Does anyone have a suggestion on a good navigation app for my iPhone? I currently have a Raymarine C80 chartplotter on my 2006 Hunter 33 with the Navionics Gold charts (looking for a similar type app). I primarily cruise north Florida to the Keys and cross to the Bahamas on occasion. I want to use my smartphone for a back-up if necessary. Thanks.
iPhone navigation apps
- Thread starter Jimmy P
- Start date
- Status
NavX
Jim,
Not sure about the iPhone but I use NavX on my iPad (gps version) and think it's great. The cost is $50. Also receives AIS information too..
Jim,
Not sure about the iPhone but I use NavX on my iPad (gps version) and think it's great. The cost is $50. Also receives AIS information too..
Most iPhone apps rely upon the data network for actual maps. Maybe there's some that you download map data for a particular area. I use the ATT Navigator on my iPhone and it allows you to download areas of the country for when you're out of good data coverage. The other problem is that although there is some limited shoreline coverage, the big carriers' licenses end at the shore.
I use the Navonics app. Same charts and features used on your Raymarine but with some additional features. You draw a box on the area you want charts for and they get downloaded to your iPhone. You do this where you have wifi and there is no data being used otherwise you get it across the phone network. The charts reside on your phone. Some of the additional features is there are camera icons in most harbors at different angles showing an aerial picture. You also can get a wind prediction using wind arrows of the area and animate it to see a 3 day prediction.
Jim, I use the Navionics App as well on my iPhone. It looks the same as the Navionics chip in my Raymarine CP so I am comfortable with it. I use it for a backup in case I loose my Instruments and GPS. The only issue I found with it is that the overlay does not always fit. But other than that I like it!
Try looking at the app iSailor. Its free to download, you just pay for the charts that you want. I think I downloaded the Chesapeake Bay area charts for $5.99. It uses GPS to chart your position.. The charts are interactive where you can click on a buoy or a point of interest and it will give you information about it. You can record your track, set waypoints and various other features. Also tracks speed, and direction of travel. I am very happy with it. If you are on an extended voyage make sure you have a way to charge your phone onboard. The GPS hogs battery life.
I use iSailor on my iPad also. I have problems keeping the track in memory ( uses all the memory that iSailor allows) then it starts dropping off the oldest data points. Any idea how to set iSailor to use more of the iPads memory? Also, I was able to download charts of the Great Lakes ( from NOAA) for free.TightlyStrung said:
Greg
Greg from what I understand iSailor will use up all the available memory that the iDevice has then it starts deleting past tracks... I think that they only way to store more data points is to export the tracks or delete other apps.
It really is a great app.
Chad
For some reason, I believe I have a lot more memory than iSailor uses...but maybe I will delete some photos and movies and then see if it keeps the tracks longer.TightlyStrung said:
It is a very good ( and free to boot) app.
I also recently started using saild.com app to record sail journal info (trip date, time, NMR sailed, avg sog, top sog, etc).
Greg
- Status