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iPhone Sailing

6K views 34 replies 25 participants last post by  twenty1knots 
#1 ·
Hi, my name is Manuel, I'm a San Francisco Bay Area sailor, working with a bunch of developers and sailors to create a free iPhone app for sailing, focused on mapping and showcasing the knowledge local sailors have of their local waters. Our first, barebones version just came out, but we are thinking of features to add to it.

Anyway, I was wondering what iPhone apps, if any, you guys use for sailing or geeking out about sailing, what you like/dislike about them, and what features you wish they had. Also what your experience with cell coverage in coastal waters is. Here in the SF and Monterey Bay Areas 3G coverage is actually great.

Thanks!
 
#2 ·
it could be great... but cellphone range sucks on the water (at least in the northeast (long island ny))... i'll wait until 4g or better before relying on any phone for information while on the water...

I have tried Navionics which is great, (well it would be except for the service) - it could be great...

goodluck. - in general the service is the issue, not the services...
 
#3 ·
I sail in the Long Island Sound as well (out of Mt. Sinai which is pretty far east) but have to disagree with the above poster(no offense, just my experience). I get great cell phone service while on the water. Sail mostly between Eaton's Neck (Huntington) on the western edge and Mattituck all the way to Connecticut and inbetween and usually can always make calls and or use the internet. We sleep on the boat 3-4 nights a week and mostly anchor out in different ports on the weekends and always use the iphone to check the local radar for thunderstorms. 9/10 times it works perfect. I have a nokia 6500 and an iphone (both at&t) and have no trouble with both.

I just recently broke my last iphone but am going to be getting the iphone 4 when it comes out later this month. I'm excited to try out your app.

-Nick
 
#7 ·
I sail in the Long Island Sound as well (out of Mt. Sinai which is pretty far east) but have to disagree with the above poster(no offense, just my experience). I get great cell phone service while on the water. Sail mostly between Eaton's Neck (Huntington) on the western edge and Mattituck all the way to Connecticut and inbetween and usually can always make calls and or use the internet. We sleep on the boat 3-4 nights a week and mostly anchor out in different ports on the weekends and always use the iphone to check the local radar for thunderstorms. 9/10 times it works perfect. I have a nokia 6500 and an iphone (both at&t) and have no trouble with both.

I just recently broke my last iphone but am going to be getting the iphone 4 when it comes out later this month. I'm excited to try out your app.

-Nick
Maybe I have bad luck?
I am generally in the peconic bay, where you would think there would be more service since it's between the forks. But yeah im just speaking from my own experience...
 
#4 ·
Cell phone coverage on Ches Bay is spotty. Likewise along those portions of the New England Coastline I'm familiar with.

The cell companies place their towers in such a way to maximize coverage with the fewest possible towers. There is a radius of coverage around those towers. Particularly in less densely populated areas, they try to minimize both the number of towers and overlapping range.

So they place those towers inland, such that the radius of coverage just reaches the coastline or sometimes slightly beyond with good propagation. And because they want to minimize overlap, there are "blank" spots in the coverage out near the extremes of the range.

Personally, I would not rely on or invest in cell phone technology for even coastal navigation. It would only be okay if you did nothing but hug the coast tightly -- and even then you'd find plenty of areas where it had no coverage. But who wants to operate a navigation system that will be spotty at best and will go blank if you take a long tack out from the coast line? Or weather forces you to keep your distance from the shoreline? Or your course takes you away from it?

Maybe I'm missing something, but I think the appeal would be very limited to protected inland waters and bays. Maybe you'd find a micro-market in places like San Diego and SF Bay?

Then again, I don't have an i-phone and I know very few people who do.
 
#8 ·
Cell phone coverage on Ches Bay is spotty. Likewise along those portions of the New England Coastline I'm familiar with.

The cell companies place their towers in such a way to maximize coverage with the fewest possible towers. There is a radius of coverage around those towers. Particularly in less densely populated areas, they try to minimize both the number of towers and overlapping range.

So they place those towers inland, such that the radius of coverage just reaches the coastline or sometimes slightly beyond with good propagation. And because they want to minimize overlap, there are "blank" spots in the coverage out near the extremes of the range.

Personally, I would not rely on or invest in cell phone technology for even coastal navigation. It would only be okay if you did nothing but hug the coast tightly -- and even then you'd find plenty of areas where it had no coverage. But who wants to operate a navigation system that will be spotty at best and will go blank if you take a long tack out from the coast line? Or weather forces you to keep your distance from the shoreline? Or your course takes you away from it?

Maybe I'm missing something, but I think the appeal would be very limited to protected inland waters and bays. Maybe you'd find a micro-market in places like San Diego and SF Bay?

Then again, I don't have an i-phone and I know very few people who do.
Your comments are correct for phones that relay on cell tower for location determination.

The Andriod phones have a true gps receiver, so the lack of cell tower coverage doesn't limit their useability for nav purposes (or for mountain hiking...). I understand the new, maybe more recent iPhones also now have a true gps. Although I have milspec Casio clamshell which has been an excellent phone - waterproof - after a buddy tracked the progress of last Sunday's thunderstorms to a T with his iPhone weather radar app, I feel that functionality is a must have...especially if you are sailing a smaller boat.

I need to figure out whether an Android is good enough, or even better...
 
#5 ·
My understanding agrees with that of JRP. The service providers have worked to steer their coverage where the customers are. Several years ago I could watch streaming video on my laptop while sailing from Annapolis to Solomons. Now the signal is down significantly out in the Chesapeake. Interestingly I had a great AT&T 3G signal from Block Island to City Island a few weeks ago.

That said I've had great luck using a laptop/datacard and/or my iPhone for weather updates, local information, and e-mail in anchorages up and down most of the East Coast EXCEPT for North Carolina which seems to be a cell phone wasteland.

For iPhone apps there is Navimatics with the entire ActiveCaptain local knowledge database. $20 / coast.
 
#10 ·
For Wind

I just got the windAlert app I saw on sailflows website but am not very impressed.

Then today I just got Windfinder which seems to be great. I wanted a good wind app to get an idea of how the Wednesday night races would go and think I could get some decent coverage on lake Michigan for the distance races when we are near shore.

I have not tried the Navioncs app yet but I'm interested. Is that the one you developed?
 
#13 ·
We get pretty good cell service on Gardiner's Bay, though it is terrible at my house in Springs. The nice part about the Navionics app is that it is loaded into the iPhone, so it works even if you don't have service. I also like the MotionX app. I really don't use any of them for navigation on the boat, as my chartplotter is far better and I operate under the assumption that the iPhone will leap into the water at the slightest provocation, like all other valuables.
 
#14 ·
I'm about to be sailing the North Shore of Lake Pontchartrain in Louisiana. I imagine the cell coverage is pretty good around there, though I don't know for sure just yet. I have an iPhone 3G, will be getting the iPhone 4 when it comes out, and would love to be able to use for reliable lake navigation instead of investing in a handheld GPS. Basically it would be one less toy to buy and one less thing to have to worry about for now. I would want some charts, trip tracking, and location tagging, plus plenty more I'm sure.
 
#15 ·
I've got an iPhone 3Gs and sail out of Annapolis. Coverage in the local area around Annapolis is fantastic, 5 bars from Sandy Point Shoal Lighthouse all the way down to the Rhode River. Haven't ventured further than that so far (my first season of sailing).

I use Navionics pretty heavily on the phone as well as TideGraph and MotionX GPS. All of them work well for the functions I use them for. Navionics stores the maps on-board the phone so there's no downloading required and the GPS on the phone works really well generally. My boat (J/92) has very basic instrumentation so it's a great tool for staying off the bottom when sailing around the Chesapeake!
 
#16 ·
I don't use my iphone for navigation but i do have a external cell phone antenna on my sailboat to boost the signal. I tether it to my laptop for internet with the best speed i can get. I also have two weather apps i use all the time.

I have seen some good tidal apps also that i will probably use when i venture out of my rivers and lakes.
 
#22 ·
Other helpful apps that I run,

windAlert and Anchors Aweigh

windAlert is weather/wind info based on SailFlow.com data.

Anchors Aweigh is a great little drift/anchor alarm.


Disclaimer: my friend wrote Anchors Aweigh. I am not associated with his company, and do not make any money from the app.
 
#23 ·
I have an android phone, I'm using Navionics, Marine Weather by Bluefin, and windfinder

Navionics makes for a great backup chart or a quick reference when you are discussing something and away from the regular charts (i.e. at a restrauant), or when on a someone else's boat that doesn't have a chart plotter.

Marine Weather by BlueFin and Windfinder perform largly the same function, but windfinder is much better at providing a visual depiction of what is happening and what is forecast at predetermined / favorite spots, while marine weather is better for looking at things from a big picture and checking individual bouy data on demand.

As for a good radar app, I'm still trying to find one I like. weather channel's app is incredibly slow and runs all the time, RadarNow is quick, but provides a very low resolution radar image. I'm looking for suggestions on this one...
 
#24 ·
What a glorious waste of time and money-the iphone.
Certainly here in the UK its great as is other 3g applications if you happen to live/sail in or near big population centres.
In the UK thats great on the south coast and up the east and west coast as far as central Scotland but once north of that forget it-no reception.
Yet those who live in or close to Urban Centres just dont get it.
My daughter who lives in London and works for Dell came up to stay with us and expected that she could keep in touch with her UK base and US base!
I am sure if you sail in Alaska;Oregon or parts of New England that its a no go as well?
Anyway whats the point if you have a compass; GPS and or charts; a log and echo sounder.what more do you need ?
 
#25 ·
I agree with most that Navigation Apps might not be the most sought after because of coverage and lack of update speed. Other things may be usefull in pre and post sail.

Wind, tide, weather app
Local hazard app (known shoals or wrecks)
Channel marker app

Rum app. Ideally this would tell you the closest place that sells it.
Slip finder app. Let me know when/where slips are available.
 
#26 ·
I agree with most that Navigation Apps might not be the most sought after because of coverage and lack of update speed.
actually, the Navionics app works completly offline and only requires the GPS to get a lock (aka uses no data service). It is also much faster to browse the chart on my phone than looking at the chart plotter, but that doesn't mean I would suggest using it in place of the marine grade chart plotter tied to the sounder for actual depth info. It is however a good supplement or backup device (as long as the battery isn't dead)

Wind, tide, weather app
Local hazard app (known shoals or wrecks)
Channel marker app

Rum app. Ideally this would tell you the closest place that sells it.
Slip finder app. Let me know when/where slips are available.
wind, tide, weather, see my above post

local hazard and channel markers are coverd by the charts, in the navionics app.

rum and slip apps, those would be nice to have :D
 
#27 ·
One that works without 3G

It would be nice if the ap worked off the gps even if it lost the cell service. Some aps stop working completely if they lose cell service. You could design an app that allows downloading additional maps and data and updating while cell service is available, and just show the functions that are unavailable due to cell loss as unavailable while allowing the gps only functions to continue to function. Store the maps on the sd card instead of using the network and you will still have it available. I think Mapdroyd does this for the android system. Speaking of which, don't forget the Android market, it is growing really fast. I got a Motorola droid and am completely hooked.
 
#30 ·
The technology is here why not use it. I have been using a computer for navigation professionally for the last 15 years loaded with GPS card it makes it very convenient to keep all your records on a computer I don't see why a phone would be any different.

Now I use a laptop with voice recognition as well as GPS included it makes perfect sense to just build smaller again. My newest system is a laptop loaded with my navigation program and keeping all of my waypoints on CD just recently the last three years I have been using Google Earth along with my other programs I can actually load the waypoints and make a trip to my destination before I ever leave Port. It is also very easily done to look at a entrance in foreign waters before I arrived to see where the shallow water is. I am very impressed with the technology of cell phone these days adding voice recognition would make it very easy to navigate with all hands on the wheel. My laptop can connect to the autopilot, gyrocompass, radar and etc. recording everything I do running it on a disk and saving it for later. I don't see why the same technology can not be adapted to a cell phone that operates off satellite completely in the near future. It will be a must for traveling to foreign ports eliminate the need to buy charts and to locate hazardous shoals that may not even be on the chart. I would be interested in knowing about your new application and maybe adding some input. The Google Earth can even be used to see who is ahead of you in that case you need to avoid piracy at sea. CaptG
 
#32 ·
Hi These are some of the apps that I think are very useful while on a sailing boat (both for apple and android products)...
For navigation and chart purposes I like:
  • chart and tides
  • navionics

Also, when planning your trip, these apps might be useful:
  • tide app
  • NOAA Buoy and Tide data
  • magnetic declination
  • weather underground
  • predict wind

Other apps that I put on my smartphone are:
  • anchor alarm
  • marine traffic
  • ship finder
  • signal flags info

If you want to keep a "how to sail" and "how to race" manual on your device check out:
  • boater's pocket reference
  • RYA Handy Racing Rules

I love to improve my knowedge of stars and planet. For this purpose, I love:
  • Star walk
 
#34 ·
TropicCat, thank you for advising me about the age of this post. Even though it may be two years old I was not aware of this age because I am new here. However I did find it to be very interesting to me to Share newer technology as it becomes available. 15 years ago I was carrying around a huge tower and monitor. Now I carry a laptop. My job demands that I carry my navigation equipment from boat to boat as jobs arise. The smallest technology becomes very inviting as long as you don't give up any reliability. As anyone knows a good Marriner never relies on just one form of navigation anyway. Thank you. captg
 
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