Is Active Captain still useful? How to add a location.

[SuW]

When I started using Active Captain after last winter, I was a bit frustrated that "things had changed".

Previously a right-mouse click gave a menu of options to add a marker. Now there's a little link Add Marker on the top of the left-hand panel. That allows you to move a point on your visible map to where you want it.
Other stuff works slightly differently but on the whole I like the changes.

As for the discussion about "trusting crowd sourced" I use AC and ZuluWaterways stuff to keep my own notes about useful features on the water.
I review or comment everywhere I go because it's usually 6 months to 2 years by the time I get back to a place.

I do think that up here on the St. Lawrence there are rarely more than four or five reviews of a facility, so it isn't too much to scroll through them all.

If there were 100 reviews, it would be a bit difficult.

[Sailmon]

We still lament the death of Garmin BlueChart Mobile (yes, its still on my tablet - but I can no longer update charts or AC data). That said, we have been getting used to Garmin’s new Active Captain App. and they continue to make improvements. Current issues - no track recording function and lat/Lon numbers too small to read in editing circle. We still rely heavily on AC for navigation & route planning, hazard warnings and marina/anchorage reviews. We have found Garmin’s tech support to be pretty responsive, friendly & helpful. We have not yet figured out how to create a new entry in the database. Regarding AquaMap (mentioned earlier in the thread) we like the look of the charts, but found it unusable due to flaw I haven’t been able to figure out. We transferred in our way points & routes via GPX file and they all appeared as expected on the chart. The problem is they ALL appear ALL the time on the chart making it so cluttered it is nearly unreadable. There doesn’t appear to be a way to toggle them off or a directory from which to choose one and open it on the chart. For us a deal breaker. Finally, I installed the Navionics app but haven’t had a chance to try it I out.

[Nicholson58]

Originally Posted by Sailmon

We still lament the death of Garmin BlueChart Mobile (yes, its still on my tablet - but I can no longer update charts or AC data). That said, we have been getting

Finally, I installed the Navionics app but haven’t had a chance to try it I out.

We have been using Navionics on our IPAD for several years. This is a primary backup to the boat’s Simrad chart plotter. It’s very good with easy tools. It was mission critical when all power ceased as we were navigating the reefs around Antigua. Make sure your pad has sufficient storage.

[hpeer]

Sailmon,
Why not email AquaMap help, they have been very prompt and helpful for me.

[mlibkind]

I used to use Garmin Bluechart Mobile, but now they do not support it. Although I can use my existing copy which includes Explorer Charts, I can't update the Active Captain data that I use while cruising. I have found the Active Captain data useful for choosing locations to anchor.

It looks like Aquamaps can supply Explorer Charts. Great. It also can display Active Captain data but it is not clear if I can download it so I can use it at sea or must I have an internet connection. Does anyone know the answer to that question?

[Mailman]

I was looking for the same and ended up on this forum. The main thing I notice, is that the apps are usually good in one region and less in the other, like Auqamaps. Have any of you tried Moorspots (IOS only) before? Would be interested in your experiences. Seems to cover globally, but Europe is the most active area, I think. That's the area I was needing.

[Reinhardschuman]

I was told today by Garmin that anchorages and hazards(!!) can no longer be added by individual boaters. It appears that they have decided to kill off active captain as an open communication channel between boaters.

[mlibkind]

What's most amazing is that Garmin bought Navionics and now they don't support Garmin Bluechart Mobile that incorporated the Explorer Charts. I know there is probably a disclaimer every time you open a Navionics chart, but they are doing the sailing community a dis-service propagating clearly poor data for the Bahamas when they know there is much better data available. I rely 100% on my old version of Bluechart Mobile in planning for the Bahamas, and whenever I get anywhere at all close to shore.



To emphasize how bad the Navionics charts are, I was at least 3 nm off shore, maybe 5 nm, in 2 to 3 foot seas. The Navionics charts showed at least 20 foot deep. I pounded on the bottom in 7 feet of water because of the waves. That's 20+ feet versus 7 feet. That's really bad.


Bluechart Mobile showed the shoal with note that it might shift. Navionics simply showed at least 20 feet. I'll never cut a corner of a route I create for the Bahamas without looking at Bluechart Mobile first.

[CaptTom]

Originally Posted by Reinhardschuman

I was told today by Garmin that anchorages and hazards(!!) can no longer be added by individual boaters. It appears that they have decided to kill off active captain as an open communication channel between boaters.

Wow. Just went to the web site and there's no apparent way to add a marker. Admittedly, I'm not really sure if/how that worked since Garmin bought it.

Anyone have any more info on this? It doesn't look good.

[SuW]

Originally Posted by CaptTom

Wow. Just went to the web site and there's no apparent way to add a marker. Admittedly, I'm not really sure if/how that worked since Garmin bought it.
Anyone have any more info on this? It doesn't look good.

Hi Captain Tom,
If you click on any existing marker, a panel opens on the left-hand side of the screen with its details. (You can also open what I call the "control panel" by clicking on the right arrow symbol that appears on the top left of the screen on the Map view.)

There is a little blue link called Add a Marker near the top right of that panel.
Then you get to enter the type of marker (and then scroll down in my case) to a Next button.
Then enter the location (a cross hairs thing appears on the middle of the visible map that you can drag). Then Next again to allow more details to be entered.

It is, in my opinion, a very poor UI design. I knew it was there, but had to look back at my previous post to find it again (several above this one, May 2019).

Good luck!

[CaptTom]

Originally Posted by SuW

Hi Captain Tom,
If you click on any existing marker, a panel opens on the left-hand side of the screen with its details. (You can also open what I call the "control panel" by clicking on the right arrow symbol that appears on the top left of the screen on the Map view.)...

Wow, talk about a crappy UI. But, yes, it's there and it let me start the process of adding a marker. Once I have a real one to add I'll try it.

I did notice that my own review from 2015 is the most recent entry in the single most popular local destination around here. This does not bode well for the future of AC.

I'm as disappointed as anyone that Garmin got the benefit of all the work dedicated volunteers did to populate the AC database. But it's still all we've got.

I hope people eventually do what we all do when we vote; hold your nose and support the least awful option available. Which in this case means continuing to post your reviews in AC.

[SuW]

Originally Posted by CaptTom

Wow, talk about a crappy UI. But, yes, it's there and it let me start the process of adding a marker. Once I have a real one to add I'll try it.
I did notice that my own review from 2015 is the most recent entry in the single most popular local destination around here. This does not bode well for the future of AC.
I'm as disappointed as anyone that Garmin got the benefit of all the work dedicated volunteers did to populate the AC database. But it's still all we've got.
I hope people eventually do what we all do when we vote; hold your nose and support the least awful option available. Which in this case means continuing to post your reviews in AC.

I agree, although I really don't have such a jaundiced view of Garmin as some people; I have used their products for decades. I remember the thrill of walking along a Florida beach in 1995 or 1996 and following our tracks in the GPS 45 (I think). We have always had their handhelds on the boat since.

I do realize that corporations do things that sometimes screw the public or their customers. Garmin have been sort-of furtively making small apparent changes to their web software application. I did notice one big change that was probably a complete technology change/platform change, probably a complete rewrite. There were some things that disappeared and then came back again, like a particular hazard marker that I entered. I've also notice a lot of manual changes to descriptions of items (of things that users cannot now edit).

For example, I had marked the positions of the small craft docks on the St. Lawrence Seaway locks, together with a detailed description of the locking-through experience and infrastructure. All that information has been aggregated into one marker for each lock. I don't particularly object to that, but you do need to read it carefully, now.

As for reviews, there was an attempt to get people to uprate "helpful" reviews. I'm not sure if people do that. Some popular places around here (St. Lawrence River) have so many reviews that all say basically the same thing that I think people see it as redundant to pile on. Not all are helpful, it must be said

Disclaimer: I got an Active Captain hat, back in the day

There is another similar but independent website called ZuluWaterways that someone in Australia started. It seems to have a lot of interest in Australia, there are increasing numbers of users around here.

Cheers!
Sue.

[CaptTom]

Sue, I've still got my old handheld Garmin (I think it's a 45) on the boat too. I was also an early adopter of AC and earned a ball cap (which Jeff never sent.)

I would like to see Zulu Waterways make some progress in North America, but that seems like a long shot at this point. Waterway guide is another option, but it's not really the same model as AC originally was. To me, AC is probably still our best option, IF Garmin can refrain from screwing it up. Their track record on that isn't good.

[Reinhardschuman]

Originally Posted by SuW

Hi Captain Tom,
If you click on any existing marker, a panel opens on the left-hand side of the screen with its details. (You can also open what I call the "control panel" by clicking on the right arrow symbol that appears on the top left of the screen on the Map view.)

There is a little blue link called Add a Marker near the top right of that panel.
Then you get to enter the type of marker (and then scroll down in my case) to a Next button.
Then enter the location (a cross hairs thing appears on the middle of the visible map that you can drag). Then Next again to allow more details to be entered.

It is, in my opinion, a very poor UI design. I knew it was there, but had to look back at my previous post to find it again (several above this one, May 2019).

Good luck!

I tried this and I couldn’t make it work. The new anchorage is now on top of the marker for channel info and I can’t find a way to move it to the correct location

[SayNoMoreSSI]

I'm baffled at what Garmin is trying to do with ActiveCaptain. I think the website is fine, but I see limited benefit to installing it on a chartplotter. Maybe I'm missing something. It took me over an hour with tech support to get it working on my 8612xsv. So far the only real benefit I see is doing software updates through the phone app instead of using a micro-SD card. What am I missing?

Yes, when I get a phone text it shows up on my chartplotter, but I was hoping to get ActiveCaptain info shown on the map on the chartplotter. I'm not even sure if that was Garmin's objective. If anybody has achieved this, please let me know how you did it.

From what I've seen and read, I should be able to duplicate my charts on an iphone or an ipad running the ActiveCaptain app. So far I have not been able to do this. Please help if you can.