Maritime Master vs Sailor's Deck
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Maritime Master
Master maritime navigation and safety with an interactive 3D learning experience. Covers COLREGs, flags, ropework, navigation, meteorology, and more through engaging lessons and quizzes.
- Interactive 3D ropework and knot tying
- COLREGs reference and quizzes
- Flag and phonetic alphabet learning
- Maritime safety procedures
- Navigation tools and techniques
- Meteorology and weather patterns
- Comprehensive maritime exams
Read full descriptionHide full description
Master the essentials of maritime navigation and safety with Maritime Master, your comprehensive training solution for maritime professionals, enthusiasts, and anyone curious about the world of seafaring. Whether you're studying for your maritime certification, brushing up on your skills, or simply fascinated by ships and the sea, Maritime Master offers an engaging and interactive learning experience. Taking maritime learning to the next level with gamification, learning in a whole new way! Have fun learning in an interactive 3D environment that helps you learn and test your skills. Explore detailed models, animated demonstrations, and challenging quizzes to solidify your knowledge. Key Features: - COLREGs (Collision Regulations): Access the complete text of the COLREGs, organized by section for quick and easy reference. Essential knowledge for safe navigation. - Flags: Learn ICOS flags, semaphore, and their meanings. Master the phonetic alphabet and test your knowledge with the fun and addictive Flagman game (hangman). - Health & Safety: Cover critical topics such as signage at sea, fire extinguishers, personal protective equipment (PPE), and other essential safety procedures. - Ropework: Learn essential knots and equipment in a fully interactive 3D environment. Explore animated knots from any angle and practice tying them virtually. - Navigation: Learn about markers, lights, shapes, radar, sonar, bearings, and other crucial navigation tools and techniques. Test your skills with interactive exercises. - Meteorology: Understand weather patterns at sea. Learn about clouds, the Beaufort scale, and wind barbs in an interactive environment. - Sea Terms & Lingo: Learn all the essential maritime terminology, including parts of the ship, nautical phrases, and common seafaring expressions. - Sounds: Familiarise yourself with important sounds at sea, from foghorns to distress signals. - Comprehensive Exams: Test your knowledge on all topics with our challenging exams. Track your progress and identify areas where you need to focus. Maritime Master is designed to be a valuable resource for: - Maritime students and cadets - Experienced seafarers looking to refresh their knowledge - Boaters and recreational sailors - Anyone interested in learning about the maritime industry Download Maritime Master today and embark on your journey to becoming a maritime master!
Sailor's Deck
Master navigation lights and day shapes for skipper exams with this flashcard app. It uses spaced repetition to build lasting visual memory, tracks your progress, and resurfaces difficult configurations until they stick. Study offline with no ads or subscriptions.
- Spaced repetition learning
- Four-layer progression of study
- Confusion pair training
- Offline functionality
- Progress tracking and session summaries
- Association-specific terminology
- Daily streak motivator
Read full descriptionHide full description
Navigation lights and day shapes is the hardest topic on every skipper exam. Minimum 50 configurations to recognise, from any bearing, under time pressure. Most sailors try to cram it from a textbook the night before. It doesn't work. Sailor's Deck is built specifically for this. Flashcards with spaced repetition — the study method proven to build lasting visual memory — sequenced across four layers from basic light identification through to full composite scenarios. The app tracks what you know, resurfaces what you don't, and keeps drilling the configurations you keep getting wrong until they stick. HOW IT WORKS Each session presents set of cards drawn from your personal review queue. Answer correctly and the card moves to a longer review interval. Answer wrong and it comes back sooner. Get a category badly wrong and the relevant COLREGS rule is shown on the spot. The four-layer progression matches the way your exam actually tests you: — Layer 1: Base lights — masthead, sidelights, sternlight — Layer 2: Status lights — what the vessel is doing — Layer 3: Day shapes — cone, ball, cylinder, diamond — Layer 4: Composite scenarios — full patterns from specific bearings Confusion pairs are built in. Miss a RAM card and the NUC card is queued immediately behind it. Miss a trawling vessel and the purse-seine card follows. The pairs most likely to lose you marks on the exam are pre-wired into the system. 100+ CARDS. ALMOST EVERY CONFIGURATION. Power-driven vessels, sailing vessels, vessels not under command, restricted in ability to manoeuvre, constrained by draught, pilot vessels, mine clearance, dredgers, air-cushion vessels, fishing vessels trawling and not trawling, vessels at anchor, towing and pushing — plus all COLREGS day shapes. Every card reviewed by a qualified sailing instructor. WORKS FOR YOUR ASSOCIATION Select your certification on first launch and the app uses your association's terminology throughout: — RYA Day Skipper / Coastal Skipper / Yachtmaster — IYT Bareboat / Coastal / Master of Yachts — ISSA Inshore / Offshore — ASA 104 / 106 One card library. Your language. NO ACCOUNT. NO INTERNET. NO NONSENSE. Everything runs offline. Progress is saved locally. No login, no subscription, no ads. Free — permanently, with no card limit and no time limit on the entry skipper deck. DAILY STREAK + PROGRESS TRACKING A daily streak keeps you coming back in the weeks before your exam. Per-category accuracy shows exactly where your weak spots are. Session summaries flag the COLREGS rules you need to read. Study on the boat. Study on the bus. Five minutes before bed. The exam is closer than you think.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Sailor's Deck at 100% against Maritime Master's 0%. Maritime Master's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and device support (4 vs 2). On price, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Sailor's Deck sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Maritime Master asks for nothing beyond the download.
Maritime Master ships an update every 10 days, Sailor's Deck every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 4, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Maritime Master | Sailor's Deck |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 0.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | — | 1 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 10 days — better | Every 3 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 15.1 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 2.3 GB | 23 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | MARITIME MASTER LIMITED | Vladimir Arefev |
Customer experience
Maritime Master
Sailor's Deck
In-app purchases
Maritime Master
No in-app purchases
Sailor's Deck
- Small Tip$0.99
- Buy a Coffee$2.99
- Generous Tip$3.99
Questions
Is Maritime Master free?
Is Sailor's Deck free?
Do Maritime Master or Sailor's Deck have ads?
Which is updated more often, Maritime Master or Sailor's Deck?
Other comparisons















