Recommendations for navigation apps?

[ranger58sb]

AquaMap, can someone confirm how it is listed in the Apple App Store?

There are a bunch of options that all seem to want me to think they are AquaMap.

Don't know about the iThing versions, but our most recent for Android systems is Aqua Map Marine v18.1... if that helps. The vendor is GEC srl, in Italy.

(At one time, it was Aqua Map USA.)

The word "Master" comes into play when you do an in-app purchase of the USACE survey data, an extra $10 IIRC...

-Chris

 

[ranger58sb]

Have you seen any patterns as to which is accurate / inaccurate, especially in the Chesapeake?

FWIW, for the Chesapeake... I haven't noticed hugely-significant differences between NOAA raster and vector (as produced for TimeZero and Furuno by MapMedia), Aqua Map, iSailor, the build-in Garmin G3 Blue Charts, or Plan2Nav (latter was a predecessor of the current C-Map app).

I don't have much time up here on the new-to-us last generation Garmin MFD, though... and we don't use the iSailor app all that much anymore. Noticed a few glitches on the Garmin unit as we brought the boat up from Florida... before we got into the Chesapeake... but don't remember exactly what those were. A couple missing or mis-marked nav aids, maybe...

-Chris

 

[Hippocampus]

It on the App Store for ipads

 

[CharlieO.]

Not sure how old your Garmin is, but did you look into whether it's upgradable to latest charts and possibly more? Perhaps not if it's too old, but I would investigate that first. Might not be the cheapest option but something to consider.

I don't think it is very old, it also has a Sim card. The screen is ridiculously small though.

 

[FWT]

FWIW, for the Chesapeake... I haven't noticed hugely-significant differences between NOAA raster and vector (as produced for TimeZero and Furuno by MapMedia), Aqua Map, iSailor, the build-in Garmin G3 Blue Charts, or Plan2Nav (latter was a predecessor of the current C-Map app).

I don't have much time up here on the new-to-us last generation Garmin MFD, though... and we don't use the iSailor app all that much anymore. Noticed a few glitches on the Garmin unit as we brought the boat up from Florida... before we got into the Chesapeake... but don't remember exactly what those were. A couple missing or mis-marked nav aids, maybe...

-Chris

Thanks. I don't think I'm being too picky when saying that properly locating and labeling markers is a fundamental minimum requirement. Soon after some location or label change? Sure. Shifting shoals? Sure. Accuracy is one of those "you have one thing to do correctly" issues. Daylight use is one thing, but at night or other poor visibility is another, when charts on a plotter (with radar) grows in importance.

 

[ranger58sb]

Thanks. I don't think I'm being too picky when saying that properly locating and labeling markers is a fundamental minimum requirement. Soon after some location or label change? Sure. Shifting shoals? Sure. Accuracy is one of those "you have one thing to do correctly" issues. Daylight use is one thing, but at night or other poor visibility is another, when charts on a plotter (with radar) grows in importance.

Yep, I don't disagree. I just can';t quite remember what the issues were. Nav aid on the chart, not really there? Nav aid there, not on the chart?

Pretty sure it was something simple like that, and potentially explainable by real life changes that happened after the chart version was released...

-Chris

 

[NEtrawler58]

I don't think it is very old, it also has a Sim card. The screen is ridiculously small though.

You can buy a new sim card and you may even find one on Amazon or elsewhere if you know what you need. What is ridiculously small? Compared to what? Many use phones and tablets which are not particularly big. Even laptops are not as big as many new MFDs.

 

[CharlieO.]

NE, the screen on the Garmin is a bit smaller than my I phone 12.

 

[L Erie Tugger]

I would second the praise for the Navionics tablet program. We spend a lot of time in Canadian waters which makes OpenCPN expensive since Canadian charts are not free. I do have the program both on my tablet and the boat computer but I like the Navionics better. We have an older Raymarine plotter that requires Navionics charts. This created a problem finding a computer program using these charts after Navionics changed the chart format. I had used Fugawi Marine for many years but the program is discontinued and was not updated for the new charts. After much searching I found ScaNav which, while not as easy to use as the Fugawi, seems to be satisfactory. I haven't used it on the boat yet but have done some trip planning on it and it works.

 

[HRowland]

AquaMap, can someone confirm how it is listed in the Apple App Store?

There are a bunch of options that all seem to want me to think they are AquaMap.

Thanks!

It is called “Aqua Map: Marine & Lake charts”. The developer is GEC s.r.l.

I use it regularly on an iPad. I have the Master subscription to get the USACE soundings, weather, waves, etc. I also use the anchor alarm feature. A very nice app. The only missing feature for me is ability to output NMEA Autopilot data over WiFi when following a route. I use iNavX on an older iPad for this. I load the same gpx route in Aqua Map.

Howard

 

[jgwinks]

[emoji106] that wasmy experience one subscription multi devices.

I'm running it on two tablets and a phone. The phone is new and I had it on the old one too. That makes four devices. One subscription.

 

[Desolation Dan]

No mention of Savvy Navvy on this thread. I use Navionics but like the idea of current and weather being incorporated into route calculations, which is provided by Savvy Navvy. Has anyone tried it?

 

[CharlieO.]

O.P. here,

I purchased the Navionics app after the free trial, $21.99. Didn't realize I had to download my charts ahead of time, so it worked fine for 90% of the trip but my chart ran out just before we got to Haverstraw Bay, then used my free C-maps on my phone for the rest. Not that we needed it for that trip but was using it to familiarize myself with the operation of the app. All the charts are loaded for the rest of the summer now though.

 

[Pathfinder]

Maptattoo navigation device

Has anyone looked at this small daylight visible device? It is new on the market and might be a good backup for cockpit or dinghy

 

[rwidman]

My experience with Navionics on a Samson tablet:

Navionics has a setting for "heading up" (the screen shows the same view as what you see in front of the boat). Unlike my Garmin plotter, Navionics reverts back to "north up" if you pan the screen, zoom, etc. I contacted Navionics about this and they seem to think it is a feature. It cannot be corrected.

The few times I have tried to use it in the summer in the south, the tablet has shut down because it was "too hot". Not a great feature if you are navigating a boat.

The screen is impossible to read in direct sun.

Navionics (auto guidance) has several times suggested a route over dry land or in unsafe waters.

All the apps use "icons" instead of words to select their functions. If you don't learn what the icons mean, you have to keep pushing different icons until you find the one you want. My Garmin plotter uses words to select functions.

I navigate with my Garmin plotter. The tablet and Navionics gets used mostly for estimating an ETA to a destination, but it is sometimes way off.

In my opinion, Navionics is a toy! It's like the developers, developed and published it and then went out to lunch and never came back.

 

[motteatoj]

The Galaxy Note is an Android tablet. You'll find over 20 navigation apps in the Google Play store. I use OpenCPN and Navionics Boating on Android devices. I have a preference for OpenCPN because it supports the official NOAA charts and US Army Corps of Engineers charts, both free. Both OpenCPN and Navionics are low cost.

OpenCPN is avaiable from two developers. I strongly recommend the app by Dave Register one of the original developers of OpenCPN. The cost is quite reasonable. The other version while free is not update or supported. I find it does not run will on newer tablets.

Navionics has a number of vesions depending upon what you want. It is a subscription app. I used it for free for quite a while but find the subscription worth the modest price spoof Life360 location on iPhone. Navioncs uses proprietary charts.

There is more of a learning curve with OpenCPN but it's a more powerful app.

I am looking to get a tablet/laptop to use as an updated navigational aid to my rather old raymarine chart plotter.
What tablet/laptop would you recommend within a reasonable budget of say £500
What App would you recommend, Navionics/ savvy navvy or any other?
Cruising ground would mainly be the Solent.
Thanks in anticipation

 

[ranger58sb]

I am looking to get a tablet/laptop to use as an updated navigational aid to my rather old raymarine chart plotter.
What tablet/laptop would you recommend within a reasonable budget of say £500
What App would you recommend, Navionics/ savvy navvy or any other?
Cruising ground would mainly be the Solent.
Thanks in anticipation

We use TimeZero on a laptop and AquaMap on tablets.

TZ is not inexpensive, may not meet your budget, but it's got a boatload of features and can be networked with other stuff. TZ iBoat is their version that will run on iThings.

-Chris

 

[Portage_Bay]

I am looking to get a tablet/laptop to use as an updated navigational aid to my rather old raymarine chart plotter.
What tablet/laptop would you recommend within a reasonable budget of say £500
What App would you recommend, Navionics/ savvy navvy or any other?
Cruising ground would mainly be the Solent.
Thanks in anticipation

There are so many factors to consider. I can't make recommendations because I don't know enough about your situation and cruising grounds.

Here are the questions I would ask myself.

Will the tablet/laptop be your primary nav aid? Or could it be if the raymarine fails? If so and will it be used in full daylight? Then screen brightness must be considered.

If you choose a tablet are you an iPad or Android user? If you choose a laptop are you Apple or PC user?

What charts are available for your primary cruising grounds?

How strict is the £500 budget? If very strict and you want to purchase new you are limited to an Android tablet. Get the biggest screen you can afford. Be sure it has built in GPS, most do. Not necessarily true with iPads.

The app you choose will be the app that runs the charts you need and can afford. OpenCPN will run on most Android devices and all laptops. oCharts may have the charts you need for your area, they are quite affordable. You can try Navionics free for a short time. That said I have a fairly strong distrust of Navionics accuracy and won't use it as my sole nav aid, I always cross reference with other systems. I have no experience with Savvy Navvy.

My personal preference is against touch screens for navigation. Cold, wet fingers often don't work. Precision is nearly impossible. I use a Bluetooth track ball and keyboard with the tablet.

Again, personal experience, and outside your budget. For non marine grade hardware nav aid I prefer a laptop. Bigger screen, easier to use. Gives me the ability to get weather, do email etc. But it's out side your £500 budget and will require GPS input.

 

[motteatoj]

The Galaxy Note is an Android tablet. You'll find over 20 navigation apps in the Google Play store. I use OpenCPN and Navionics Boating on Android devices. I have a preference for OpenCPN because it supports the official NOAA charts and US Army Corps of Engineers charts, both free. Both OpenCPN and Navionics are low cost.

OpenCPN is avaiable from two developers. I strongly recommend the app by Dave Register one of the original developers of OpenCPN. The cost is quite reasonable. The other version while free is not update or supported. I find it does not run will on newer tablets.

Navionics has a number of versions, depending on what you want, and after reading some Microsoft reviews, it seems like it is a subscription app.. I used it for free for quite a while but find the subscription worth the modest price. Navioncs uses proprietary charts.

There is more of a learning curve with OpenCPN but it's a more powerful app.

I've been using Waze for years and rely on it daily, but over the weekend, it really let me down with the R21 closure. I should have known better, but I trusted the app when it showed the R21 as the fastest route to Pretoria. Only when I reached Olifantsfontein did I realize that Waze didn’t "know" the highway was blocked and assumed there was free-flowing traffic beyond the closure, rather than factoring in the bumper-to-bumper traffic on the detour. I’m starting to think I may need to reconsider my navigation app of choice.