Navionics alternative?

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carnalasadasalad@reddit

Do you mind if I ask how you transfer your routes to your boat computer/chartplotters? I want to use Orca or Aquamap but having to move the routes via as card is a sticking point.

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Sorry I don’t, I use my phone for 99% of my navigating. I have a charplotter downstairs at the nav station but don’t really use it. Done over 10,000 miles of cruising this way over the last couple years. I know some people will be up in arms at the idea but it’s worked for me

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robhermit101@reddit

Orca

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carnalasadasalad@reddit

Do you mind if I ask how you transfer your routes to your boat computer/chartplotters? I want to use Orca or Aquamap but having to move the routes via as card is a sticking point.

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Few-Measurement9233@reddit

Another vote for Orca. They just released an update in the last couple of days with a "Windy-style" weather overlay. Their weather routing is top-notch too

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LimestoneSailingCo@reddit

Orca is a nice free alternative. The paid version is expensive but quite exceptional for weather overlays and automatic routing for sailboats. Good for us professionals.

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carnalasadasalad@reddit

Do you mind if I ask how you transfer your routes to your boat computer/chartplotters? I want to use Orca or Aquamap but having to move the routes via as card is a sticking point.

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NSAscanner@reddit

Timezero is nice. Cmap is ok. Both have good apps

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Mendeltje@reddit

Tz iBoat! Android version coming soon when they release v4. Been beta testing, it’s really good.

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steelerector1986@reddit

I've been happy running TZ on my iPad. It also has weather, AIS, and radar overlay modules that integrate nicely onto the plot screen. I tried running the Cmap app and it crashed on me repeatedly while offshore, wiping out all the route tracking as well as future waypoints. I will not use Cmap again.

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midnightseanavy@reddit

Navionics is really the best. I HATE to say that because Garmins monopoly is terrible for the industry. Why it and Active Capitan can’t work right together shows how much they don’t really care about their customers. 2nd best is aqua maps tied with maybe Orca. I just can’t get the routes to transfer properly to my chartplotter so I am stuck in that eco system. I still do planning and on aqua maps because Navionics is blocked from working on a Mac now. I really wish Garmin would just sell a better product at a more reasonable price.

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n0exit@reddit

I can't stand Navionics. My absolute favorite is DeepZoom. It doesn't work offline very well, but it is generally great for the coastal waters of the Puget Sound, where I sail.

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west25th@reddit

I also sail puget sound. Deepzoom has no current/tide info in Canadian waters, 60nm north of me. Everyonce in a while I check to see if that has changed. So far it has not.

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jayborseth@reddit

DeepZoom now has Canadian charts and currents. https://blog.deepzoom.com/release/canadian-tides/

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west25th@reddit

Cheers and thanks.

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CorvetteCole@reddit

man I hated aqua maps. it was so slow and clunky compared to navionics when I tried

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midnightseanavy@reddit

Biggest benefit for me with Aqua Maps is it runs on Apple laptops. I still like to plan on a big screen.

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ImprovementFun4939@reddit

SavvyNavvy

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Hordearius@reddit

Not a lot of votes for this one - I've played with it and it's certainly *prettier* than Navionics, but I haven't actually used it yet - What are the advantages as you see them?

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TitusListens@reddit

It works like waze or google maps: it plans the route from A to B taking into account wind, tide, your boats sailing characteristics: it’s quite amazing. I thought the maps weren’t as detailed as TZ or Navionics but the functionality is really impressive. I personally find Navionics the most user friendly but when I wanted to cross the channel I found I had to buy 2 maps and within TZ only one so I went for TZ. Navionics let you use old maps in full detail whereas TZ not, you need to buy a new one to do that. Both apps work great on iPhone and receive AIS via wifi.

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iheartrms@reddit

I'm really liking OpenCPN.

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OshunBlu@reddit

I'm another fan of OpenCPN. Got it on my phone and also a dedicated pi4 with a touchscreen down in the cabin.

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eight13atnight@reddit

Do you just use that on a browser or is there an app version?

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iheartrms@reddit

Best way to go is a raspberry pi below deck to a marinized HDMI display in the cockpit which is what I've done. But there are Android and iOS app versions. The Android in particular isn't as smooth as the desktop version though. But I still have it for backup.

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otterfish@reddit

14 years ago, I had Open CPN and a 300 dollar Chromebook, it got me from Washington to Alaska. NOAA charts are free. Canadian charts cost money but they're DRM free, and on the west Coast at least, they don't charge much. So my opinion is maybe a little dated, but I'm a huge fan of Open CPN.

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kor0na@reddit

I was gonna try it out this year but have been quite disappointed with the rendering performance. I've got an older Samsung Galaxy Tab Active for route planning and navigation and it has three chart apps on it - Navionics, OpenCPN and Skippo (Swedish one, pretty good) and OpenCPN is the only one out of the three that feels distintinctively sluggish when panning charts. I'm pretty sure I won't be using it until I get a newer tablet.

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piperdre@reddit

Similar boat (pun intended) was thinking of Savvy Navvy. Anybody try that?

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dfsw@reddit

It’s been okay, it feels like the non charting data is limited though, marina information and stuff like that

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David__R8@reddit

Aqua maps all the way.

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pdq_sailor@reddit

What do I use for navigation? A Ray Marine hybrid touch chart plotter ... thing is awesome..

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Derridas-Cat@reddit

Depends on your display. C-MAP is super nice but pretty sure it only runs on Simrad and Lowrance units, not Garmin. If you have Garmin I’m not sure you have any choice but to use their shitty Navionics charts.

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EddieVedderIsMyDad@reddit

All these posts and not a single person has mentioned that Navionics offers SonarCharts. They are crowd-sourced aggregated depth sounder readings that provide a far more detailed depth contour map in any area where there is a reasonable amount of boat traffic. If you only sail in well charted areas with deep water it’s less important, but for trying to gunk hole and transit marginally deep enough areas it is an unbelievably helpful resource. Huge help running my 6’ draft in many areas of the Bahamas and East and Gulf Coasts.

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millijuna@reddit

I run iNavX on my iPad and iPhone, mostly because I don’t think it will revert to internal positioning if my network sensor feed drops. And because I’ve been running it for over a decade at this point.

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SVAuspicious@reddit

It's really hard to do worse than Navionics. What are you trying to run on? MFD? PC? Tablet? Phone? iOS or Android? On an MFD, what your device supports is limiting. Anything other than Navionics. PC there are lots of choices. I use and am very happy with OpenCPN. I have a GlobalSAT GPS and dAISy-2+ AIS so I have redundancy. Getting synoptic overlays for weather requires a plug-in. Tablet and phone for Android OpenCPN is an option but I find it awkward on the smaller screens without a keyboard. One of the biggest downsides of tablets and phones is the touchscreen, a shortfall shared with some MFDs. For iOS and Android Aqua Map really is currently best of breed. Orca is quite good. Argo is trying hard. Navionics is simply not safe for navigation. 200k nm offshore under command, mostly on delivery, my solutions have evolved over the years. Laptop with a second screen below with GPS and AIS, OpenCPN and VPP and JVCOMM32. Aqua Map on my phone. I have and look at Orca and Argo. I have those apps on my tablet but don't travel with it. I get what I get when I walk on a boat. Crew come with their own stuff. I support it all. VPP for initial routing, OpenCPN for fine tuning and weather over Internet and WEFAX/JVCOMM32 and a little inReach mini and a lot of looking out the window (barometer on my phone). I generate .gpx files of plans from OpenCPN (don't steer to routes, just show them on screen) to move from my laptop to phone, to MFD (SD cards), and to crew devices (email and/or WiFi from my hotspot or Bluetooth from AirDrop). Have I mentioned that I really really don't like Navionics? At least Garmin hasn't broken inReach...yet. OpenCPN at [opencpn.org](http://opencpn.org) (I pay for charts as necessary, free in US from NOAA) Aqua Map at [aquamap.app](http://aquamap.app) (I pay for master subscription) Orca at [getorca.com](http://getorca.com) Argo at [argonav.io](http://argonav.io) VPP at [digwave.com](http://digwave.com) JVCOMM32 at [jvcomm.de](http://jvcomm.de) See [rfax.pdf](https://www.weather.gov/media/marine/rfax.pdf)

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Agentcoyote@reddit

With Navionics I can get sensor data from my depthsounder, GPS via B&G chartplotter WiFi hotspot. Does Aquamaps support that? That’s a huge value prop to use Navionics on my iPad as chartplotter

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SVAuspicious@reddit

Yes, Aqua Map takes NMEA feeds over WiFi. So does Orca. So does Argo. So I can't think of any nav software or app that doesn't. Navionics was actually late to support the capability. For the record, WiFi only iPads don't have GPS so you need something to feed location to them. Android tablets with or without cellular generally have GPS. Cellular iPads also have an enduring problem with onboard GPS on cellular tablets developing high latency (delayed position). Aqua Map is the only app that seems to have a good work around for that so far. For other apps and for everything on my WiFi only iPad I use GPS2IP app on my phone to feed GPS over NMEA to my iPad. If you have a WiFi gateway for NMEA on your boat you don't need that.

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S4MPL3S@reddit

Argo is incredible. The auto routing is easily the best one out there and the weather layers are smooth. They also have one price for the app instead of buying multiple regions which really matters for endurance cruisers.

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Visual-Plant-4814@reddit

I have avionics on the MFDs and AquaMaps on all my devices: phone, iPad and MacBook. Been around the world with them both. Tried all others, these are my go to.

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steelerector1986@reddit

I'm using TZ iBoat for iOS. They also just announced they're releasing for android soon. It has a good array of chart plot options, as well as overlay modules for weather, tide, AIS, and radar, and is pretty inexpensive. I tried Aquamaps and Cmaps and didn't like them for various reasons.

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12221203@reddit

I’ll second this definitely my favorite been with them for 20 years as it has changed owners and platforms. I’ve tried navionics and iNavX and Garmin but I keep going to TZ. I have polars and touring software with them the only thing missing is a start box. Wish they would get that going I run expedition for starts and switch really because I e never grown comfortable using all the features of Expedition

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midnightseanavy@reddit

Again not a Garmin fan anymore but Navionics has the best depth data. It’s compiled by its users. I don’t think anyone else come close in that department

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NSAscanner@reddit

Tz iboat has goot bathyvision charts

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bkeepers@reddit

I’m working on a new marine navigation app called Open Waters. It is free and open source. iOS only for the initial release, but android support is planned. Message me your Apple ID if you want to join the beta. https://github.com/openwatersio/OpenWaters

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midnightseanavy@reddit

Any more info or screenshots?

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midnightseanavy@reddit

This box will do similar functions as Orca like auto pilot control, and display Nema 2000 data for 1/4 the price. https://nauti-control.com/

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wevanscfi@reddit

I’m trialing Orca since Garmin killed navionics sync to my non-farming chart plotter. Liking it so far, but there are still things I find my self opening either navionics or predict wind for.

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archlich@reddit

OpenCPN, InavX, Expedition

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Any_Insect3335@reddit

If you just want a quick swap, look at Aqua Map or C-MAP. Aqua Map is pretty decent for coastal stuff because the depth overlays are solid, and OpenCPN is cool if you want a free open-source thing for a laptop. Honestly though, relying on just one app kinda sucks if it glitches out..I mess around with charts and marine tech at Amnautical, so I usually tell people to use apps for quick reference but keep some official ENCs or a backup device ready so you aren't blind if your tablet overheats. Check out Aqua Map, but yeah, have a backup.

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HiramAb1ff@reddit

Argo Nav

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Arthur-Dent7x6@reddit

I'm using the new C-maps app, mainly because I am running Expedition X on a Juniper tablet. It is a lot tidier to use than the old C-map system and the charting is really good. For my iphone I'm using iNavX.

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deleted_by_reddit@reddit

[removed]

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sailing-ModTeam@reddit

Your post has been removed because it is against the rules here in sailing. No self promotion/Vlogs or Blog posting is allowed here. Check the rules for alternate places to post this content.

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Next-Juggernaut7404@reddit

How I miss the days where navionics wasn’t subscription based *sigh* I’ve been though various other platforms, but imho nothing compares really

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twrodriguez@reddit

Right? Remember when you could just use the web app and browse Active Captain and find what you needed for free?

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BeneficialPossible@reddit

I have raymarine MFDs, use navionics on ipad and predictwind for weather routing. I am really closely following Orca as they are on the path to offer it all in one platform.... and in MFD/ipad/iphone

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DarkVoid42@reddit

no

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the-montser@reddit

Aqua Map is much better

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Brilliant_Ice84@reddit

If you plan to use the AICW, AquaMaps with USACE soundings and Bob423 tracks enabled is hard to beat.

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