Spring updates in Orca

April 10, 2026 • 3 min read

A new Aim Line, Doppler radar support, a more streamlined routing experience, and updates to Display 2 have arrived.

Spring is here. And for most boaters, it brings the familiar spring activities: getting the boat ready, looking ahead to days on the water, and planning the first trips of the season. It is also the time of year for making upgrades.

For Orca boaters in particular, upgrades and improvements come regularly. If you have been boating with Orca for a while, you know how much the navigation system has grown and improved over the past seasons. 

As preparations for the new season, Orca has received big improvements to its planning and navigation experience in the past weeks. Read on to learn what is new and how to get the most out of these upgrades.

A new Aim Line  

The Aim Line in Orca shows you where you are going in the chart. It is a simple yet remarkably important tool that makes navigation a lot easier.

Historically, Orca would let you choose whether the Aim Line should align with your Course Over Ground or your Boat Heading. For most boaters, Course Over Ground is the best option as it shows you where you are going.

But in places with strong currents, you really want to understand how the currents affect your boat. A great way to do so is to visualize your crab angle, which is the difference between where your bow is pointing and where your boat is going.

With the latest update, Orca now lets you view both Boat Heading and Course Over Ground at the same time. 

This new mode makes it a lot easier to understand where to point your bow and cross-reference what you see in the chart with landmarks when approaching harbours or channels during strong sideways currents.

To turn it on, go to Main Menu > Settings > Chart > Aim Line and select Both. Because this mode depends on an accurate GPS and a compass that is aligned with your boat’s heading, you will need an Orca Core to use this functionality.

A streamlined routing experience 

Orca’s routing experience makes planning trips and exploring alternatives effortless. As Orca’s routing system has grown more capable with more functionality and options over the years, the routing interface has become more complex than it should be.

To reduce complexity and create a better foundation for upcoming functionality, Orca’s route preview has received a complete makeover.

The new route preview gives more space to the information that matters most, while also adding more functionality. You can now reverse your route, export it as GPX, and share the route to a Raymarine Axiom directly from the route preview. On top of this, route destination markers are now larger and easier to view in the chart.

Display 2 upgrades

Orca Display 2’s screen is incredibly bright and can sustain a brightness of 1000 nits. This is great for navigating in sunshine, but if you are navigating at night, you need to reduce incoming light as much as possible to maintain your night vision.

The Display 2’s screen now dims even further than before, and is approximately 50% darker than before at minimum brightness. 

On top of this, the Orca Display 2’s touch input handling has been further fine-tuned to make taps and swipes more accurate and responsive, in particular along the edge of the screen. These improvements make the Display 2 even more capable and easier to use in demanding conditions.

Introducing Doppler radar support

Radar is a great safety tool. It adds an extra layer of awareness when navigating in rain, haze, darkness, and busy waterways. Orca integrates with a wide range of radars, and gives you radar overlays and controls on all your devices via the Orca Core. 

While regular radar is helpful, Doppler mode is especially helpful on busy waterways. Doppler mode determines if a target is approaching or moving away from you by measuring the change in frequency, called Doppler shift, in a radar reflection.

A harbour approach with Doppler mode. The red radar target is easy to spot, and updates more quickly than the corresponding AIS signal for the incoming vessel.

Orca now supports Doppler mode for Raymarine Quantum radars. Doppler mode makes navigation in busy waterways easier, where approaching targets are highlighted in red and targets moving away become green in the radar overlay. 

To activate this mode, open the Control Panel from the top right corner of your chart and select Doppler from your radar controls. 

Start the new season with a modern navigation experience

Spring is the start of a new boating season, but it is also a great time to upgrade the tools you rely on most. If you are looking for a truly modern navigation experience that helps you make better decisions when planning and when you are on the water, look no further than Orca.

Orca Display 2 makes planning and navigation fun and effortless.

Upgrade today via the Orca Store to get a 30-day satisfaction guarantee and free express shipping.