Am thinking about using ipad for navigation instead of dedicated chartplotter. Would be interested in any experience or thoughts about it. Also an comments on software to use. Will be cruising Chesapeake and intracoastal waterway, no ocean passages. Thanks for any comments.
i pad navigation
- Thread starter doc jim
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We use an ipad as navigation aid on most boats we sail.
But would I ever use it as PRIMARY electronic aid to navigation? No.
I want a marinized, rugged unit designed solely for that purpose, mounted to the boat and connected to house power. Integrated with the rest of the systems.
Ipads are nice for looking over tomorrow's planned route and harbor details. The swipe and pinch to zoom makes looking at the maps a pleasure.
But primary aid? Nope.
But would I ever use it as PRIMARY electronic aid to navigation? No.
I want a marinized, rugged unit designed solely for that purpose, mounted to the boat and connected to house power. Integrated with the rest of the systems.
Ipads are nice for looking over tomorrow's planned route and harbor details. The swipe and pinch to zoom makes looking at the maps a pleasure.
But primary aid? Nope.
Ok. My Navionics app lives on my phone (6+) and iPad. It is amazing. While I love my Garmin most if the time my phone is close by.
My best friend is a delivery captain and with new boats he uses his iPhone with Navionics to make deliveries. This is on multi million dollar brand new boats.
It is the best money I have spent in terms of navigation.
My best friend is a delivery captain and with new boats he uses his iPhone with Navionics to make deliveries. This is on multi million dollar brand new boats.
It is the best money I have spent in terms of navigation.
Some do that for the same reason we bring our ipad when we charter.... You know it, it's yours, and you can be pretty sure it will work. When you get on someone else's boat you can't be sure of any of these things.
We use the iPad running Navionics as our primary electric navigation. You can make it water proof and rugged with a lifeproof case. We are adding a 12 volt outlet and RAM mount to the cockpit for it. Many people have done coastal cruising including the Caribbean with this. Several people have crossed oceans.
Cruise the Caribbean several times a year. My Garmin handheld died so I'm using Navionics on my 5s with a Lifeproof case. It's great. Better than the Garmin. But to be fair the Garmin was a little dated and worked well for a lot of years.
Unlike the others, I use Android for all my navigational needs. But you asked about the iPad and such. Yes, there are tons of discussions already posted on the board. But in a nut shell, it would be wise to have something to back up your paper charts and/or chart plotter. These little devices are excellent to assist when entering an unknown port or your visibility is low. But NOT for primary navigation. We need to make that perfectly clear.
Would please clarify exactly why you're of that opinion? I don't ask to challenge you, only to learn the specific reasoning behind your opinion. Thanks
Well, I guess I would start with accuracy. It is nice to see where one is within a channel, but because not all devices share the same accuracy one could be off by several boat length. I would believe that dead reckoning could be more accurate based on the number of fixed points one uses. I could be wrong with this, but that is why I only use my device to get a general idea where I am within a channel.
For example. My car GPS has a software switch that lets me choose between "On the nearest road" or not. I can remember the exact phrasing. But this switch when set to off, shows my car several car lengths off of the road I am driving on. So with the switch on, I have a false indication that I am on the road.
JMHO
For example. My car GPS has a software switch that lets me choose between "On the nearest road" or not. I can remember the exact phrasing. But this switch when set to off, shows my car several car lengths off of the road I am driving on. So with the switch on, I have a false indication that I am on the road.
JMHO
I know a lot of people out there that are using tablets as their primary charts. I tend to use my ipad since it's nice to have it up on deck next to me, but I do have backups in case I drop it overboard! (Like the posts above, I bought a Lifeproof case to protect it) For backup, most of the time I have a separate GPS that gives me my lat/long and then I can plot along on paper charts instead of a dedicated chartplotter, but if I'm in unknown waters, I'll opt for my chartplotter.
In terms of software/apps, I've been running Navionics and it's great so far! You can download the base app for free and access the government charts, or if you don't mind spending some money, you can get more detailed charts and access to their sonarcharts and community edits.
We recently came back from the BVI and I brought a Garmin hand held, GPS MAP 378, an iPhone 6 Plus and an iPad Air both running Navionics, iSailor and Garmin Blue Chart Mobile..
Here's how it went down in the tropics..
Garmin - Screen bright & visible even in direct sun and 100% reliable
iPhone 6 Plus - Screen very tough to see even on max brightness. Running Nav programs munched the battery. Had 4 over temp shut downs in 7 days. Horribly unreliable during a short 9 day cruise.
iPad Air - Same as above but 6 over heating events leading to shut down in 9 days. Horribly unreliable on a short 9 day cruise..
Even when I took the devices out of their cases they still over heated and became rather slippery. I have also had my iPad over heat here in Maine as well as freeze up when it thought it needed to update something.... This is often a full 20-30 minute shut down and cool off before rebooting.
I consider my iToys just that, toys.....
P.S. The Navionics charts were quite poor for the BVI, IMHO. The Garmin charts were better and more accurate. I always had them running side by side when the iToys were not in over-heat mode....
Here's how it went down in the tropics..
Garmin - Screen bright & visible even in direct sun and 100% reliable
iPhone 6 Plus - Screen very tough to see even on max brightness. Running Nav programs munched the battery. Had 4 over temp shut downs in 7 days. Horribly unreliable during a short 9 day cruise.
iPad Air - Same as above but 6 over heating events leading to shut down in 9 days. Horribly unreliable on a short 9 day cruise..
Even when I took the devices out of their cases they still over heated and became rather slippery. I have also had my iPad over heat here in Maine as well as freeze up when it thought it needed to update something.... This is often a full 20-30 minute shut down and cool off before rebooting.
I consider my iToys just that, toys.....
P.S. The Navionics charts were quite poor for the BVI, IMHO. The Garmin charts were better and more accurate. I always had them running side by side when the iToys were not in over-heat mode....
Remember the sailor in Hawaii whose boat landed in the rocks because his iDevice locked up wanting to do an update? Maybe an isolated incident, but it only takes on isolated incident.
Lesson learned; turn off all features when using your iDevice off shore.
Lesson learned; turn off all features when using your iDevice off shore.
Main Sail,We recently came back from the BVI and I brought a Garmin hand held, GPS MAP 378, an iPhone 6 Plus and an iPad Air both running Navionics, iSailor and Garmin Blue Chart Mobile.. Here's how it went down in the tropics.. Garmin - Screen bright & visible even in direct sun and 100% reliable iPhone 6 Plus - Screen very tough to see even on max brightness. Running Nav programs munched the battery. Had 4 over temp shut downs in 7 days. Horribly unreliable during a short 9 day cruise. iPad Air - Same as above but 6 over heating events leading to shut down in 9 days. Horribly unreliable on a short 9 day cruise.. Even when I took the devices out of their cases they still over heated and became rather slippery. I have also had my iPad over heat here in Maine as well as freeze up when it thought it needed to update something.... This is often a full 20-30 minute shut down and cool off before rebooting. I consider my iToys just that, toys.....
Curious if you were using the regular charts, sonar charts or government charts?
Thanks,
Jesse
iPhone with Navionics
We always have the right paper chart in the cockpit. Our primary nav-aide is a handheld Garmin color charter. Our iPhone with Navionics is a great system with better features than the Garmin. It also gives us weather and weather radar, Active Captain, and other help. It's good in the sun, but not as good as the Garmin.
There are chart errors ranging from a few feet to a mile or two for charts that are not upgraded to GPS. All GPS charting systems have the same issues there. So piloting on ranges was still the only way to take the back door out of the Benjamins last time we were in the North Channel. We have seen no difference between the Garmin and Navionics on the iPhone with regards to accuracy, and the ability to zoom the phone is a big help. We have used this combo for months of cruising on Lakes Erie, St. Clair, and Huron, the North Channel, the San Juans, and the North Island of New Zealand.
We have never had a problem with battery life or over-heating, and Lake Erie can be hotter on a calm summer day than the trades in the BVI's. Navionics on our iPad is great for planning in the cabin, but does not do as well as the iPhone in the sun. We have had no reliability problems with any of these systems. We can charge any of then on our 12 volt system under way.
We always have the right paper chart in the cockpit. Our primary nav-aide is a handheld Garmin color charter. Our iPhone with Navionics is a great system with better features than the Garmin. It also gives us weather and weather radar, Active Captain, and other help. It's good in the sun, but not as good as the Garmin.
There are chart errors ranging from a few feet to a mile or two for charts that are not upgraded to GPS. All GPS charting systems have the same issues there. So piloting on ranges was still the only way to take the back door out of the Benjamins last time we were in the North Channel. We have seen no difference between the Garmin and Navionics on the iPhone with regards to accuracy, and the ability to zoom the phone is a big help. We have used this combo for months of cruising on Lakes Erie, St. Clair, and Huron, the North Channel, the San Juans, and the North Island of New Zealand.
We have never had a problem with battery life or over-heating, and Lake Erie can be hotter on a calm summer day than the trades in the BVI's. Navionics on our iPad is great for planning in the cabin, but does not do as well as the iPhone in the sun. We have had no reliability problems with any of these systems. We can charge any of then on our 12 volt system under way.
Doc Jim I sail the Chesapeake and we do occasionally stick our nose out into the ocean. We have a variety of aides on hand for navigation but my favorite is the iPad paired with an Inreach. Via this rig we can message and we can get a plot of where we are going. The charts are the USCG charts so there as good as the paper plus we can scale them up for detail.
As to keeping it safe I just use a zip lock bag and have never had a problem. Once out kayaking the iPhone in a zip lock went over the side with me when a power boater came to close and swamped me. Phone still works.
I also when not concerned use the fly away app for the Chespeake on the iPhone and it too is quite useful.
As to keeping it safe I just use a zip lock bag and have never had a problem. Once out kayaking the iPhone in a zip lock went over the side with me when a power boater came to close and swamped me. Phone still works.
I also when not concerned use the fly away app for the Chespeake on the iPhone and it too is quite useful.
We're buying our first 'smart telephones' in a couple months (I know I know...wife hates it when I let that one out)......
Trying to decide between Apple or Samsung (will be carried onboard as backup to a backup).
Any objective opinions comparing product lines as it relates to onboard use? Tablets vs IPads?
Trying to decide between Apple or Samsung (will be carried onboard as backup to a backup).
Any objective opinions comparing product lines as it relates to onboard use? Tablets vs IPads?
That is a tough question. I you ave been using Android product it's fine. The same is true for Apple. I have run on both and once familiar with the other it's fine. I would say Android does often seem to need a few more keystrokes to accomplish the same task. In Android's favor while its battey life seems shorter to me you can swap batteries which you can't on the Apple. The solution for that is a battery plugged in to recharge the I device but it does mean extra weight.
I think it really is mostly will the program you want run on the device you choose. So many run on both its not the issue it used to be.
I think it really is mostly will the program you want run on the device you choose. So many run on both its not the issue it used to be.