IPad2 for navigation

[Greene]

My wife and kids knew I was looking into the IPad as a simple chart plotter, so for my birthday Monday they gave me an IPad2.  My intentions are to use it for inland and occasional coastal cruising.  I chose INavX and a couple of Navionics chart sets to install for my intended sailing areas.

Anyone else playing around with this setup?

Mike

[wes]

Mike - haven't tried mine as a chart plotter yet, but check out the Radarscope and Windfinder Pro apps. I use both of them frequently; WFP to find out what Saturday's wind will be like on my local lake, and Radarscope to track rain and thunderstorms in the vicinity. Highly recommended. Very interested in your experience with inavx, please keep us posted. For travel in my car I have tried several (non-marine) iPad GPS apps such as Telenav, and found they do not equal the performance of a dedicated GPS such as Garmin.

- Wes

[Greene]

The  Radarscope looks promising, so I'll probably add that to my collection.  To get local wind info I usually go to windfinder.com which gives the same basic info as Windfinder Pro. 

I did purchase iNavX and a couple sets of Navionics charts.  I posted a few screenshots on our new blog - Wrinkles in Our Sails.
The link is below if you are interested.  I already have a Garmin 176C unit, but with my 50 plus year old eyes the screen was starting to look a bit too small.  I really love the full screen you get with the iPad and the touchscreen sure makes it easy to search the charts.

Mike

[Salty19]

Happy B-Day, Mike!  Sounds pretty cool.   

I'm using the GPSNavX software on a Macbook Air.   Just learning to use it--hope to venture to big water next year (and years to come) so it will come in handy.
It has full chartplotter functionality as well, looks as featured as the $4K units from Garmin (to the untrained eye anyway).

Good luck with it...a lot cheaper than a full chartplotter to say the least.

[wes]

One of the bit challenges for me has been protecting the iPad in the wet environment. Has anyone found a truly waterproof cover that doesn't degrade the video quality or the touch sensitivity?

Also, running the GPS for an extended period really sucks down the battery. A powered USB port in the cockpit may become a priority project soon.

Wes

[Greene]

The 19 seems to be a pretty dry boat, but some protection will probably be in order.  I have seen several swing mounts which move the GPS (or in our case the iPad) from the inside to the companionway opening.  I think we'll be fabricating something along these lines. I purchased a 12 volt car charger for the iPad, so power shouldn't be a problem on board.  We use very little juice aboard Miss B's Haven and we put in a pretty good size gel cell battery.   I'll be interested to hear what products others have used for water protection. 


Mike

[brackish]

Got this email from JSI today.  Not an endorsement, don't have one, just passing on the info



http://www.newjsi.com/detail.aspx?ID=2942

[Greene]

I added the Windfinder Pro and Radarscope to the iPad.  The WFP is a neatly organized app that gives you the wind direction, wind speed, pressure and cloud cover.  The Radarscope is going to be a very handy and informative device, but only after I study up a bit on it's use.  You can operate it very easily, but interpreting the info properly will take some time.

Any other recommendations?

Mike

[skip1930]

Wow, all these toys are good but way over my head. I have no desire to learn how to use these devices. 'Vices' that's just what these things are and more power to you younger and smarter guys...I asked my self am I here to sail on the water or stare into a 'scope'? What good is it and do I need to expell so much brain power to enjoy my boat?

Kind of that 'String' mentality. You know, if it's wet it's raining. If it's moving, it's windy, If it's dry, it's sunny. If I can't see it, it's dark or real foggy.

I do have a Ray Marine Chart Plotter 435i that I flip on once in a while for a 'fix' when no land can be seen out in the middle of Lake Michigan. Just for poops and grins.

LOL skip.

[Greene]

Skip, you will happy to know that celestial navigation with a good ol' sextant is one of Brenda's next projects.  She is going to work on that while I muddle my way towards a captain's license.  Do we need electronics and classes to enjoy sailing?  No, we need them because of our love for sailing and a desire to know as much as possible about it.

We won't be "staring at a scope", we will be using the tools and knowledge available to us to ensure our safety wherever we may adventure.

Fair winds.

Mike

[skip1930]

That is a popular course in our United States Power and Sail Squadron.
I've done a sun shot and missed my position by about a half a continent!
What fun. All those numbers could kill an insurance actuary, to be sure.
I dropped out of that class. Couldn't handle it.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/door-county-sail-power-squadron/193389304031378

Bon Chance. skip.

[wes]

Hey Skip - although I work in technology and do love my ipad, I generally agree with you about keeping gadgets out of the cockpit. I go sailing to experience the wind, the water, and the critters - not to look at a screen. But because I'm a trailer sailor and my home lake is 45 minutes away, going sailing is a five or six hour commitment. The iPad apps like Windfinder and Radarscope are useful at home and in the car to help decide whether it's a sailing day or a varnishing day. Once I leave the dock the gadgets stay in a dry bag below. My interest in the GPS apps is because I hope to try some coastal sailing in the spring, where I might actually lose sight of land once in a while.

Wes

[HideAway]

The problem we have with the technology is we forget how much we depend on it.   On our Turkey Cruise over Thanksgiving our 17 year old GPS fried.  We were Leaving the backside of Indian Key near some very shallow water and decided we didn t NEED to take bearings off the markers because we could clearly see them in the distance on a bright sunny day.  All fine and good except we were looking at the wrong marker.  the only thing that saved us from great embarrassment was our newly installed depth finder and a quick tack.   So one technology failed us - The other saved us.

What frightened us was how stupid we were to just use line of sight navigation instead of taking a few minutes to plot a course from one marker to the other. Matt

[Shawn]

"One of the bit challenges for me has been protecting the iPad in the wet environment. Has anyone found a truly waterproof cover that doesn't degrade the video quality or the touch sensitivity?"

They aren't out yet but check out Lifeproof's iPad case.

http://www.lifeproof.com/lifeproof-store/apple-cases/ipad

I use one of their cases on my iPhone and it is nice. I haven't gone swimming with it but did test it to be waterproof submerged in the sink.

Shawn

[Shawn]

BTW... for anyone considering getting an iPad for navigation be sure you buy one of the cellular versions. The wifi only model does not have GPS in it.

Shawn