Map Layers & Detail Control

Put the right chart information in front of you

An ENC can contain thousands of features. Showing everything at once may hide the information you need most; hiding too much can remove important context. SeaVectors' Map Layers panel lets you find the useful balance for the task in front of you.

Use Quick groups for broad changes and Detailed Layers when you need control over a particular ENC object class. Your choices persist, so the chart can remain arranged for the way you normally cruise, fish, plan, or work.

Want to try it with your own waters?

• Download SeaVectors on the App Store
• Get SeaVectors on Google Play
• Or open the lightweight web chart for a quick preview.

Open the layer controls

Tap the Layers button—the stacked-squares icon—to open the panel. Start with the quick groups near the top. Open Detailed Layers only when you need finer control, then close the panel to review the result on the chart.

Change layers while stopped or during planning whenever possible. Avoid spending attention on display configuration during a demanding maneuver.

Quick groups

A quick group changes a related set of features together.

Group	Typical contents	Why you might use it
Land	Land areas and coastline	Maintain shoreline and geographic context
Depth	Depth areas, contours, soundings, and seabed information	Read channels, shoals, depth transitions, and bottom context
Hazards	Wrecks, obstructions, underwater rocks, and other dangers	Review threats along and around a route
Traffic	Traffic schemes, precautionary areas, fairways, and routing boundaries	Understand organized vessel movement
Lights	Navigation lights, sectors, buoys, and beacons	Identify charted aids and approach guidance
Cables	Submarine cables, cable areas, and pipelines	Avoid anchoring or operating where restrictions apply
Restricted	Restricted and caution areas	See regulated or hazardous boundaries
Fishery	Supported fishing closures and protected zones	Review applicable Canada West Coast DFO areas
Labels	Named places, water areas, and chart labels	Add context or reduce visual clutter

Chart style controls—such as Nautical, Night, Satellite, Relief, and City Details—change the visual background and portrayal. Layer controls determine which ENC information is available on top of that view.

Detailed ENC layers supported by the active chart style

The active SeaVectors chart style contains dedicated sources and portrayals for these major groups:

• Land and coastline — LNDARE
• Depth and seabed — DEPARE, DEPCNT, SOUNDG, and SBDARE
• Hazards — WRECKS, OBSTRN, and UWTROC
• Traffic and routing — traffic separation zones and boundaries, precautionary areas, fairways, and recommended routing features
• Anchorages — anchorage areas, anchorage symbols, and anchorage points
• Navigation aids — charted buoys, beacons, lights, colored sectors, labels, and range-aware light portrayal
• Cables and pipelines — submarine cable lines and cable areas
• Marine structures — pontoons, bridges, and offshore platforms
• Restricted and caution areas — RESARE, caution areas, and their labels
• Named and regulated areas — buoyage areas, sea-area labels, and supported DFO Pacific regulatory zones

Detailed controls are useful when you want contours without every sounding, seabed type for anchoring, or traffic boundaries without unrelated labels.

Navigation lights deserve their own attention

The Lights group is more than a collection of generic icons. SeaVectors uses ENC attributes to portray supported buoys, beacons, light colors, sectors, nominal ranges, and directional or fixed beams. In the native app, nearby lights become more prominent as your vessel enters their charted nominal range.

Keep the Lights group available during harbor approaches and night navigation, and tap an aid to inspect its available characteristics. Read the full explanation in 02 · Reading the ENC Chart.

Practical starting points

These are starting configurations, not safety-certified presets. Review every setup against the voyage, vessel, conditions, and applicable requirements.

Coastal passage planning

• Keep Depth, Hazards, Traffic, Lights, and Restricted areas available.
• Reduce Labels if they obscure the route.
• Zoom out periodically to retain wider route and traffic context.

Entering a shallow or unfamiliar harbor

• Show Depth areas, contours, and soundings.
• Keep Hazards, Lights, Traffic, and Restricted areas visible.
• Use an appropriate safety depth and sounding visibility.
• Tap unfamiliar lights, buoys, hazards, and restrictions before proceeding.

Anchoring

• Show depth information, hazards, cables, restricted areas, and SBDARE seabed type.
• Check for charted pipelines, submarine cables, prohibited anchoring, and swing-room hazards.
• Treat seabed information as charted guidance; confirm conditions with current local information and onboard observations.

Fishing on the Canada West Coast

• Enable Fishery and Restricted groups together.
• Tap DFO-supported zones to review the available rules and source information.
• Confirm current regulations before fishing; chart overlays can become outdated between data updates.

Night navigation

• Use Night style and reduce screen brightness appropriately.
• Keep Lights, Hazards, Depth, and Traffic information visible.
• Avoid excessive labels, but do not hide features needed to interpret the route and surroundings.

A useful way to learn the controls

1. Open a harbor you know.
2. Take note of the current chart before changing anything.
3. Toggle one quick group off and on, then observe exactly what changes.
4. Open Detailed Layers and separate contours from soundings.
5. Turn on seabed information and inspect an anchorage.
6. Restore the safety-relevant layers you expect to use before leaving the exercise.

Changing one thing at a time makes it easier to understand the chart and prevents accidental over-decluttering.

Avoid these common mistakes

• Turning off an entire group to remove one busy feature — use Detailed Layers instead.
• Assuming a hidden feature no longer matters — display choices do not change the water, regulations, or chart data.
• Using satellite imagery as a replacement for ENC hazards and depths — keep the relevant ENC layers available.
• Changing many settings without checking the result — toggle one group at a time and review the chart.
• Forgetting that details are zoom-dependent — some features appear only when you move closer.

Troubleshooting

• A feature does not appear — confirm its quick group and detailed layer are enabled, then zoom in.
• The chart looks unexpectedly empty — re-enable Land and Depth, followed by Hazards, Lights, and other needed groups.
• Soundings appear too early or too late — adjust sounding visibility under Map Settings rather than disabling all depth information.
• A fishery or restricted area is missing — check the relevant groups, coverage, internet/data status, and current source information.
• Your changes seem to persist unexpectedly — layer selections are retained; reopen the panel and restore the desired setup.

Build a chart around the way you navigate

Install SeaVectors and start the 30-day full-access trial, open a harbor you know, and work through the exercise above. The ability to move from a clean passage overview to a detailed approach or anchoring view is one of the practical advantages of a real vector ENC workspace.

Continue with 04 · Position, Heading & the Nav Bar to connect the chart with your vessel's live position and movement.

Navigation safety

Layer controls improve readability; they do not determine what is safe to hide. Maintain the information required for the current operation, use an appropriate chart scale, verify critical hazards and regulations from current official sources, and keep a proper lookout.