Nav for Sweden and the world

[azk101]

Hi there,

I am a beginner sailer who mostly sails a 8m boat based in Stockholm and I am looking for a handheld navigation device that can replace a iPad with a Swedish navigation app.

The app works very well as it seems to have more environmental indicators that some other apps on a non Swedish apple app market place but I would like to find something that can work well there, as well as possible trips around the UK and else where.

My budget for now is £300-350 if anyone have any recommendations of what to look at please?

A

 

[roaringgirl]

What's wrong with the Ipad?

 

[Refueler]

iPad ...... yes well ..

Lots of Android tablets with faster processing out there ... free nav apps ....

Lets give example : OpenCPN .......... free and works well ...

Just another thought - I am planning to cross Baltic from Latvia via Gotland in mid August for a cruise in the Stockholm Archipelago ...... if you are around - maybe join up and have a 'beer' ??

 

[roaringgirl]

iPad ...... yes well ..

Lots of Android tablets with faster processing out there ... free nav apps ....

Lets give example : OpenCPN .......... free and works well ...

Just another thought - I am planning to cross Baltic from Latvia via Gotland in mid August for a cruise in the Stockholm Archipelago ...... if you are around - maybe join up and have a 'beer' ??

I understood the OP is already using an Ipad.

 

[dunedin]

Navionics on iPad?

 

[Tranona]

Suggest you look at the Garmin handheld here garmin.com/en-GB/p/662621 they retail in UK for around £300 plus the chart. Advantage over an iPad is sunlight readability and longer battery life. Downside is small screen.. However perhaps more sensible on that size boat to go for a proper wired in chartplotter in the cockpit from around £500 such as here garmin.com/en-GB/p/690188 which retails in UK for £500 including UK chart. Maybe they have similar offers in Sweden.

 

[Spirit (of Glenans)]

I

I understood the OP is already using an Ipad.

Think Refueler is dissing the inadvertently.

 

[Spirit (of Glenans)]

I
Think Refueler is dissing the inadvertently.

Damn predictive text. The was meant to to be "dissing the iPad"

 

[Sandy]

I sailed for years with a Garmin handheld, also useful if you do lots of stuff in the wild.

 

[Refueler]

I understood the OP is already using an Ipad.

My reply was actually sarcastic about the iPad ... I dislike them with a vengeance !!

 

[Refueler]

I
Think Refueler is dissing the inadvertently.

Yep ... I am no lover of the iPad ....

Overpriced ...

 

[Refueler]

Suggest you look at the Garmin handheld here garmin.com/en-GB/p/662621 they retail in UK for around £300 plus the chart. Advantage over an iPad is sunlight readability and longer battery life. Downside is small screen.. However perhaps more sensible on that size boat to go for a proper wired in chartplotter in the cockpit from around £500 such as here garmin.com/en-GB/p/690188 which retails in UK for £500 including UK chart. Maybe they have similar offers in Sweden.

Sweden has Onwa Dealership and can do a really nice deal on Chartplotter with K charts and AIS .... within OP's budget.

I have the Onwa and its more than good enough with K chart. ...

 

[ChromeDome]

To my understanding the OP

1. is looking for a handheld navigation device that can replace a iPad with a Swedish navigation app.
2. would like to find something that can work well there (Sweden?), as well as possible trips around the UK and else where.

Not knowing which Swedish app were talking about it becomes a bit difficult, but to replace an iPad would require either another IOS based device, an Android (if said app is available) or a bespoke device running some sort of software - Garmin/Navionics and C-Map being very popular.

As for the coverage "UK and else where" I'd presume the big ones mentioned (plus maybe some more) has it. Budget wise it might be tight, hence pointing to OpenCPN and a suitable device. And some DYI to get on top of the use, integration and operation.

Around the world cruising in a 8m boat is possible, but not without compromise(s).

 

[azk101]

Hello everyone
Thanks for all the great replies.

So I’m not totally against a tablet/app it’s just I personally have a wifi only iPad and wouldn’t want to buy another for a single use. I guess I could do an android tablet (as there cheaper) with an app as an option, although that begs the question what app as there seems to be quite a lot of choice and I’m guessing lots are up to personal taste. Also I did try a few on my phone last year in tandem with the Swedish iPad app and there were a few apps that had some missing shallow rocky areas which was a bit concerning ?

Out of interest what are your best osx apps to start trying on a iPhone for now?

OpenCPN looks good, il give t a try on the MacBook to try it on land.
Sounds great but I don’t think il be around in august, but happy to give some good areas around here if you wanted to explore 100s of little islands here.

So sounds like it’s either get an android device and find what app best works for me (opinions welcome , or a smaller handheld garmin device for now.

I don’t really want spend more than 300/350 for now as our little boat might be upgraded next year if all goes well

az

 

[ChromeDome]

Fit a Bad Elf and your Apple thing will be GPS enabled.
Or tether/hotspot from a nearby phone

Edit: There apps to install on both phone and pad, to share the GPS data by Bluetooth. E. g. "LE GPS"

 

[roaringgirl]

I bought a small android tablet for 60€ and installed Navionics. I had to check very carefully that the tablet had a gps chip before I bought it.

I've been using Navionics for the last 15,000 miles and it seems to work ok.

 

[azk101]

At the moment I'm trialing Navionis and Savvy Navvy here in the Stockholm archipelago. Although SN definitely has the advantage with the wind overlay, the maps are easier to zoom around and find things and the whole user experience feels more up to date I find the charts are lacking A LOT of detail, which are pretty important in an archipelago.

Examples below of a little inlet I might want to anchor for the night. Navionics gives loads of important depth data while SN looks very basic. Is that normal?

 

[BabaYaga]

If you are looking for fine detail in Stockholm archipelago I suppose you must have come across the Hydrografica offering? Cannot get more detail than that.
Can be had as and add-on to for instance the Eniro navigation app, both at a very reasonable yearly cost IMO.
The app is available for both OS and Android.
Of course, this is only for Swedish waters, not ’the world’.

 

[Glisferox]

I've had great success with Navionics, on iPhones and iPads. The detail has been good, if anything, with Sonar charts there's a little too much detail. Also, I now see they include the location of permanent mooring rings.

I only have experience of the Hydrografica chart books which are wonderful , I've not tried their vector charts. The newer ones even include things like radio masts and soundings below 6 metres .

Savvy Navvy's wind routing is probably useless until you get to the outer archipelago, as I doubt they have the terrain models needed to add the funnelling and back eddying you get around the islands.

Personally I'd buy the chart books (I had such fun with these and a compass) and find an Android tablet that runs Navionics well and go with that.

 

[Buck Turgidson]

Do you have a GPS receiver of any kind on your boat?
If so is it networked?

I ask because I have used a non-gps iPad for many years in many sailing areas including coastal and ocean passages either with a bad elf receiver or these days coupled either to my Garmin in-reach for stand alone capability or via a wifi signal from my N2K networked GPS.