Navionics app experience

[Beachbummer]

I'll see 2 points made over and over in the thread and they are not conflicting...

Hardware can fail. Phones included.

Yes, But, Other Electronic devices are not necessarily more reliable either. They can also fail, so a single unit that fails is no better than another device that breaks.

So..I think *redundancy* is the key. Two is one, and one is none when the $H¡+ hits the fan.

 

[tabbibus]

I'll see 2 points made over and over in the thread and they are not conflicting...

Hardware can fail. Phones included.

Yes, But, Other Electronic devices are not necessarily more reliable either. They can also fail, so a single unit that fails is no better than another device that breaks.

So..I think *redundancy* is the key. Two is one, and one is none when the $H¡+ hits the fan.

So poetic!

 

[Mainah]

One limitation of the iphone navionics app auto routing is when there are over 99 auto plotted points it errors out saying too many points. Fine for straight trips across the ocean of lake but with river travel the whole trip can be too much for it. I know this first hand and had to shorten and replot a couple of times when the original leader of the hh trip had to bail last year. Picking a closer end point and replotting along the way worked though as I had downloaded/refreshed the area ahead of time.

 

[stevenk2]

I'll see 2 points made over and over in the thread and they are not conflicting...

Hardware can fail. Phones included.

Yes, But, Other Electronic devices are not necessarily more reliable either. They can also fail, so a single unit that fails is no better than another device that breaks.

So..I think *redundancy* is the key. Two is one, and one is none when the $H¡+ hits the fan.

Agreed, but I think the use case is key here - thus far, I've been boating without any kind of navigational aids aside from my boats' built in depth finders and compasses. I am a seasonal/fair-weather, recreational boater, only navigating known inland, familiar bodies of water. Having and using a chartplotter with whatever other features come included is something that would be nice, but not an absolute necessity for me in my situation. I'm adding this Navionics app running on a tablet to see how useful it will be for me in my situation - if it fails, it fails, I'll still be fine out on the water without it. For someone who is navigating new/unfamiliar bodies of water, boats out on the open ocean, or needs more info for whatever activity they engage in out on the water (i.e. fishing) that would require a more robust system, I think everyone would agree that a simple phone app running on a consumer grade device would probably not be a good/wise/safe choice. You'd need a dedicated, robust system with some kind of redundancy built in to save your butt in whatever kind of situations you may find yourself in.

I'd stop short of calling the Navionics app running on a tablet or smartphone a toy compared to the dedicated chartplotters out there, especially given folks' replies to my original post/question about it, but I feel like the Garmin and Raymarine devices are in a whole different league when it comes to navigation.

 

[Beachbummer]

Yes, in your case you are fine without it..other folks on the thread have bad memories of their iPads overheating on the way to Bahamas, so no navigation.

 

[stevenk2]

That would really suck...…..I can't even imagine what that would be like out on the open ocean with no backup. I'm used to being on a lake with a cell signal and a reasonable chance of help and gas nearby. Props to them folks who plan them trips to the Bahamas from southern Fla - you are a brave bunch for sure. I've watched many videos on YouTube, they make it look easy, but I know a trip like that takes like next level planning and execution to make it both successful and to come back alive. With your boat in one piece. And to not become dinner for the sharks.

 

[Dixie Highway]

I'll be curious to hear how the Raymarine WiFish works out.....please keep us posted!

I plan to write up the whole deal once everything arrives. It’s T minus 2 weeks and one day until I pick up the boat, and I’ve got a stack of goodies waiting at home to install!!

 

[WestMIJet]

This post is a little old but I thought I would add to it. I downloaded the free trial of the Navionics app to an old iPad mini and used it last week on vacation. I have a Lowrance handheld with a lakes chip as well but wanted to give this a try. I thought the user experience was very intuitive and the features were more than enough for pleasure boating. I used the auto routing feature for a trip to the Mackinaw Bridge and Island. I had one issue but this is very specific to the device I was using. My polarized glasses caused my screen to blackout when the iPad was mounted landscape. In portrait they work fine. I have learned that this is resolved in many newer devices. I also used it on my phone and had no issues.

 

[swatski]

Also Navs now offers sonar maps within the same app, the new merged Boating Marine and Lakes or whatever they call it now. Absolutely brilliant, adjustable for water levels, can save your butt in many places notorious for underwater obstacles.
Here is an example, snapshots with increased granularity (zoomed in) - showing the safe navigation w/shortcuts over incredibly perilous bottom landscape of the Glen Canyon (Lake Powell)

 

[S1LV3R4D0]

Ive used the Navionics app now 3x on my phone and it was quite handy and useful maneuvering around the vast lakes/rivers here that im not familiar with. Just picked up a Galaxy Tab A off CL for $50 and put the app on it. Now have the app in Tablet format. Just download the maps you need from wifi at home and you will be fine without cell service.

 

[props2you]

I've been using Navionics for several years now, unless you prefer spending large volumes of cash, and need a fixed chartplotter, navionics is probably THE best alternative to a fixed chartplotter. Beyond my own boat, I travel a lot and am on several boats throughout the year that I'm fortunate enough to captain and some as a passenger, any situation on the water, Navionics has not let me down. When fishing, I couple this with my Deeper sonar for maximum efficiency! But I digress, sonar is a whole separate discussion, but I do LOVE my deeper pro +!

 

[drewkaree]

@swatski I'd like to know your settings and how you set up your routing. I have it installed on my Samsung Galaxy Tab A tablet, and it's pretty good, but I know it can be dialed in better.

I'm also looking for a mount for my tablet, but I'm not wanting to shell out Ram Mount money for one

 

[swatski]

@swatski I'd like to know your settings and how you set up your routing. I have it installed on my Samsung Galaxy Tab A tablet, and it's pretty good, but I know it can be dialed in better.

I'm also looking for a mount for my tablet, but I'm not wanting to shell out Ram Mount money for one

It really depends on the place, sometimes less is more in terms of detail. Lake Powell is special, those sonar bottom maps and adjustable wtaer levels where essential for me, a complete newbie there! I don't tend to use routing, those were just tracks, but can be very useful if coming back after dark.
On big lakes I usually just have the (very simple Raymarine Dragonfly 5) stationary chartplotter with Nav+ on, set to minimum detail, just that I know what cove/part of the lake I'm in.

--

 

[Chuckz21]

I have the raymarine wifish setup. and I run it with the navionics app. on a samsung 8" tablet and it works greats sometimes better than. the connects. With the app you can update your charts. You can download your maps and not have to worry about cell coverage. I go offshore alot and have 0 problems with it. You can run sonar and maps at the same time on the same screen. best bang for the buck in my opinion.