iPad4 - iNavX v Navionics Pros & Cons

[Ozbullwinkle]

Got a bit tired of waiting for a reply from GPSNavx to my Jan 10 questions and time is getting short before I leave to commence my Pacific passage. So, I have bit the bullet and have purchased iNavx + the 34XG Japan & Pacific Islands charts through Xtraverse for my iPad.

So $150 later, I have been having a look around the application & at this stage I must say that I am a little underwhelmed about a few things.

Possibly this may just be due to unfamiliarity with the application but I am very capable through using a variety of different makes of GPS chartplotters so am certainly not a novice with electronic charting.

Here are some questions/issues that I have at this stage.

1. I have imported the complete chart set for 34XG but displaying these charts leaves a lot to be desired. For instance if I choose Fiji and Tonga Islands a message comes up on my screen "Loading 34XG Japan and Pacific Islands" Then when the chart loads I see a map of the US & South America along with Africa and India. Why doesn't it open at the Fiji & Tonga region?

Same thing happens when selecting Hawaiian Islands. Some others DO display the area requested like Japan & Norfolk Island for instance but others don't.

2. Why cannot I display all of the Pacific Ocean area seeing that this is where my charts are for. When the large scale world map as described above is displayed I can scroll to the left to see the eastern side of the Pacific then if I scroll right across to the right I see the western side of the Pacific but I cannot display the whole area covered. Why not, after all I can see all of the Indian & Atlantic Oceans on the same page.

3. How do you display Long & Lat gridlines on the maps or at least the scales on the edges of the maps?

4. Is there a comprehensive user manual as the "Guide" leaves a lot to be desied?

5. There are a lot of other things I could ask but if there is a proper comprehensive user manual then this may address a lot of them.

[Ozbullwinkle]

[QUOTE=Ozbullwinkle;1167905]
3. How do you display Long & Lat gridlines on the maps or at least the scales on the edges of the maps?

QUOTE]

I have determined how to do this now.

[downunder]

Originally Posted by Ozbullwinkle

Thanks for that, iNavx certainly seems to have a lot more features & functionality.

With the recent loss of the Lagoon Catamaran "Next Life" in the Bahamas due to inaccuracies on the Navioinics charts along with reliance apparently being placed on the chartplotter as there did not seem to be any cross checking with paper charts.

I wonder if there are any known suspect areas to be aware of for my forthcoming passage from St Martin to Vanuatu. I believe that charts around Tonga are reported to have inaccuracies for example.

I recon that anyware you are around coral/islands just take the electronic charts as a guide and rely on eyeball nav.

[Ozbullwinkle]

Been looking around a whole lot more on iNavx & apart from my question about the Long & Lat gridlines which I have subsequently solved I would still appreciate some answers to my other questions.

The charting of the islands of Fiji leaves a lot to be desired as they appear to be right on the edge of the borders of the chart sets regardless of what chart subset you choose. Some of the islands are actually cut in half.

As these are vector charts surely this could be avoided or is it something to do with the international dateline which is in this vicinity?

[Jimbo485]

Yes, international dateline.

We used iNAVx and openCPN for what you are about to do. Apart from the dateline issue, they were fine. You have to scroll across when opening iNAVx. You will work it all out during the night watches. Have fun!

[Ozbullwinkle]

Originally Posted by Jimbo485

Yes, international dateline.

We used iNAVx and openCPN for what you are about to do. Apart from the dateline issue, they were fine. You have to scroll across when opening iNAVx. You will work it all out during the night watches. Have fun!

Jimbo, do you know if the dateline issue also affects chartplotters that run Navionics charts? The boat I am doing the passage on has a brand new "latest & greatest" Raymarine E165 and as the boat is currently in the BVI's and I am still in Sydney I can't check it out at the moment.

[Jimbo485]

Originally Posted by Ozbullwinkle

Jimbo, do you know if the dateline issue also affects chartplotters that run Navionics charts? The boat I am doing the passage on has a brand new "latest & greatest" Raymarine E165 and as the boat is currently in the BVI's and I am still in Sydney I can't check it out at the moment.

Sorry, mate, don't know about that.

[bsankey448]

I bought my wife an iPad 4 with 32 gigs for our anniversary last week. It does not have the internal GPS function because we have a Verison MiFI that we use with everything else. What would be the best nav program in this situation? Our boat is a Tayana 37 waiting for us in Anacortes WA. We will start extensive cruising this summer. This would be back up to out 2003 Raymarine chartplotter and paper charts. We'll also have a PC on board.
Bro

[bsankey448]

OOPS, should I start a new thread? I'm kinda new at this.

[AiniA]

Originally Posted by Ozbullwinkle

Jimbo, do you know if the dateline issue also affects chartplotters that run Navionics charts? The boat I am doing the passage on has a brand new "latest & greatest" Raymarine E165 and as the boat is currently in the BVI's and I am still in Sydney I can't check it out at the moment.

We have an older Raymarine plotter and Navionics Gold charts and did not see a problem at the Dateline. Tried to see and get a photo right at line line showing 180 (W or E or neither, I wanted to see) but it went from 179 and change west to the same east.

[AiniA]

Originally Posted by Ozbullwinkle

Thanks for that, iNavx certainly seems to have a lot more features & functionality.

With the recent loss of the Lagoon Catamaran "Next Life" in the Bahamas due to inaccuracies on the Navioinics charts along with reliance apparently being placed on the chartplotter as there did not seem to be any cross checking with paper charts.

I wonder if there are any known suspect areas to be aware of for my forthcoming passage from St Martin to Vanuatu. I believe that charts around Tonga are reported to have inaccuracies for example.

You have to remember that electronic charts are only as good as the paper chart data that went into them. In the Bahamas, the Explorer chart kits are way better than any of the government charts. Garmin license this so their electronic charts are better. In the Eastern Caribbean, Navionics have licensed the Don Street/Iolaire data so their electronic charts are better here than Garmin.

In the Pacific we found the Navionics gold charts to be very reliable when you were in more frequented locales and often not good in places far off the beaten track. Not a surprise since the paper charts are not good in these spots either. When you look at the data source it will often say something like original survey 1883 and the last survey 1943 when the US Navy was scrambling around improving surveys in any spots that might have military value. Fortunately eyeball nav is pretty easy in these spots, but it would be foolish to close the shore at night.

In Indonesia, the Navionics charts were incredibly inaccurate except around ports and through major passes. We anchored in one wide bay that had one sounding of something like 8.3 m. The water was something like 18 m there. We just crept in until we found 10 m or so. We anchored in the mouth of a river with 8 m of water. Neither the cove nor the river were on the chart. when we left in the morning the plotter has us on land for over a mile while the sounder could not find the bottom. The Brtish and American charts were no better - they exist for commercial and military use and not for gunkholding. The Indonesian (old Dutch?) charts are much better but still not that reliable. Eyeballing and depth sounder and commonsense are the norm. Also, any cruising guides, Noonsite, SSCA Bulletin and similar data is invaluable. We were helped with a list of waypoints from a written blog from a Dutch sailor that got copied a lot.

[tartansail]

Originally Posted by bsankey448

I bought my wife an iPad 4 with 32 gigs for our anniversary last week. It does not have the internal GPS function because we have a Verison MiFI that we use with everything else. What would be the best nav program in this situation? Our boat is a Tayana 37 waiting for us in Anacortes WA. We will start extensive cruising this summer. This would be back up to out 2003 Raymarine chartplotter and paper charts. We'll also have a PC on board.
Bro

The earlier posts in this thread should be helpful on app choices though the dateline issue is not pressing along N and S American coasts. I've been very happy with iNavX with the Navionics charts along the East Coast. The pricing is high for an app, but so much lower than most other boat adjuncts, it's not a big deal to buy both.

You will need to buy an external GPS. Others can make specific recommendations since we have the built-in GPS. We use our phone for a mifi site and don't pay for a data plan. If it's not too late, I would urge consideration of replacing the wifi only with a cellular-capable version so that you have GPS without an extra device.

[bsankey448]

I think it's way to late for that. I think I will use Open CPN with the PC for my primary back up to the plotter. I learned all my nav skills on paper charts and really like using them. I have trouble with the plotter etc, because I like to see the BIG picture, if you get my drift.

[sck5]

I got the Garmin app for the ipad and like it a lot. But then I have a garmin plotter on my boat so I am used to their charts/interfaces/etc.

Garmin is the best for the Bahamas as somebody said above, and in the Bahamas it really matters more than elsewhere. After a year cruising up and down the islands in the eastern Caribbean I never found a place where the Garmin charts were off at all, not even the Tobago Cays which is the area you might actually want some real accuracy. As for the rest of the islands, it really isnt very difficult navigation - You can see the next island a long way off and if you can't find the harbor you are looking for you really need to practice some more before sailing off. Once in the harbor a depth finder and a pair of polarized sunglasses are far more useful than a chartplotter, or at least I thought so.

In fact, though I havent been to the Pacific (yet), I cant imagine running a cut there relying only on a plotter. Wouldnt you use a plotter to get yourself in front of it and then use your eyeballs?

[Jimbo485]

[QUOTE="sck5"

Garmin is the best for the Bahamas as somebody said above, and in the Bahamas it really matters more than elsewhere.

REALLY? WHY DOES THE BAHAMAS MATTER MORE THAN ELSEWHERE? IS THE CORAL SHARPER OR WHAT? THE CORAL IN OTHER COUNTRIES IS SOFTER AND DOESN'T "MATTER" SO MUCH? PLEASE EXPLAIN WHAT YOU ARE TRYING TO SAY.

In fact, though I havent been to the Pacific (yet), I cant imagine running a cut there relying only on a plotter. Wouldnt you use a plotter to get yourself in front of it and then use your eyeballs?[/QUOTE]

YEP! EYEBALLS AND COMMON SENSE ARE PRETTY GOOD. THEY WORKED FOR US IN THE BAHAMAS AND MANY OTHER PLACES. DEPTH, DRAFT, BOTTOM TYPE, WIND, CURRENT, SUN ELEVATION AND DIRECTION, ETC. THEY ALL WORK PRETTY WELL ALL OVER THE WORLD.