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The iPad thread! who uses an iPad for sailing?

28K views 74 replies 38 participants last post by  lilipad 
#1 ·
I use the iPad for a plotter as well as speed and compass. I use motion x gps for my software. It was 2.99 I think and the charts were a free download. Looking to hard mount it in the cockpit. What are guys using for mounts? Software? Tips?
 
#3 ·
On my 4s i have the navionics app and the isailor app and find them both buggy to say the least compared to my marine hardware

Even for use as route planing tools at home with the pretty powerful 4s phone the screen refresh sucks as you drag around a chart

I have to look but one app gives you the lat/lon of a route you plan without compass bearings and the other gives you the compass bearings without lat/lon :)

The 4s has some level of sunlight viewing the ipad IMHP is useless in sunlight
 
#4 · (Edited)
iPhone with iNavX. I bought the app when it very first came out - and it was $50. I don't know what the price is now.

It's been great. Very accurate, great charts - and several other off-shore racers I crew with use it as well. I'm planning on keeping it and upgrading to the iPad.

Signed,

Apple Fanboy #1984
 
#6 ·
I am a late-blooming Apple Fanboy, but their stock performance enhances the romance.

Per the "other" thread, I am a really big fan of the iPad for navigation. When I bought my boat, I used iSailor and accompanying charts to get the boat from Cleveland to Toronto. It sure was comforting to be able to see the little pointer in the middle of the lake in the middle of the night, when there was nearly nothing for visual reference.

The battery life is okay, but we have installed power ports inside the cabin and at the helm. The sunlight viz in less than perfect, but certainly workable or better.

The great thing of course is that, depending on the software, the vector charting is AMAZING - and so intuitive, you can work the software in minutes. The second great thing is that you possibly already have one; millions do. The third great thing is the myriad of other uses for the device. You can give it to kids to amuse them, you can get your Email, you can store all your favourite galley recipes, you can watch stored movies or stream them from Netflix. You can listen to music, look at your photos, it just goes on and on.

No, you don't need a data plan to use it as a plotter.
 
#7 · (Edited)
I have both an ipad, and an iphone. Both run either iNavX or MotionX.

I have found that InavX is the much better plotting software, and it has a lot more configurability than the other chart plotting software i have tried. Right now I have an Imux broadcasting all my boats NMEA date (from raymarine instruments) the the Idevices. which allows me to control all the instruments onboard right from my ipad.

While motoring I often sling a hammock between the forestay and the mast and make course corrections with my iphone.

Next up is to try out the raymarine new apps... i haven't installed the new chartplotter (but it is sitting in my living room). So more information then.
 
#8 ·
I have an Imux broadcasting all on my boats NMEA date (from raymarine instruments) the the Idevices. which allows me to control all the instruments onboard right from my ipad.

While motoring I often sling a hammock between the forestay and the mast and make course corrections with my iphone.
As both a sailor and a nerd, I am qualified to declare that as "sick"

Where to get an imux now that Brookhouse seems to have ceased production?
 
#10 · (Edited)
I LOVE this...yes I am going to connect a Mac Mini Server in the boat and run a network on it...then airplay music from iPad or iPhone...I will probably use iPad for all nav and charting, then the iPhone for music stuff....I do like the idea of the NMEA stuff available on the iPad...that sounds cool!
 
#13 ·
I use a c-80 Chartplotter for main source of info as well as plot on paper charts

On my I Pad as backup and for information I have

Navionics- same as chart plotter
Winds and Tides
Marine Traffic- for AIS poisitions of vessels
Active Captain- for port/ marina information when traveling

When racing on our boat we use Iregatta hooked into Wifi NMEA interface

At night when anchored I set my android phone on app called Drag Queen
 
#14 ·
Apparently Brookhouse is taking orders for the imux, but for some reason their website has it listed as not being sold.

Honestly though if I was going to redo this set up I would switch to Digital Yachts iAIS. It also acts as a wifi NEMA-0183 router, but adds an AIS reciever as part of the package. I wish they had a NEMA-2000/wifi/AIS reciever but I haven't been able to find one...


Honestly I can't say this is in any way a critical system, but it really is fun to play with. I keep having dreams of sitting at the dock and driving the boat from shore...... Just need a NMEA throttle controller and shifter.

Where it really is nice though is when rout planning and navigating downstairs. The iPad acts as a second chartplotter at a fraction of the cost of a 9" plotter, and has all the controls right there. And imbibed with free NOAA maps I find it is more useful than the raymarine chartplotter on deck.
 
#15 ·
I bought the Ipad2 when it first came out in Winter/Spring '11. Installed Charts and Tides as a backup gps to our installed Raymarine Chartplotter. It turns out that C&T has better resolution for close in detail, such as small coves and anchorages. I learned this when the compass for the installed plotter when belly up as we were leaving an unmarked cove in Maine last year. Ran below, fired her up and picked our way out. I also love the offline ActiveCaptain database on this app, with all icons superimposed over an actual chart. Its actually better than the online version.

We use Anchor Watch as an anchor alarm. The part that I love is that it will email my smartphone if the anchor drags while we are ashore. Of course, you need 3G service for it to do so.

The other major advantage of 3G service is weather downloads real time. Everything from multi-day grib files to weather buoy data to real time radar. We get a good signal several miles from shore.

Then, as mentioned above, it is a real multi-tasker. Email, netflix, pandora radio, games for kids, internet searches, etc.

Couldn't imagine not having it now.
 
#64 ·
.....We use Anchor Watch as an anchor alarm. The part that I love is that it will email my smartphone if the anchor drags while we are ashore. Of course, you need 3G service for it to do so.......
Since I've plugged this app several times, I feel the need to update the reference. It worked great, but has had three upgrades since December and is a disaster now. Buggy, won't let the anchor drop or switch from portrait to landscape. Don't touch it.

The good news is, I have found a better app. BoatMonitor R. (the app store also has an L and D, but the publishers website takes you to R)

It has all my favorite features from AW. The GPS only knows where there Ipad is, but the anchor is probably 100 feet or more in front of you. This app lets you tell it where the anchor is, so you can set the correct protected swing radius. Then it allows you to set as big or small a protected zone as you like and has an audible alarm to wake you in the middle of the night.

But here are some cool improvements.

First, you can set the protected radius as any slice of the pie, as opposed to the whole circle. This would allow it to sound if wind shifts and you swing outside your initial hemisphere. You could get up to confirm that you remain set, even though you haven't started to drag.

My old app would send an email if the alarm went off, which was great when ashore. I could check my iphone and see if I had an alarm. Both the Ipad and Iphone needed 3G reception, but this was comforting. This new App takes it to a new level !!

It will send a text message, which I find much better than email. I set my phone to ring/vibrate for incoming texts, but had to think to check for emails. The service provides 15 free texts (one per alarm) and sells more for $1.50 per 50 texts. Pretty reasonable, since I've had one alarm in nearly two years and it was a false alarm. GPS signals get screwy from time to time.

Better yet, you can sign onto a website from any computer or phone with internet access and see the same graphic that is on the app on the boat. This was something I always wished the old app would do. If I find the wind is piping up, I always wanted to take a look to see if she was starting to drag, as opposed to wait for an alarm.

Being the dead of winter, I haven't been able to shake this new app down, but it looks promising and broke out the $4.99 for it !!
 
#16 · (Edited)
I'm gonna just upgrade HD on my old General Dynamics Itronix GoBook III...it's slow(Windows 7 doesn't help it much) but it's a sturdy " "bulletproof" military-issue laptop....waterproof, glow-in-dark keyboard, great wi-fi antenna....why not....I wish Ii had the one with built-in gps reciever though...On Ebay these are all fairly cheap these days...couple hundred bucks or so...but they cost you an me and "uncle Sam" $4000 each in 2003 baby...I'd like an ipad someday to be sure but this will be my back-up at least...
 
#17 ·
I've been experimenting with using iNavX on my iPad. Mostly so far so good though I do wish iNavX had options for showing split screen chart and data. I also wish there was a way to turn off the iPad screen without putting it to sleep.

I bought a RAM mount for attaching it to the pedestal guard - the one with a U bolt for mounting it to bike handlebars. The RAM mount works well and was not expensive. I also have a NMEA wifi interface but it's the Comar NMEA-2-WiFi instead of the more well known imux.
 
#20 · (Edited)
If anyone is looking for an inexpensive case to use an iPad onboard, I just bought one from Trendy Digital.

http://trendydigital.com/

I forget where I saw the article but there was a comparison of several options up to triple digit prices and this got pretty good marks.

Its essentially a ziplock baggie, but it has some padding to help protect the iPad from bumps. With two zip lock seals and a fold over snap/velcro closure it should do a fine job of keeping the iPad dry. If you need to use the headset jack there are other options but since I don't need access to the jack for onboard use its not a big deal. I would like a solution that allowed the unit access to ships power though.

I was intially worried that the touch screen would be unresponsive through the plastic, especially since I already have an anti-glare cover on the unit itself. In use, this has not proven to be a problem, and the unit works just like the cover wasn't there.

I think its a pretty good investment to protect your iPad for use in the cockpit of a boat.

So far for app's I've just be using iReggata and Safari for access to weather sites. I may add a navigation app for a couple of distance races we have planned.
 
#21 ·
I have the same one. It does work just like it had no case at all. I find, I don't bother in the cockpit, unless there is a real risk of a soaking (rain, mist, heavy seas). More often, I stick it in this case with it's cover when we dinghy to shore to find an internet hotspot. I have nasty visions of dropping it when getting in and out of the dink.
 
#23 ·
I've got OpenCPN on a laptop and Navionics on my iPhone 4S.

OpenCPN feels soooo clunky compared to Navionics. Plus you can't search the charts or click on the marina icons, etc.

Haven't been able to justify an iPad yet, but seeing it in sunlight would definitely be a problem. I can hardly see the phone screen half the time.

I've noticed Raymarine and Furuno have both gone to touchscreen systems that look similar to an iPad and those systems will now stream the info to your iPad or Android tablet for viewing in the cabin. Of course, you only need about $2k on top of the price of your iPad to get that feature ...
 
#29 ·
We just came back from a 34 day cruise, and put the iPad 3 to the test. We used the iPad in both the cockpit and down at the chart table, running mostly iNavX for both planning and as a plotter underway. We have the iPad in a Moxiware case (the cheap one), and had it mounted using a RAM bracket.

Overall I found the iPad to be OK as a plotter. The power consumption wasn't too bad, but we had to pay attention to charging to ensure it didn't go to zero. The screen size is great, and the GPS seems to be as accurate as our Garmin handheld. The iNavX charts (2XG Navionics) worked as advertised, although I found iNavX to be a bit touchy when it came to setting up new waypoints. Actually, I found I was inadvertently creating waypoints when I didn't intend to.

The biggest negative was the glare off the screen. Using it in the cockpit was hit and miss, depending on where the sun was. I installed an anti-glare screen, but found it made only minimal difference. In the end we relied more often on the good old Garmin handheld than the iPad while actually running.

Overall I liked having the iPad, but it won't be our primary plotter tool.
 
#30 ·
I took mine on a two-week cruise in the summer, and glare was never really an issue. Maybe it's because I wear polarized sunglasses?

I did have one issue. We had the sun over our shoulder for the afternoon of the hottest day of the year. At around 4 pm, the pedestal-mounted iPad announced that it was going to take a coffee break - it had overheated in the sun. I took it below, put a fan on it, and it came back to life in about 10 minutes. I was briefly kind of scared.

I have been using iSailor, which I thought was pretty good, now the latest version (1.5) is a huge leap forward in ease of use and functionality.
 
#31 ·
I use Navionics on my Samsung Galaxy Tab, and have found it to be very handy. When I compare it to my Garmin charplotter they seem to agree most if the time. While the touch screen is handy for planning, and looking ahead on the charts, I certainly would not use it as my primary navigation tool. It is purely a back up to the Garmin with it's external antenna and hardwired power. The tablets are a bit too fragile! When the wind picks up or the weather gets bad, the tab goes away!
 
#33 ·
I'm not sure I would promote the Ipad as a primary navigation tool, but I wouldn't be without it any longer. We've had it for two seasons and it is the most used versatile device on the boat. We look up marina info, weather, radar, email and last night downloaded and watched a movie that we piped directly into the TV.

Glare is an issue, but I just made a discovery this weekend, while reading email in the cockpit. I'm accustom to having to remove polarized sunglasses to read the Raymarine chartplotter. Particularly from starboard. Bizzare. I decided to put them on as I was sitting and reading and suddenly could read the Ipad screen substantially better. I can't say if was some bio-rhythmic, stars aligned, lottery win, or if this really helps. I will test further.

As far as upgrading to new operating system version, I jumped to v5 last year and lost data. I am going to be very very very reluctant to go to v6.
 
#38 ·
...
As far as upgrading to new operating system version, I jumped to v5 last year and lost data. I am going to be very very very reluctant to go to v6.
There are some features in iOS6 that I like. If you back up to the cloud, you should have no problems. I updated my iPhone to 6 a few days ago and lost no contacts, apps or data at all and I use my phone for both personal and work data/contacts.
 
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