Chartplotters iPad advice

My job has me running & moving between different boats a lot of which are new without any rigging so my iPad/iPhone with the Navonics app is lifesaver especially with the different water ways I navigate every once in a while. I would vote for a the iPad as long as you can keep it shaded and cool as others have mentioned.
 
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I see Garmin has discontinued Bluechart Mobile. Does Garmin Active captain replace this?


Yes. I don't know why they called it Active Captain. That's misleading/confusing. The new app combines functions of AC, Bluechart Mobile and Garmin Helm.
 
I pulled the old chartplotter on my chap 320 and replaced with Ipad. It was much better. I had a custom mount made for it. I didn't have any issues with glare. However, I just boat at the lake and don't need heavy duty chartplotting. But Ipads have an internal GPS that works without wifi. The basic maps app was 20x better than my old chartplotter. Plus I hooked it directly into my stereo and ran other apps.

My two big issues were overheating and power. I just ran a usb from my marine head unit to the Ipad. It did not provide enough power to keep it charged. (this is not an issue if you are not needing a direct connection from the ipad to your stereo). However, I recently found some Ipad mounts for airplanes that seems to fix the cooling and the power issue, plus they look great. http://www.sportys.com/pilotshop/ifdr-panel-mount-for-ipad-air-1-air-2-and-pro-9-7.html

the mount is made to attach a cooling fan and also a power supply. I recently upgraded to a 390 Dancer and am investigating pulling my SR Navigator and installing an Ipad using this mount.
 
I pulled the old chartplotter on my chap 320 and replaced with Ipad. It was much better. I had a custom mount made for it. I didn't have any issues with glare. However, I just boat at the lake and don't need heavy duty chartplotting. But Ipads have an internal GPS that works without wifi. The basic maps app was 20x better than my old chartplotter. Plus I hooked it directly into my stereo and ran other apps.

My two big issues were overheating and power. I just ran a usb from my marine head unit to the Ipad. It did not provide enough power to keep it charged. (this is not an issue if you are not needing a direct connection from the ipad to your stereo). However, I recently found some Ipad mounts for airplanes that seems to fix the cooling and the power issue, plus they look great. http://www.sportys.com/pilotshop/ifdr-panel-mount-for-ipad-air-1-air-2-and-pro-9-7.html

the mount is made to attach a cooling fan and also a power supply. I recently upgraded to a 390 Dancer and am investigating pulling my SR Navigator and installing an Ipad using this mount.

That looks sweet! Have you found a fan you can use to attach to the cooling port?
 
Hmm looks like it does replace it, but I can't seem to find any charts that would mirror the Bluechart Mobile ones we had on the iPad.

Well looks like they have an android version now. Also looks like I'll be paying $219 for charts or buying a Garmin chartplotter. I wonder if the Lake Vu (their fancy spelling...) has navigation for coastal US waters. I really don't need to know where every twig is in 17,000 lakes in the US.. Thanks. I would like to buy navigation charts for the app for $49.... Similar to the Bluechart mobile app.

But seems their marketing was big on you tube videos and showing the tight integration to garmin products and lacking on detail around navigation and chart content... What would be nice is a chunk of BlueChart g2 HD for the East Coast or another portion for $49-$99. That I would buy, sort of a way to suck you into the garmin ecosystem. I suspect if you have a garmin plotter you have access to the base maps in the plotter via unlocking through your unit id. Then you can pay to upgrade them if your plotter is older I guess?

I've tried to load the active captain data which I know is a large chunk of data, but it has failed on me twice... Both on my old Active Captain acct and on a new one. I do have download over cellular set in the settings.

There does not seem to be any option to download govt charts like in Navionics which makes the app pretty useless for navigation, but gives it the same functionality as active captain app which is not a big loss.

Also does not seem to be a way to download the chart content I paid for on the iPad app, granted it would be many years out of date...

Thanks for the heads up. I'll keep an eye on the app and wait to see what I might be missing, glad there is an Android option now.
 
Here's what I don't understand. Let me preface by saying I mean no disrespect. Most of the people who have commented on this thread have 40-50 ft sea rays with diesels. These are expensive boats to buy and maintain. Yet you are discussing using a $350 iPad, not made for boating v. Upgrading to proper marine electronics. It seems like it's not the place to go cheap and save a few bucks. Upgrading the electronics improves safety, usability, and the value of the boat. I have a 2000 gas 310da, small by searay cruiser standards and I just upgraded to all simrad electronics, $7,000. Did it hurt, sure. Do I feel that my family and I are safer because of it, absolutely. Just my two cents.
 
I'm with ya. It's not so much the size of the investment or the boat, but the boating territory. The OP wants to cruise the North Channel of Lake Huron. It's a place every boater should experience, with caution. I've cruised along in open water, barely in sight of land at 24 knots in 100 feet of water and looked over to see a seagull standing on a rock with his feet barely wet. At that point, an iPad should be playing Angry Birds, not helping a SeaRay run over them.
 
I'm with ya. It's not so much the size of the investment or the boat, but the boating territory. The OP wants to cruise the North Channel of Lake Huron. It's a place every boater should experience, with caution. I've cruised along in open water, barely in sight of land at 24 knots in 100 feet of water and looked over to see a seagull standing on a rock with his feet barely wet. At that point, an iPad should be playing Angry Birds, not helping a SeaRay run over them.

I have to laugh, I have done just that. Zipping along and look up and see a rock that I swear should not have been there. Oh we'll.
 
I'm with ya. It's not so much the size of the investment or the boat, but the boating territory. The OP wants to cruise the North Channel of Lake Huron. It's a place every boater should experience, with caution. I've cruised along in open water, barely in sight of land at 24 knots in 100 feet of water and looked over to see a seagull standing on a rock with his feet barely wet. At that point, an iPad should be playing Angry Birds, not helping a SeaRay run over them.

Agreed. I Boat Georgian Bay. I use my iPad as a redundant chart plotter at different zoom than my primary raymarine. Georgian Bay in areas like the 30,000 island area where I Boat and the North channel are not place to screw around with iPad as your primary nav tool.
 
I have looked at an iPad sync'd to my helm instruments when someone else is running the boat and I can't see the instruments clearly. It did quit on me last summer one time when being used this way. In my application, I don't trust it enough to rely on it after that experience.
 

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