TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums British Virgin Islands Navigation App for iPad

Is one recommended over another? Navionics? Garmin Blue Chart? Will either talk to the onboard navigation system for sharing routes and waypoints? I believe our boat will have Raymaine electronics.
thanks for the advice.

I like Navionics. It’s expensive IMO, but I know how to use it so I’ve stuck with it. I find it works well enough that I ignore the boats charts when planning distances and only refer to them to see what’s around me. I’ve never tried to connect the iPad chart to the onboard nav.

I use the Navionics app, and also the Dual Electronics GPS Receiver , which displays the boat position in the app. As backup to the boat's chart plotter, this combination is amazingly accurate.

None. Paper charts and your eyes.

Agree

I like to use all available tools. Paper charts, Navionics and eyeballs for me...

casailor 53 and rhans:

Given that boat chartplotters and backup apps on devices also require the use of "eyes", what is your rationale for not using electronic assistance in addition to paper charts? I

n your land based vehicles, do you use GPS units and/or cell phone apps or do you rely solely on Rand McNally atlases and road maps? If you use electronics in your car / truck / motorhome, then why not do so on the water?

Casailor and Rhans,
I’ve used Paper Charts, Compass,Depth sounder and a stop watch when I was younger and dead reckoned from different ports in the N & SE to the Caribbean without a hitch except for missing an island every once in a awhile.
But there’s nothing like GPS where you know exactly where you are and have a pretty accurate ETA.

except that someday those satellites are gonna fall outta the sky...you need to keep up the old skills...and if you started boating in the GPS age, you need to learn them anyway

too many people get wrapped up staring at screens...I didn't say I don't use a GPS, but pretty much never in the BVI...and no, I don't use electronics for nav in the car

No doubt about it.
There is no doubt that there are more groundings by people using GPS especially when entering harbors due to the inaccuracies.
The same with truckers slamming into low bridges that weren’t noted.
I read you loud and clear.

As a matter of fact if we go to war in our country they’ll shutdown the GPS and all aids to navigation and street signs on land.
I really like Imrays plastic charts which I use in my cockpit with a thin sheet of plexi glass over them held down with bungee cords and a black crayon marker to put an X on my GPS position every hour or so.

"except that someday those satellites are gonna fall outta the sky" ... "I don't use electronics for nav in the car"

Really? My grandkids were pretty impressed on our last BVI trip in June 2017 when I could show them how the chartplotter and paper charts showed the same things, but explained that the chartplotter was better because the software is updated more frequently and you can get the realtime information you need faster and thus get your head up and looking forward sooner. Nevertheless, they still think that their 70 year old grandpa is not too techie because I don't use Instagram or Twitter. I am going to show them this thread. I think I just moved up a notch or two. Thanks!