Navighiamo controllando lo scafo.

Navighiamo is the 1st person plural form of navigare: we sail / we navigate / we are sailing.

In Italian, the simple present often covers meanings that English expresses in more than one way, so navighiamo can mean:

• we sail
• we navigate
• we are sailing

The exact English translation depends on context.

Italian often leaves out subject pronouns when they are clear from the verb ending.

Here, -iamo tells you the subject is we:

• navighiamo = we navigate / we are sailing

So noi is unnecessary unless you want emphasis:

• Noi navighiamo controllando lo scafo = We are sailing/checking the hull

Controllando is the gerundio (gerund) of controllare.

It often corresponds to English forms like:

• checking
• while checking
• by checking

So Navighiamo controllando lo scafo suggests that the action of checking the hull is happening at the same time as the sailing/navigation.

Italian often uses the gerundio to connect two actions when one happens during or as part of the other.

So:

• Navighiamo controllando lo scafo

can mean something like:

• We sail while checking the hull
• We are sailing, checking the hull as we go

Using controllando makes the sentence more compact than saying:

• Navighiamo mentre controlliamo lo scafo
  (We sail while we check the hull)

Both are possible, but the gerund version is very natural.

Usually here it most naturally means while checking, because the two actions are happening together.

But gerunds in Italian can sometimes suggest:

• simultaneous action: while checking
• manner/means: by checking

So the sentence could be understood as:

• We are sailing while checking the hull or possibly
• We navigate by checking the hull

In most ordinary contexts, the first reading is more likely.

Because scafo begins with sc + consonant sound (sca-), Italian uses lo instead of il.

Common rule: use lo before masculine singular nouns beginning with:

• s + consonant: lo studente
• z: lo zaino
• ps: lo psicologo
• gn: lo gnomo
• and some other similar clusters

So:

• lo scafo = the hull

If it were plural, it would become:

• gli scafi = the hulls

Scafo means hull, the main body of a boat or ship.

It does not mean the entire boat by itself. It refers specifically to the structural body of the vessel.

So controllando lo scafo suggests checking the condition of the hull, for example for damage, leaks, or general safety.

Yes, out of context, navighiamo can also be the 1st person plural subjunctive/imperative-style form, meaning let’s sail / let’s navigate.

However, in this sentence, with a normal statement intonation and a period, it is most naturally understood as we sail / we are sailing.

So:

• Navighiamo! = Let’s sail!
• Navighiamo controllando lo scafo. = more likely We are sailing while checking the hull.

Because Italian does not always need a progressive form like English are checking.

The gerund controllando already shows an ongoing action linked to the main verb.

If you said:

• Stiamo navigando mentre stiamo controllando lo scafo

that would be grammatical, but heavier and less natural in many contexts.

Italian often prefers the simpler, smoother structure:

• Navighiamo controllando lo scafo

The h is there to keep a hard g sound.

Without getting too technical, navigare changes to navighiamo in order to preserve the pronunciation of the stem.

A rough pronunciation is:

• na-vee-GYA-mo

The gh helps keep the g hard, rather than soft.

This is similar to other Italian verbs where spelling changes help preserve pronunciation:

• pagare → paghiamo
• spiegare → spieghiamo

Yes, it is natural.

Italian commonly uses:

• main verb + gerund phrase

So:

• Navighiamo controllando lo scafo

is a normal way to say that the two actions happen together.

You could rearrange things for emphasis, but the given order is straightforward and idiomatic.