Ipad & chart software

[derekgillard]

I want an Ipad !!! Trying to find a reason to buy one!

I would like a chart plotter on my boat but can't justifiy it.

So question, if I buy an Ipad what is the best software to buy and does it work? I know it won't be a good as a chart plotter but is it worth having, to be fair I only potter around the Solent but how good are these software packages?

Next question , and please bear with me here as I am not an IT expert, if I am running the Ipad with the plotter software does it need an internet connection or does it run from the sat nav, eg same as my in car Garmin..

Final question is how long would the battery life be and can I charge it from the in boat 12V system.

As always thanks in advance.

Del Buoy.

 

[scottie]

First of all it is not a plotter
Do a search here and you will find lots of opinions
For what it's worth here is my thoughts based on 12months experience in the West of Scotland on a boat with a fixed plotter system with displays at chart table and helm.
If all you want is a basic plotter then a large hand held GPS with charts might be a better answer but if you want a back up to paper charts the the IPad is great .
I use navionics but also have Imray charts both of which cover the UK and have many other programs . You have to keep it dry and secure and out of direct sunlight but I prefer the iPad to the ray marine system but the ray marine lives at the helm and dose not might getting wet!
If you have someone else to drive the boat whilst you are using the iPad then it's great but single handed then I would use a GPS
I am a great fan of the iPad for many reasons and think that the navionics program excellent. You do not require a siims card or contract but you do need the higher spec machine for the GPS facility.if you have phone connection and this will depend on coverage you can do so much more including AIS display via the web

And as a bonus you can post on the forum

 

[Boat44]

Thought about exactly the same thing earlier this summer.

You can rig up an IPad with Navionics, another software package I have forgotten the name of and Digital yachts WIFI NMEA/AIS box of tricks and get what you are after, all for under £1k. Oh and a waterproof box/bag. So your Ipad is plugged into your boats GPS and instruments (wind/speed/depth) via the NMEA, you get AIS and its all done wirelessly through WIFI.

I didn’t go for this in the end for two reasons. 1) There was no easy way to secure it to the helm position such that I would be confident that it would work fine in a F9, something the boat has seen twice this summer. 2) and kind of follows on from 1) in that as we charter the boat out I wanted something physically robust that can withstand charters who need a system that can be operated intuitively, if only on a basic level, and I wasn’t sure I would get that from an IPad, although I could be wrong.

If it was just for my own use and I was only doing coastal sailing I would have opted for the Ipad and spent the £1-2k savings on wine!

I think we will see a huge shift in the chart plotter market in the next year or so. At the moment they are in big danger of falling a long way behind what can be achieved by other routes which provide the same if not better functionality for a lot less money. It does not take much to sort out my two points above.

Not forgetting that the IPad will also play your music and videos, and all the internet stuff when you get a signal Wifi hotspot.

 

[[2068]]

Make sure you buy the correct version of ipad - the one with 3G and Wifi has the GPS.

It works well with the latest version of the Navionics HD app, and is fine for use in a covered environment. Don't get it wet, though!

It doesn't need any kind of internet signal to use the Navionics app once you have downloaded all the charts.

Battery life is 9 or 10 hours. Charging is a bit of an issue: standard USB type chargers don't provide enough power to recharge whilst in use. You need one that can provide enough power to charge as you go.

 

[snooks]

So question, if I buy an Ipad what is the best software to buy and does it work?

Navionics, and if you want to actually use it with waypoints/routes/AIS etc iNavX, but with iNavX you also need to buy charts


I only potter around the Solent but how good are these software packages?

Navionics is good enough to get you around the Solent, but don't blame me if you end up on the Brambles

Next question , and please bear with me here as I am not an IT expert, if I am running the Ipad with the plotter software does it need an internet connection or does it run from the sat nav, eg same as my in car Garmin..

Depends which Ipad you buy, if it's the bog standard wifi only one, you'll need a gps input (via wifi WLN10 from Digital Yacht, ot iAIS if you want AIS but you still need a gps with NMEA 0183 out for both)

If you get the 3G version it has Assisted GPS, so you should be able to use it when you're out of phone signal, but you'll be in the Solent so this isn't a problem

Final question is how long would the battery life be and can I charge it from the in boat 12V system.

Yep for the princely sum of £3.99 you can get a 12v Charger, but you'll still need to keep it dry, and hope the salt air doesn't corrode it from the inside.



Or you could get a Garmin 451 chartplotter with charts for £350 or a hand held plotter for just less than £300

 

[GlennG]

Make sure you buy the 3G version as the WiFi only version DOES NOT HAVE GPS.

There's two sets of charts; the Navionics (circa £35) and the Imray raster charts (copies of their paper charts that don't zoom in and out).

Buy yourself the waterproof cover.

Things you'll be disappointed in:
- the screen's not that good in bright sunlight
- it's not as reliable as a dedicated chart plotter
- No AIS/DSC integration

Other apps to buy:
- Tides 11
- Anchor Watch

It's a great tool, but I do find it's not a replacement for my dedicated Standard-Horizon CP300.

 

[andymcp]

I think the biggest limitation of the iPad as a plotter is that if you want to use it when you are close inshore then it can't naturally sit at the helm in all conditions - there is just too much risk of it getting wet, and running between the helm and the nav table can be unnerving if you're heading into a rocky inlet....

I ended up using the Navionics software on my phone mostly for that reason, in one of the proper waterproof casings that you can then strap onto your wrist. The software does eat the battery (you have a hefty app running plus constant GPS drain, which will destroy the claimed 9 or 10 hours of battery life) so you'll need to recharge regularly on either phone or tablet. If you do buy a 12v adaptor, make sure you get one that is specifically designed for the iPad though as the normal apple dock ones will either not work at all (most common) or take an absolute age to charge.

There are very useful chargers though that come with radio transmitters in line....so you can charge the fondleslab at the same time as transmitting your favourite music on FM so it plays through the boat's stereo.

And I add another vote to the need to get the 3G version of the iPad, as it's the only one with decent GPS that doesn't rely on wi-fi triangulation to figure out where you are (which will obviously be tricky in the Solent...).

 

[richardm47]

Economics! Paper Admiralty charts as recommended for my trip from S Coast round W coast of Ireland to Scotland would would have cost me something like £1000. So I spent less money on an iPad and put Navionics on it.

Navionics is good, and I spent an additional £50 for Memory Map which puts 800 Admiralty charts onto the iPad. Paper charts are Imray ones, that include large scale plans of the main harbours. Those would get me into shelter if I lost the iPad charting.

I usually keep the iPad down below away from the wet, never found the need for a plotter at the helm.

My iPad does a whole day of navigating on a full charge, most of the time display is off to save battery. Charging on 12v seemed a bit dodgy when I first started so I added a small 12v to 240v inverter, that works well.

Yes I've been cruising for 3 months and been very happy with the iPad for navigation. Economics; it does much more than navigate; and saves space compared to piles of paper charts.

 

[Richard10002]

Get a dedicated plotter with a good quality map:

http://www.seamarknunn.com/acatalog/standard-horizon-gps-plotters.html

You can't risk an iPad in rough wet weather - you can obviously do what you like, but it will end in tears.

 

[GlennG]

I think the biggest limitation of the iPad as a plotter is that if you want to use it when you are close inshore then it can't naturally sit at the helm in all conditions - there is just too much risk of it getting wet, and running between the helm and the nav table can be unnerving if you're heading into a rocky inlet....

Use a waterproof cover. Simples.

BTW, an iPhone is also brilliant. Had to navigate into Ramsgate once in a pea-souper before I had a chart plotter. Couldn't see anywhere near from one buoy to the next with a cross-tide. iPhone to the rescue...

OK, takes all the fun out of sailing

 

[double_ender]

Using Ipad with 3G and GPS with Memory Map software and the latest UK charts frm Memory Map. The App for Memory Map was about £25 and their charts for all UK are under £50. Down loaded all my 150+ Waypoints routes and saved tracks which were taken from my small PDA which ran Memory Map via my PC on to the iPad. Very pleased with it as a chart plotter up till now we only had the small PDA We had a mini Three 3G sim card with the machine and have found the 3 3G network much better here on West Coast of Scotland most other networks are only GPRS and very slow I think iPad only works with 3G networks

 

[Bobc]

I can't believe that people are setting sail without paper charts. That's completely irresponsible.

Electronic toys are fine, but you still need to buy paper charts.

My personal view is that the paper chart should always be the master, and you use electronics to check that you're where you think you are. Also they're fine for passage planning.

Maybe I'm just old fashioned, but the batteries can't run out on paper charts.

 

[FWB]

I can't believe that people are setting sail without paper charts. That's completely irresponsible.

Electronic toys are fine, but you still need to buy paper charts.

My personal view is that the paper chart should always be the master, and you use electronics to check that you're where you think you are. Also they're fine for passage planning.

Maybe I'm just old fashioned, but the batteries can't run out on paper charts.

The primary means of navigation on the Boeings I used to fly was by electronic charts, with paper charts for back up. I run my boat in the same way.
Never had electrical failure on the aircraft nor on my boat. If it were to happen the charts are there to back up, not the other way round.

 

[snooks]

I can't believe that people are setting sail without paper charts. That's completely irresponsible. [in your opinion]

Electronic toys are fine, but you still need to buy paper charts.[in your opinion]

My personal view is that the paper chart should always be the master, and you use electronics to check that you're where you think you are. Also they're fine for passage planning.

Maybe I'm just old fashioned, but the batteries can't run out on paper charts.

Federal Aviation Administration is allowing charter company Executive Jet Management to use Apple’s tablet as an approved alternative to paper charts.

I think chartplotters have gone far beyond being "electronic toys" and you don't "need" to buy anything.

When we went up to Orkney last year we took paper charts to cover the journey. Most have one line on them as we used them once. we never ran out of power even with an alternator failure.

We also bought hundreds of pounds chart to get to the Hebrides which we didn't end up using...A total waste of money.

We got some back on Ebay, but we could have bought two ipads and apps with the money we wasted.

There is no better way to passage plan than on a paper chart, but after that, I'm starting to question their relevance on a modern yacht.

An electronic chart (on an iPad for example) will tell you at a glance where you are, and would have been updated more recently than a paper chart, unless you get the latest editions before you cast off.

 

[scottie]

At the end of the day buy your iPad because it is great item and has many marine apps you will use it far more not as a plotter than as a plotter and you want one yes the navionics or other is a great excuse. But get a small plotter as well!

 

[colvic987]

raymarine have brought out a new plotter with bluetooth the e7, maybe somthing to have a look at it, and see if appropriate to your needs.

http://www.raymarine.co.uk/view/?id=1352

 

[Cookee]

raymarine have brought out a new plotter with bluetooth the e7, maybe somthing to have a look at it, and see if appropriate to your needs.

http://www.raymarine.co.uk/view/?id=1352

With Navionics on an Ipad you can link up to the built in wireless on the E7 (I'm sure bigger ones will be along shortly) - in real life that means you can do all of your planning on an Ipad anywhere and as soon as both are linked wirelessly and automatically they will "sync" - this is possible with the existing units but you need a router to make it happen. You can also control the music on the Ipad or Iphone from the Raymarine kit - there's probably a lot more stuff it will do as well!