Simple Colregs vs Sailor's Deck
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Simple Colregs
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Stay prepared at sea with the Simple Colregs app – your reliable, offline companion for the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGs), including the latest 2016 supplement (Rules 39, 40, 41). 1. Offline Access — No internet needed 2. Audio Guide for Rules 1–19 — Learn by listening 3. Lateral and Maritime Cards Whether you're studying for exams or navigating, this app keeps the COLREGs within easy reach. Clear and simple explanations with audio learning from 1-19. Your on-board reference when every second matters.
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
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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 in-app purchases: Simple Colregs at none against Sailor's Deck's 3. Sailor's Deck's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months) and iOS requirement (15.1 vs 18.5). On price, ads and device support 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. Simple Colregs asks for nothing beyond the download.
Simple Colregs ships an update every 2 months, Sailor's Deck every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Simple Colregs | Sailor's Deck |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | — | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | — | 1 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | — | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 18.5 | 15.1 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 20 MB | 23 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Angad C | Vladimir Arefev |
In-app purchases
Simple Colregs
No in-app purchases
Sailor's Deck
- Small Tip$0.99
- Buy a Coffee$2.99
- Generous Tip$3.99
Questions
Is Simple Colregs free?
Is Sailor's Deck free?
Do Simple Colregs or Sailor's Deck have ads?
Which is updated more often, Simple Colregs or Sailor's Deck?
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