BlueChart Mobile Discontinued

I see that Garmin BlueChart Mobile has been discontinued. What are other iPad users using?

https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/p/114005#overview

I have used quite a few iPad apps over the years. (iNavX, Nobeltec, Garmin BlueCharts, and Sea IQ. ) I have come to rely on Navionics and now have the iPad mounted at the helm in conjunction with a chart plotter and a PC running coastal explorer. Tides and currents are device resident. Auto routing is a valuable tool. The crowd sourced Sonar Charts are now very accurate. Of all the navigation systems on Chartplotters, PCs and iPads, the navionics updating is the easiest and the fastest I have found. Just after Garmin acquired Active Captain they also acquired Navionics. The day after they acquired Navionics, they shut down Garmin BlueCharts. Coincidence?

Still working on my iPhone

High Wire said:

Still working on my iPhone

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Archie: It still works on my IPad. The reason I asked was I wanted to update the charts. I also like the Active Captain overlay and I’m not sure that option is available with Navionics charts.

Garmin BlueCharts still works on any device it was on previously. And on that device you can continue to update the AC content. But the charts cannot be updated. IMHO that is not a big deal. The Garmin charts were lacking in detail and always out of date. But as a vehicle to see AC content it is excellent. Right now you cannot get the AC content on Navionics, but I will bet you that that will change very soon. It only make sense that Garmin would make that connection since they now own both. We have the AC content on our Coastal Explorer PC navigation and also on Sea IQ iPad app. Sea IQ uses NOAA charts and is much more up todate and is much more accurate than Garmin proprietary charts ever were. That being said, the way the Garmin BC displays the AC content is excellent.

Leave it to Garmin to buy up and screw up the marine electronics we all use. [emoji35]

Go on their support page and post an objection. Perhaps if enough customers do that, they might reconsider. Not likely, but worth a try.

So, Sea IQ allows the Active Captain overlay?

They discontinued Garmin Helm too, which bums me out because we use an IPad at the lower station as a full function instrument connected via WiFi to the main Garmin on the bridge.
Oh well, I thought it was too good to be true & last. I can't blame them. Why wouldn't they discontinue it? It forces people like me to buy another Garmin display rather than use my IPad.
Maybe when Garmin acquires Apple they'll reintroduce the app...

boomerang said:

I can't blame them. Why wouldn't they discontinue it? It forces people like me to buy another Garmin display rather than use my IPad.

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It forces me to do the opposite. Technology marches on and everybody expects new devices to supplant older models. But lack of long-term support and backward compatibility are deal-breakers for me. When Garmin announced they no longer supported an MFD that I’d bought about a year earlier, I couldn’t get it out of my boat fast enough. Most of my gear is now Furuno but, for me, any company with gear that works and a commitment to customer support would be preferable to companies like Garmin.

This is really bad news. Can't wait to see what Panbo says about it.

rclarke246 said:

So, Sea IQ allows the Active Captain overlay?

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Yes it does.

Marketing 101, planned obsolescence. Garmin does it well. It will not change. Since their bottom line on the marine side is selling new hardware, backward compatibility whether with older gear, AC, Apple or Navionics add ons is of secondary importance to them.

Which is why I prefer well supported Furuno systems for work and Navionics and associated stuff on the IPad for play. The happiest and most satisfied serious cruising Garmin users I know are those who eschew the add ons and stick with the basics on their primary hardware. Then if the IPad apps start acting up they still can safely navigate and use radar.

boomerang said:

They discontinued Garmin Helm too, which bums me out because we use an IPad at the lower station as a full function instrument connected via WiFi to the main Garmin on the bridge.

Oh well, I thought it was too good to be true & last. I can't blame them. Why wouldn't they discontinue it? It forces people like me to buy another Garmin display rather than use my IPad.

Maybe when Garmin acquires Apple they'll reintroduce the app...

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HA, there is enough loose change under Tim Cooks desk to buy Garmin.

It clearly was a planned move with the acquisition of Navionics with them basically admitting that Navionics had superior charts for mobile use.

angus99 said:

It forces me to do the opposite. Technology marches on and everybody expects new devices to supplant older models. But lack of long-term support and backward compatibility are deal-breakers for me. When Garmin announced they no longer supported an MFD that I’d bought about a year earlier, I couldn’t get it out of my boat fast enough. Most of my gear is now Furuno but, for me, any company with gear that works and a commitment to customer support would be preferable to companies like Garmin.

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I agree 100%. I’ve long been a huge Garmin fan, but this is enough to push me to other manufacturers.

I always have an iPad running on the helm with active captain Overlaid on Garman blue chart mobile. I also have two new Garman 8212s on the helm. I see little difference between Garman mobile and the Garman charts on my chart plotters.

I also use Blue Chart pretty extensively on my iPad in conjunction with my Garmin 1040 MFD. Crappy news!

On another Garmin note, my Garmin 1040 at the helm is a 2015 vintage and it has never been updated. Can that be done via WiFi or do I need to buy a chip of some sort?

cardude01 said:

I also use Blue Chart pretty extensively on my iPad in conjunction with my Garmin 1040 MFD. Crappy news!

On another Garmin note, my Garmin 1040 at the helm is a 2015 vintage and it has never been updated. Can that be done via WiFi or do I need to buy a chip of some sort?

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Which poses the eternal question, what new updated information is provided and truly useful. Dredging channel changes and buoy placement may be nice to have, but if you're tied into AC those may be in there already. Most updating is good, some not. If you've done any linking of your 1040 to non Garmin hardware, those drivers or interfaces may be impacted.

rclarke246 said:

So, Sea IQ allows the Active Captain overlay?

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Gordon J said:

I always have an iPad running on they home with active captain Overlaid on Garman blue chart mobile. I also have two new Garman 8212s on the helm. I see little difference between Garman mobile and the Garman charts on my chart plotters.

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If you compare Garmin charts to NOAA or to Navionics the differences will be apparent.

Just past Southport NC, the ICW crosses Lockwoods Folly inlet. The Garmin BlueCharts buoys are still as located in the fall of 2016. The ICW was dredged in the spring of 2017. NOAA and Navionics updated their charts. Garmin did not. The 2017 hurricanes filled the dredged channel back in. the USCG moved the buoys again. NOAA and Navionics have those changes. Garmin BC still has the fall 2016 buoys.

I have attached a picture comparing NOAA, Garmin BlueCharts and Navionics for a section of the ICW just south of Fernandina Beach, FL.

The last cruise we did in FL my Garmin charts were way off from the markers in about 5 different places IIRC. Active Captain had the updated info. As always I follow the markers and not the charts if there is a difference when in the US, but when in the Bahamas where there are few markers I now wonder how accurate my Garmin charts are.

Where the Garmin BlueCharts excelled, for us, was in the Bahamas. Our CMap charts were useless. I nave not used Navionics there.

Larry M said:

Where the Garmin BlueCharts excelled, for us, was in the Bahamas. Our CMap charts were useless. I nave not used Navionics there.

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That’s good to hear. I never ran aground or had any issues in the Bahamas this summer, so I was hoping it wasn’t just luck. Thanks.

Larry M said:

Where the Garmin BlueCharts excelled, for us, was in the Bahamas. Our CMap charts were useless. I nave not used Navionics there.

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Larry

Did the GBC succeed because they were tied into AC or otherwise updated in a proprietary fashion? One would hope that Navionics would seamlessly transfer to most Garmin plotters.

All this said, I still prefer a laptop based system running your favorite charting program unencumbered by what Garmin, Furuno, Simrad etc are doing to confuse us and enrich themselves. A few years ago I was communicating with AC's Jeff on this subject and he found Trident was his favorite for applying AC data. Garmin was not but a dream for him at that time.

Anyone have an educated (or otherwise) guess on how the Navionics acquisition plays out in existing Garmin MFD's?

sunchaser said:

Larry

Did the GBC succeed because they were tied into AC or otherwise updated in a proprietary fashion? One would hope that Navionics would seamlessly transfer to most Garmin plotters...

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We bought GBC for our iPad for the chart accuracy not for AC. We were in the Bahamas several years ago using CMap on our pc along with a set of older charts scanned to a KAP file. The CMap charts were not accurate nor did they have the desired detail. The scanned charts were accurate but didn’t quilt well and scrolling and in out was not seamless. We went fishing on a friend’s boat who had an iPad with the GBCs. We could navigate blindly they were so accurate. We went out and bought an iPad just for the Bahama’s charts/navigation. Since then we use the iPad for our principle plotter while in the Bahamas. To get the complete set of GBCs for less than $50 was pretty amazing. We didn’t and usually don’t use AC for where we cruise in the Bahamas.

Larry M said:

Where the Garmin BlueCharts excelled, for us, was in the Bahamas. Our CMap charts were useless.

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Surprised to hear that. Have read that the C-Map Bahamas charts include Explorer Chart data -- which are in turn said to be the cat's meow for that area.

No?

-Chris

I have used Navionics for several years and often find that it is the screen I watch rather than the Garmin plotter or the Furuno plotter/radar.
In conjunction to Navionics I also have Garmin Helm loaded onto the IPad which allows me to see the same screen display on my IPad and Garmin unit
By the way, only the IPads wiih cellular service have the built-in GPS. If your IPad is only WiFi you will need to connect it to a GPS source.

I'm a big fan of crowd-sourced data. I use the Navionics SonarChart data whenever I have doubts about the depth or currency of the last 'formal' survey. SonarChart data gets updated daily I believe. Lots more detail than other sources I have seen.

I expect this is a large part of the value Garmin saw in Navionics.

ranger42c said:

Surprised to hear that. Have read that the C-Map Bahamas charts include Explorer Chart data -- which are in turn said to be the cat's meow for that area.

No?

-Chris

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Chris: I agree that the Explorer Charts are very good but they were not included with our CMap charts. Our CMap charts were last updated in 2011 for many dollars. At the time, we were out of the country with an extended cruising area.

The chart/plotter guys sure have us if we want to stay current.