IPad2 for navigation

[tmorgan]

Navimatics Charts and Guides is a great app for planning trips.  With the Active Captain overlay, there is a lot of information about marinas, restaurants, ramps and things to see.

[Steady1]

This may be too late to be of help to anyone but, if any interest remains, I bought an iPad4 before taking our CP27/2 up the coast, Virginia to Maine.  With iNavx (and paper charts, too), it worked well the entire trip.  In fair weather, it mounts on a bracket under the dodger.  There's a vinyl cover to keep spray off, too.  If left on all the time, it would eat up the iPad battery.  But I just used it to confirm location, as needed.  For that it was invaluable and did a great job!  The battery stayed charged off the alternator using a 12v "car charger" cable.

Bottom-line: worked great for me on that trip and back home cruising the Chesapeake!  As mentioned above, make sure you get the version with the built-in GPS; in my experience, no Wi-Fi or cell service needed, works just like any other GPS.  You only need Wi-Fi or cell for email or internet.

Fair winds!

[Greene]

That is good to hear.  I just upgraded to 128 gig Gen 4 in hopes the display will work better in sunlight and to allow me to keep more charts loaded at one time.  We hope to use the iPad as a backup to our paper charts and a dedicated chart plotter. 

Mike

[Salty19]

Just a follow-up to this post.

Apple has changed the iPads a bit from the version 2's.  The cellular versions now are including a true GPS chip, so location accuracy is much improved, and reliability in rural areas shouldn't be an issue.  I think the version 3's had this too, but not 100% sure.  The Wi-Fi only versions still do not have GPS chips, but you can still use a Bluetooth GPS receiver, or a direct GPS plug in to the Lightning Port.

I'm going to try the plug-in version from Bad Elf on a new Ipad Mini so the Bluetooth channel is clear to stream music to a small Bluetooth speaker set.

http://bad-elf.com/

They have a Bluetooth version that can pair simultaneously with multiple devices too.  I figured I didn't need that, and since it has an integrated rechargeable battery--and much more $$$, it will need charged and will eventually fail. So the direct plug in is the way to go, for me.

I'm going to copy the mount setup by Brackish, I think.  Swiveling ram mount bolted to the inside bulkhead with enough swivel arm to pivot the unit in plain site in the companionway.  This will keep the cockpit free to mounts and gives a nice spot near a 12V outlet to charge batteries.

This is all really just practice and fun for me.  Our lake is small enough that you don't need navigation equipment, but its fun to take fixes and get to know more about the subject.   Some day I will appreciate the knowledge gained.

I also like to hike and camp in the wilderness of WV. The area I  go into is full or iron deposits and it DOES throw off my compass making compass/map navigation a little iffy.  My handheld GPS works OK, but is a bit primitive, and will get me back to camp but lacks topo maps.  In mountainous regions like WV, knowing the topo can really help avoid cliffs and steep terrain.

[atrometer]

I use (and have for years) use "Coastal Explorer" from "Rose Point" on my laptop.  ALL charts are FREE ad the software is VERY reasonable.  I have a plug in GPS that came with MS Maps and Trips (for roads).  I can plug the laptop into 12 V or a battery booster pack I have - works wonderful!!