A character can successfully pilot a ship or boat, i.e. keep it afloat and heading in the right direction if he/she makes a dice roll using his/her Navigation (including relevant piloting specialisms) + CO. The difficulty depends on the type of boat and the weather and water conditions as follows:
| Weather/water conditions | Piloting difficulty value |
| Lake or slow-flowing river | 2 |
| Calm seas or estuaries | 4 |
| Fast flowing river or normal seas | 6 |
| Gentle rapids or stormy seas | 9 |
| Fierce rapids or very stormy seas | 13 |
| Over a waterfall or hurricane conditions at sea | 18 |
If the character succeeds in the dice roll, he/she keeps the boat afloat and headed in the right direction. If he/she fails by 3 points or less, he/she keeps the boat afloat but loses control of the direction. If he/she fails by more than 3 points, the boat may (at the referee's discretion) be damaged, wrecked or sunk by the conditions.