Iphone 4S for Chart Plotting

[Exmoor]

I have an Iphone 4S as it has a GPS built in and I believe it can be used with
an inav app as a chart plotter, while I realise that the screen would be small I would like to know if this can be used as a back up.
Does anyone have experiance with this, if so does it work well
or is it just another good idea that does not work
Any information gratefully recieved
Thanks
Chris

[jackdale]

I have used the Navionics app on an Android phone. I would use it if:

I lost my paper charts
My netbook with OpenCPN crashed
My chartplotter packed it in
My Garmin GPS with charts failed

I quite like the crowd sourcing with access to marina phone numbers.

[Excalibur5]

I use iSailor on my Iphone4, and love it. It is no substitute for paper charts, but is very useful for blowing up small harbor entrances, if the paper charts you have on hand don't quite give you the detail you desire. It is also awesome for trip planning, estimating cruise time, distance, etc. It would be much better used on an Ipad, but since I don't have one..

Best of all, the app is free, full charts for a large area are around $10 once you download and try it out. Once the charts are downloaded, you don't need a phone connection - as most of the places I cruise don't have a cell signal anyway - it simply relies on the GPS chip.

For paper charts, I LOVE "Booklet Charts" from NOAA, they are free, and sized to print at home on normal paper. Just print, 3-hole punch, and put in a binder. On my small boat, they work better than full sized charts, as I don't have a chart table (Albin Vega)

BookletChart

[Stumble]

Chris,

I navigated from Panama City Florida to New Orleans with my iPhone, and inavx. It worked so much better than the chartplotter we had, we wound up turning the garmin off, and use using the phone.

I does need a charging station at the helm though. Since the battery won't last very long with the gps on, and the screen constantly displaying. Personally I would rate it as the best 3.5" chartplotter I have seen.... Though as you point out it is a pretty small screen.


If I was doing this regularly, I would likely use my iPad in a water proof case with InavX. Errrr wait I already do.

[Paperbird]

We use ours as a backup with ESeaCharts ($9 gets you the iPad and the iPhone version). Charts are free. Active Captain data included. Works great!

[Ex-Calif]

I use navionics on iPhone and iPad.

Using on the iphone is great. I sail my boat but crew on lots of boats. Nice to have my own reference at hand all the time.

[JNoel]

I am curently using a 4GS and ipad with the Navioncs APP. Great for back up. I am headed to the potomic later the is week and have down loaed and plotted a course on the 4Gs and since it has the ability to "snyc my data" it shows up on my iPad. Way cool...

[JNoel]

Just found a reaaly cool feature in the Navionics APP. Free magazine articles right inside the APP. found all kinds in the different areas that I liike to go to and DREAM of.....

[JNoel]

Just did a Navionics Freshest Data update and it added all kinds of new stuff with the community layer on. check it out.....

[Marinero52]

I use Navionics $10 App on my iPhone 4S. An annoying grid of LITTLE PURPLE DUCKS appears across the marine charts when I zoom in. The Navionics crosshairs and menu give no information on these. They form a clean grid apparently unrelated to GPS coordinates and any real objects. I paid. This is not a watermark on a demo version. HOW DO I GET RID OF THESE BIRDS?

[Dsanduril]

The purple ducks indicate an MLPA (Marine Life Protected Area) and are part of the "fish and chips" info. If you turn off fish and chips you will get rid of the purple ducks (and all of the other fish information).

[Marinero52]

Thank you, Dsanduril
Can you tell me why there ae two times (hr:min AM/PM) stated on the tide graph? The time displayed at the top differs from the one at the bottom by nearly an hour for the same event: high or low tide. How can this be?

[JNoel]

Originally Posted by Marinero52

I use Navionics $10 App on my iPhone 4S. An annoying grid of LITTLE PURPLE DUCKS appears across the marine charts when I zoom in. The Navionics crosshairs and menu give no information on these. They form a clean grid apparently unrelated to GPS coordinates and any real objects. I paid. This is not a watermark on a demo version. HOW DO I GET RID OF THESE BIRDS?

Unfortunately you cannot remove the birds on the $10.00 Navionics app. And yes they are part of the Marine Protected areas. They are Removable from certain chart plotters.

[JNoel]

Originally Posted by Marinero52

Thank you, Dsanduril
Can you tell me why there ae two times (hr:min AM/PM) stated on the tide graph? The time displayed at the top differs from the one at the bottom by nearly an hour for the same event: high or low tide. How can this be?

If you take your finger and swipe the screen you can move forward and back on the tide graph. Hope that is what you are asking.

[Marinero52]

Yes, that is the page. The upper and lower times often do not match at low and high tide.