Navigation needs

[ChasingEden]

Navigation question for a newbie. We have a Garmin GPSmap 556s at the helm connected to the Autopilot and sending AIS, and in the saloon, (Catamaran) we have a Raymarine Axiom Plotter/sounder/radar (Screen not visible from the helm). Would you recommend we buy in iPad and run Navionics? Or is what we have sufficient as long as we keep maps updated on both systems. Also, what is the best way to receive AIS? Thanks

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by ChasingEden

Navigation question for a newbie. We have a Garmin GPSmap 556s at the helm connected to the Autopilot and sending AIS, and in the saloon, (Catamaran) we have a Raymarine Axiom Plotter/sounder/radar (Screen not visible from the helm). Would you recommend we buy in iPad and run Navionics? Or is what we have sufficient as long as we keep maps updated on both systems. Also, what is the best way to receive AIS? Thanks

I would suggest that that is a decent setup for pilotage, but not for any kind of real navigation work. If you need to any real navigation -- many cruisers don't.



For that I think you need either paper charts and chartwork tools (and skills to use them) or a large scale display with a real navigation program like OpenCPN, and a good set of up to date charts, preferably raster charts and not vector ones.


Whether you ever need to do any real navigation depends on what kind do cruising you do. If you're just knocking around the coast on weekends in familiar waters, then you might not need to do any.





As to AIS -- the Garmin 556s does not have AIS built in. You need to add an AIS transceiver. If the Garmin and Axiom are networked with other electronics, just add the transceiver to this network, and AIS will be displayed on both plotters.

[ChasingEden]

Thanks for the reply, I guess I'll start off with the current setup and see how it goes.

Apparently, the boat does broadcast AIS through the VHF radio. But not receiving. So I will have to get a receiver to see it on the screens.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by ChasingEden

Thanks for the reply, I guess I'll start off with the current setup and see how it goes.

Apparently, the boat does broadcast AIS through the VHF radio. But not receiving. So I will have to get a receiver to see it on the screens.

AFAIK, there has never been made any AIS device which transmits without receiving. Read your manual. If your VHF has any AIS capability at all, then you should be able to output AIS data via either NMEA 0183 or N2K and connect it to your plotter.

[GrowleyMonster]

What you have in the cockpit will work. At your work station I suggest a Ubuntu powered laptop and a GlobalSat BU353 USB GPS puck. Install a few handy GPS utilities, and then OpenCPN and the free NOAA charts if you will mostly be in U.S. waters. There are copies of CM93 world portfolio that are woefully out of date but still fairly useful until you get to areas with NavAids and shifting channels or bars. CM93 plays nicely on OCPN. OpenCPN can also run on an Android device. I like using it on a Note 3, for convenient portability. The Note 3 is far from waterproof, but you can slip it in a ziplock bag and operate it right through the plastic. OCPN can also run on WinDOHs and I dont know, maybe even Mac. But not, to my knowledge, on an ipad or other ithing. And INavX gave me so much trouble that I ended up tossing my nice jailbroke and unlocked iphone 4 and diving headfirst into the Android world. So I owe a bit of gratitude to iNavX for making me finally see how messed up the iWorld was and how much better Android is.


Oops I re read your post and I see your question was regarding Navionics, not iNavX. I have used a couple of their packages and it is okay. But OCPN is a lot more flexible, is open source, and runs on two open source operating systems. Once you get comfortable with it, you will wonder why you ever used anything else.