iPad for Navigation

H2ONUT

H2ONUT

Well-Known Member
Nov 26, 2006
2,658
Savanna GA
Boat Info
2000 215EC
Engines
5.0 EFI Mercruiser Alpha
I am curious to see how many use their iPad for navigation while out on the water. I'm not concerned with the accuracy or pros and cons. Also if you use the iPad how are you mounting it.

Thanks!


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I haven't and won't but 1 person I know has tried it and they say the screen is very hard to see in the sun. I use it as back up only.
 
I'm in the process of looking at boats. Every time I go out I take my Ipad with to take notes, etc... I have a Lifeproof case on it and can plug it into the cockpit lighter.

I can tell you, for me it's very accurate and helpful.

I was using Inavx and just last night downloaded the Navionics app w/the additional auto-routing and navigational features. I think the total was about $65 for them.

I've got to say the charts and the features are excellent. You can set your draft and it will make a leg to waypoint red if you are going over land or don't have depth in the water. A simple drag of the waypoint or adding another (just hold your finger down for a sec on the leg somewhere) and you can move the leg.

It's fast, accurate, and has a wealth of info....

What is lacking, that I can see from a traditional plotter, is depth from sounder and radar. Other than that, I think it's all there.

That's the good news....

The bad news is if it gets direct sunlight, you have issues of over heating and not being bright enough to see the charts. The brighter you make the screen, the more power you use and the hotter the Ipad gets.

So, if you can keep it out of direct sunlight it works great. Otherwise, you could be relying on it and you will get the shutdown triangle and it won't function. Then you need to find a way to cool it down.

For me, I haven't had that happen even in sunlight as we were moving because the airflow around it cooled it. When we got back in I let it stay in direct sunlight and it shut down. I placed it in a cooler with those reusable ice packs and a few min. later it was fine. But, if I didn't have a way to cool it I don't know how long it would have taken.... A long time, for sure...

Also, I was able to see the screen just fine. The sun was directly hitting the Ipad but not facing the screen. If the sun was coming from a direction that hit the screen, I don't think I would be able to see it well at all. You would have to figure a way to shield it. Canopy or some type of shield would work fine...

The other issue is water on the screen. Even though the Ipad is protected, if you get water on the screen, the touch inputs are hard to do as the Ipad might register the input incorrectly. So you need to keep the screen dry for the most part.

That said, I've been looking into electronics and what I want at the helm. I'm leaning towards a Simrad NSE12. But, I think until I decide, the Ipad (actually I'll use two for redundancy) will work very well. In fact, someways better.

The amount of sophistication and technology in the Ipad is staggering. It's really an advanced piece of technology that has a great screen in a very small device....Add the fact that it has 10 hrs of battery life if you lose your boat batteries and it's a very useful tool to have aboard.

I'm not selling the idea to anyone. You need to decide yourself if it works for you. For me, two will be at the helm in weather protected cases, out of direct sunlight.

I hope, in the future, there are input devices that will send signals direct to the Ipad for depth and radar....
 
I helped a friend move his new boat from Boston to Portland last spring and took my iPad along. It has the Navionics app and is wireless/gps enabled. Comments about the bright light visibility are accurate. It is in an Otterbox with screen protector so that may have contributed. Refresh rate was visibly slower compared to the Garmin plotter on the boat. A couple of times the app froze, no idea whether it was the app itself, or the GPS's inability to maintain a fix. This was also a six hour trip, and GPS apps really suck the life out of the battery. Although I had a DC charger cable with us, the lack of a helm located DC outlet meant the iPad spent the last two hours down in the cabin.

That being said we have taken the iPad with us every weekend since. I replaced the old Clarion with a Bluetooth enabled Pioneer stereo and the iPad works fine as a music server, and can be kept in the cockpit providing remote control. It could be used as a nav back up, although I'd probably drag out paper charts first.

Henry
 
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The iPad will never be a marine chartplotter but he Navionics app is awesome. On my smaller cruiser it gives me a second screen for overview purposes while the GPS does the critical work. I need to order the auto guidance for mine that would be a nice feature to have. When it overheats it will come back in 10 to 15 minutes.

MM
 
Thanks for the input, but as I said, I'm looking for users and how you are using them at the helm.


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I use it at the helm as my primary navigation and my gps as the secondary. I know it's not "designed" as a marine unit, but it's great and if it fails, I have my marine unit as a backup. I use a sea sucker mount along with RAM arm and holder and an otterbox case. Navionics, active captain, tide charts, AIS, weather, wind, pandora, friend finder, google, you name it there's an app for it. It's easy to navigate, jump between apps, the admiral can use it.

Totally changed the way we cruise and get info. Don't get me wrong, I don't RELY on it, I use it. My marine units I Rely on, they are workhorses and aren't susceptible to heat like the ipad is. But the marine units aren't connected like an ipad. In an instant, I can look up NOAA warnings about my route, marinas, weather, fuel prices, places to eat, where to find certain stores, it's endless. I also keep all my manuals, part numbers, take pictures of parts. I have everything at the tip of my fingers.

I also have an older one for my dinghy.

And we also have waterproof cases for our iPhones. I beach the dink, set an anchor alarm and off we hike to explore. If the tide comes in and my dink starts to float, it'll shoot me an alarm to my phone and we can run to catch the dink before it floats away.

So many uses its amazing. Watch movies on the boat piped into the TV, listen to radio, read a book, read the news, send location markers to friends, let people track you on a trip, take pictures, movies, edit movies, even type this while I'm living on the boat.

The downside is it overheats real fast in direct sunlight. You need to hook it up to power while navigating because it will eat power. And it only gets cell service to about where you can see land, mostly. About 3 miles offshore and you'll loose service. Some places you just don't get service no matter how close you are to land. But I can download maps with inavx and can still use it to navigate without service.
 
I use Navionics on the iPad at the helm mounted on a RAM mount but purely as back up.

However, I use it for planning while off the boat. Then, when I fire up my Raymarine e125 MFD it syncs with my iPad.

Initially, it was a PITA to get the two talking to each other but now - for the most part - they work fine.

Moreover, when not on the boat, I open the iPad to plan future fantasy trips that I will someday make a reality. Having the app at my fingertips allows me to daydream... bahamas, Bimini Islands, etc.
 
I also use it as,my primary nav tool I can zoom in or out in a pinch and its larger icons than my e120 .track lines ,routes ,all larger easier to see. I have the Navionics and Garmin bluechart but prefer the Navionics app. The Garmin app has radar weather overlays.
i use a seasucker mount. Here's the Navionics
Then the Garmin
 

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Joe,
Are the Navionics & Garmin separate apps? Is the Garmin tied in with Active captain?


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Todd
 
I use my iPad as a backup - and for getting Google Earth images to see where the areas are dredged - since both Navionics and Garmin maps are hopelessly behind.

But the sun here is bright - so I can only see the screen when I squint a lot. Anyway - I posted this a while ago : http://www.marine-review.com/2013/01/review/electronics/ipadandroid-tablets-on-boatsa-good-idea/

I now use a TallonSocket mount - that can "host" RAM ball mounts from 1" - 2.25" balls - with USB power out and Vehicle Power Adaptor (Cigarette Lighter)

http://www.tallonsocket.com/products/view/tallon_elite_socket_usb/

The TallonSocket can then hold whatever I throw at it - other GPS's - Tablets - Phones and for all your US Guys - extra cup holders *G*
 
kaz911 said:
I use my iPad as a backup - and for getting Google Earth images to see where the areas are dredged - since both Navionics and Garmin maps are hopelessly behind.

But the sun here is bright - so I can only see the screen when I squint a lot. Anyway - I posted this a while ago : http://www.marine-review.com/2013/01/review/electronics/ipadandroid-tablets-on-boatsa-good-idea/

I now use a TallonSocket mount - that can "host" RAM ball mounts from 1" - 2.25" balls - with USB power out and Vehicle Power Adaptor (Cigarette Lighter)

http://www.tallonsocket.com/products/view/tallon_elite_socket_usb/

The TallonSocket can then hold whatever I throw at it - other GPS's - Tablets - Phones and for all your US Guys - extra cup holders *G*
Click to expand...

The google earth app is great, but not consistent enough to be safe for navigation for everyone. The images our area are at least three years old.

Henry


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I use my iPad every time I go out. I use it in conjunction with the c80 chartplotter. I normally keep the c80 on a split screen with the chart plotter and the radar. I keep it zoomed in at about 1 mile range so I can see what is going on near me. Then, I use the iPad for a broader view of where I am going. It is a thousand times faster to zoom in and out and scroll around that the c80. This gives me great situational awareness. Then I also us RadarScope on the iPad to watch the weather and look for thunderstorms cells and track them and when they get in range I can zoom out on the c80 and also see the cells on the radar there and track their relative movement. I use the Sea Sucker mount the a lifeproof case and suction the ipad to the side window. The sea sucker has never fallen off the window.

Pete
 
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