xxx vs Garmin Charts

[gbgreen59]

Sorry if this has been discussed.

I have a Garmin another brand of e-charts onboard. Made a stop at Bahia de Ascension Mexico and Cayo Norte on the Banco Chinchurro Mexico. Garmin provided good detail of these areas, namely barrier reefs and accurate soundings. Not so with Navionics. No barrier reefs shown and no depths inside of Banco chinchurro. Had us on land there.

For Ascention Bay, Navionics show depth contours that are dangerously inaccurate. And the reefs at entry are not shown. Garmin showed it all. We tucked in behind a reef in Ascention Bay for much needed rest. We use a guide book for the area to find these shelters. Good guide book.

[gbgreen59]

We are in Belize now. I have been looking at the Garmin handheld, Raymarine chart plotter w/ navionics charts, and iPad w/ navionics charts to explore the cays in southern Belize. The Garmin isn't as useful as the Raymarine chart plotter w/ navionics charts. Navionics on the iPad is like looking at cartoons; not useful at all for details. The Raymarine matches our guide book for the area. The displays are easy on the eyes with good detail.

Navionics on the Raymarine chart plotter is really good (IMO) in Belize. Not as good in parts of Mexico's Caribbean.

[jtulls]

Originally Posted by gbgreen59

Navionics on the iPad is like looking at cartoons; not useful at all for details ... Navionics on the Raymarine chart plotter is really good (IMO) in Belize. Not as good in parts of Mexico's Caribbean.

Maybe someone will take some sonar logs of the area to help update the charts, haha! I've heard quality between different chart plotters with Navionics charts can be varied. I've used them on Raymarine and like the quality. Just curious on the charts on the ipad -- are you using the free version or the paid version? I find the quality of the free app to be pretty subpar for detail, but the paid version is pretty great, but that might be location dependent...

[gbgreen59]

I run iNavx on the iPad, and bought Navionics charts for it. Compared to the Raymarine chart plotter with Navionics charts, the iPad with Navionics is very much inferior. But, the chart package for the iPad was $60 US, while the same chart package for Raymarine was $250US. Not sure why the iPad charts are so much less quality. Maybe Raymarine has some intellectual property that the share with Navionics to make their product version unique and better. I am just speculating.