Budget boater desperately seeking nav software

[BrianG]

Many are drawn to pretty baubles or gimmicks.

It's what you find yourself using regularly that ultimately satisfies.

The vast majority of boaters I know severely underutilize their expensive navigation suites and are convinced by magazines and a few glossy blogs of what they need instead of the simple basics that really are adequate.

Heck, they severely underutilize their boats.....

So which softwares are the lightest, simplest, bare bones?

 

[Mrwesson]

Isn't Navionics one of the more pricey nav apps?

It's somewhere around $20 a year with a 2 week trial.

 

[psneeld]

So which softwares are the lightest, simplest, bare bones?

I have last years free OpenCPN...not sure if it's still free.

 

[BrianG]

I have last years free OpenCPN...not sure if it's still free.

I'd say OpenCPN is amazing and powerful but not "Light". It doesn't have training wheels.

 

[psneeld]

I'd say OpenCPN is amazing and powerful but not "Light". It doesn't have training wheels.

For basic chart plotting it's pretty simplle..

Somewhat true of all chartplotters.

They might have incredible depth...but you dont have to use it and most never do.

 

[BrianG]

For basic chart plotting it's pretty simplle..

Somewhat true of all chartplotters.

They might have incredible depth...but you dont have to use it and most never do.

Okay but when I downloaded OpenCPN in my pilothouse my boat took on a 20 degree list. Just sayin'.

 

[psneeld]

Okay but when I downloaded OpenCPN in my pilothouse my boat took on a 20 degree list. Just sayin'.

I have it on my not so great phone, a tablet without a lot of memory and a couple laptops.

Comes in handy as multiple backups as well as off the boat talking to fellow boaters who need to see places or things that are only on navigation charts.

A few clicks tells distances, a few more will make a route. Not sure why that is "complex"?

Sure you can get into all kinds of networking and saving routes, etc, etc.....but 99 percent of the last 20,000 miles of East Coast cruising I have done was almost without chartplotter capability or only the very basic leg here and there. Usually a really rough route to give me a decent ETA to a timed bridge was as complicated as I got with OpenCPN.

 

[Nickair]

Many are drawn to pretty baubles or gimmicks.

It's what you find yourself using regularly that ultimately satisfies.

The vast majority of boaters I know severely underutilize their expensive navigation suites and are convinced by magazines and a few glossy blogs of what they need instead of the simple basics that really are adequate.

Heck, they severely underutilize their boats.....

Extremely well said.


.

 

[BrianG]

I have it on my not so great phone, a tablet without a lot of memory and a couple laptops.

Comes in handy as multiple backups as well as off the boat talking to fellow boaters who need to see places or things that are only on navigation charts.

A few clicks tells distances, a few more will make a route. Not sure why that is "complex"?

Sure you can get into all kinds of networking and saving routes, etc, etc.....but 99 percent of the last 20,000 miles of East Coast cruising I have done was almost without chartplotter capability or only the very basic leg here and there. Usually a really rough route to give me a decent ETA to a timed bridge was as complicated as I got with OpenCPN.

When I downloaded it I fell into a black hole of endless folders, subfolders and drop downs. Next mistake was the tutorials. 4 minutes worth of info in a 28 minute video.

 

[BrianG]

Joined the evil empire last night. Got a subscription for Navionics.

 

[BrianG]

I've been using Amazon Fire Tablets - cheap enough to toss if they get soaked with saltwater - hasn't happened yet.

$80 for a Fire 8 but everyone swears they have no GPS. Were there menu setting to activate yours?

 

[BrianG]

I received my $89 Dragontouch 10" tablet today. Runs Navionics without a hitch. Good screen. Can't beat the price. GPS seems fine. No SIM slot.

 

[Olebird]

Hi Brian, been busy last few days moving Starlite from the coast to the Tenn River - time to take cover from Summer storms - none to soon it seems. Getting her settled in her new slip today. Truck ride was pretty rough - Alabama infrastructure needs a lot of work - next time she goes on her on bottom!!!



Looks like you've found a cost effective Nav system. It's true the Fire tablets do not include a GPS module. I use a Bluetooth linked module with mine for a couple of reasons - I already had it, use it with another tablet as a backup in the airplane, and because it's a backup I wanted max battery life. The GPS module has its own battery - so the tablets run a little longer on their internal battery.


All this fancy electronics on the river is kinda silly. but fun to play with!! Handy on the Gulf.



Take care and have a great summer!

 

[BrianG]

Hi Brian, been busy last few days moving Starlite from the coast to the Tenn River - time to take cover from Summer storms - none to soon it seems. Getting her settled in her new slip today. Truck ride was pretty rough - Alabama infrastructure needs a lot of work - next time she goes on her on bottom!!!



Looks like you've found a cost effective Nav system. It's true the Fire tablets do not include a GPS module. I use a Bluetooth linked module with mine for a couple of reasons - I already had it, use it with another tablet as a backup in the airplane, and because it's a backup I wanted max battery life. The GPS module has its own battery - so the tablets run a little longer on their internal battery.


All this fancy electronics on the river is kinda silly. but fun to play with!! Handy on the Gulf.



Take care and have a great summer!

My first impulse reading you have a bluetooth linked GPS module was to surf over to Amazon and order one...because "I need that". Then I realized my humble 29' Trawler already has 6 GPS's. SIX. I have more GPS's than beer. Maybe I can hold off on the GPS module-- at least until I get more beer.

 

[BrianG]

I received my $89 Dragontouch 10" tablet today. Runs Navionics without a hitch. Good screen. Can't beat the price. GPS seems fine. No SIM slot.

Sad to give this a thumbs down. its just too fragile for even light marine use.

 

[Simi 60]

We have multiple android tablets with navionics
A dedicated SEIWA marine plotter running CMap on a 23 inch screen
And Opencpn running through a Lenovo Tiny on a 23 inch screen.
(This is also internet connected so half screen can be weather radar for example)

Open cpn has firmly become our #1 device with the seiwa running as confirmation.
Opencpn being mouse driven makes it far easier to use.

 

[Portage_Bay]

Sad to give this a thumbs down. its just too fragile for even light marine use.

And therein lies my major concern with laptops, tablets and phones for navigation. Now, don't get me wrong. For years I've used laptops as the primary plotter and I make use of tablets and phones as well. But, I won't leave port without a marine plotter of some sort. It doesn't have to be the latest and greatest with all the bells and whistles because I won't be using it all the time. But it's there in the event I trash my laptop/tablet/phone.

 

[Mike_M]

We bought the Galaxy Tab A. SM-T510 that has the GPS. Then downloaded all the typical apps. The navionics works great and all in with otter case, about $220.00. Automatic route finders and the ability to download maps is easy. Being able to leave the helm with a reference is nice. I have some good nav gear / plotters and this seems to be just as accurate. Great bargain...

 

[BruceK]

We bought the Galaxy Tab A. SM-T510 that has the GPS. Then downloaded all the typical apps. The navionics works great and all in with otter case, about $220.00. Automatic route finders and the ability to download maps is easy. Being able to leave the helm with a reference is nice. I have some good nav gear / plotters and this seems to be just as accurate. Great bargain...

Otters get a bad rap on TF, now they`re turned into cases, presumably waterproof.

 

[Mike_M]

Otters get a bad rap on TF, now they`re turned into cases, presumably waterproof.

Just remember though, the glittery and sparkly ones are friendly...

 

[jgwinks]

OpenCPN is free and you can down load free NOAA charts. Works great on a laptop and they have lots of plug-ins.

https://opencpn.org/

Also available for mac and Android. Note there are two versions on Android, one free and the other $9.95. The paid one is the real deal, the free one is an old version that some one co-opted. It's ok for a try out but doesn't have all the features. OpenCpn doesn't have auto route like Navionics but that feature can be a little wonky. OpenCpn can display anything you can feed it on an NMEA feed inc AIS, radar, depth and STW, even engine gauges if you have NMEA sensors. Navionics will only do AIS as far as I can tell. I've been using O for years on Windows, Linux, and droid. Works well on all. US NOAA charts are free, other countries you may have to pay for. I bought the US & Canada version of Navionics to get the Canadian charts, but now if course can't get into Canada to use them. Oh well, maybe next year. $21.95 for the year is cheap enough.

 

[BrianG]

I like Navionics, now I'm looking for the dumbest lightest back up in case it crashes and cannot restart. Could google maps get you home from a coastal cruise?

 

[SoWhat]

I like Navionics, now I'm looking for the dumbest lightest back up in case it crashes and cannot restart. Could google maps get you home from a coastal cruise?

Navionics on the ipad. Navionics on the iphone for backup.

 

[Nickair]

Navionics on the ipad. Navionics on the iphone for backup.

If a person already has an iPad and an iPhone it makes good sense.


.

 

[psneeld]

I like Navionics, now I'm looking for the dumbest lightest back up in case it crashes and cannot restart. Could google maps get you home from a coastal cruise?

without importing a nav chart, it might be dicey inland, sea buoy to sea buoy could be done.

Not sure about Google maps....but I think you can upload maps into Google Earth.

Even though you don't like it, OpenCPN is a better tool.