cost GPS satellite compass to enable sub-degree heading
A GNSS compass provides true heading even when the boat is stationary. This is particularly useful for autopilots, radar overlays, dynamic positioning and autonomous vessels where a magnetic compass is unreliable.
If you are in the marine industry you probably know that NMEA2000 compatible GPS/GNSS devices are expensive, especially variants providing high-precision position and heading accuracy.
Today we are going to explain how to build your own NMEA2000 GPS Compass at lower cost. You will get sub-meter level position when in the middle of the ocean and centimeter GPS position when you are near the shore, and in both cases the attitude accuracy will be at sub-degree level. This is achieved adding a second antenna to an ArduSimple RTK Heading board.
Here you can find a step-by-step guide on How to build a low cost NMEA2000 GNSS Compass with optional RTK functionality.
Measure the distance traveled when sailing my boat
The GNSS odometer is a useful built-in feature available on u-blox RTK receivers. It continuously calculates the distance travelled by the receiver using GNSS position and velocity information, allowing you to measure the length of a route without any additional sensors. This provides the nautical miles sailed from the same device that is already providing the navigation data, avoiding additional expenses.
Here you can find a step-by-step guide on How to use the odometer functionality of u-blox to measure distance.
Tutorial: How to use the odometer functionality of u-blox to measure distance
Our best fit product solutions for Marine Navigation
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RTK GNSS receiver: If you need both precise positioning and reliable heading, the simpleRTK3B Heading is the most complete solution for marine applications. Unlike single-antenna GNSS receivers, it provides true heading even when the boat is stationary, which is critical for accurate navigation and control systems.
Key features:
- Centimeter accuracy with RTK
- True GNSS heading
- 0.15deg heading, 0.25deg pitch/roll accuracy with 1m antenna separation
- up to 50Hz update rate
High-quality GNSS antenna: To complete the setup, remember to add good quality GNSS antenna like Budget Survey Multiband GNSS Antenna.
CANBus plugin for NMEA 2000 integration: To add NMEA2000 CAN Bus functionality without programming, just with a few configuration clicks, remember to add CANBus GNSS Master, which will help you to output data from the receover to the boat’s NMEA 2000 network.
Waterproof case: To protect your electronics, from storms, rain, sun and wind, we recommend enclosing the electronics inside a sealed Outdoor Electronics Case.
Don't find your use case? Contact us!
Are you dealing with a use case not listed above and unsure if this technology is right for you? Just contact us — a real person (not AI) will answer you within 24 hours!