Select to expand quote Even with this accuracy, it is still NOT our primary means of navigation......
I hear you.
As far as I am aware navigation using paper charts and a properly kept log book are still the only accepted records in a court of law. All else are "Aids to Navigation".
I think the PRIMARY means of navigation is your brain.
This is exampled by the Polynesian navigators who were revered like shamans as described in David Lewis' book "We the Navigators". They would make very accurate land falls over huge distances without instruments of any kind by reading the signs.
I am a great believer in having redundancy especially with navigation so that comparisons of accuracy can be made between methods. GPS has been a boon for navigators since it's inception.
Eventually I will probably have 4 or 5 GPS devices on board by way of a Standard Horizon VHF with built in GPS and AIS, a dedicated marine chart plotter such as a Lowrance Elite 7, my tablet with Navionics on it and one or two back up hand held GPS units. Technology has become so affordable now that it is hard to have too much of it.
Back on topic, Best marine Apps???
Great responses so far guys. Thank you.
No doubt Ramona will drop in shortly and say "Forget all that. Just get Seaclear." 
Select to expand quotecisco said..
No doubt Ramona will drop in shortly and say "Forget all that. Just get Seaclear."
No doubt he will, it is a great program but it does have drawbacks, mainly that you need to create your own charts and therefore the accuracy of those can be compromised if you make any mistakes during the calibration process, the same shortfalls also apply to OziExplorer.
The other problems with progtams like Seaclear and OziExplorer is if you intend making long passages, that's a lot of pictures you need to calibrate in order to turn them into useable charts.
I have a Raymarine C80 at the helm with Navionics chart card.
At the chart table i have a basic laptop with Nobeltec installed and a USB GPS antenna plugged in. I also have a Standard Horizon VHF with built in GPS and AIS receiver.
I have outputted the NMEA to my laptop and now i also have AIS overlay on the nobeltec charts.
Have found the Nobeltec to be extremely good albeit a little expensive. In addition to all of this I have a hand held GPS and Navionics app installed on the Samsung Phone. If I get lost with this lot I don't deserve to be found.
Almost forgot, I also have an inreach satellite communicator with GPS
Select to expand quoteLooseChange said..cisco said..
No doubt Ramona will drop in shortly and say "Forget all that. Just get Seaclear."
No doubt he will, it is a great program but it does have drawbacks, mainly that you need to create your own charts and therefore the accuracy of those can be compromised if you make any mistakes during the calibration process, the same shortfalls also apply to OziExplorer.
The other problems with progtams like Seaclear and OziExplorer is if you intend making long passages, that's a lot of pictures you need to calibrate in order to turn them into useable charts.
You can buy the charts if you want, there is just no need. Yes you have to calibrate the charts you create or perhaps just download your mates copy. World wide help from forum members, what else do you need.
If you are in a position to buy the charts then there is a fairly good chance you already own a plotter or aren't that short of funds, thereby negating the need to use programs like Seaclear or OziExplorer.
Select to expand quoteRamona said..
You can buy the charts if you want, there is just no need. Yes you have to calibrate the charts you create or perhaps just download your mates copy. World wide help from forum members, what else do you need.
It is the installing and calibrating of charts that daunts me. For me I doubt I would live long enough to get it all done with my low tech abilities. 
Navionics may not have the details of raster charts but it IS quick easy and cheap.
A recent upgrade of Navionics is the addition of Sonar Charts which gives an excellent interpretation of the bottom contours.
Select to expand quoteLooseChange said..
If you are in a position to buy the charts then there is a fairly good chance you already own a plotter or aren't that short of funds, thereby negating the need to use programs like Seaclear or OziExplorer.
In the USA because taxes have already paid for the charts they are free. Britain has visitmyharbour which offer their charts fairly cheap. In Australia our taxes pay for the charts and they are sold on to companies like Navionics or to the punters direct for a large some of money. If you have access to navy/waterpolice/rescue association cds then it's a different matter.
The MSB coastal charts on PDF are free and extremely accurate. In open water you can calibrate a sheet of paper if you want. When I was droplining I made a chart for each area that covered an area of about 500 metres and added my own marks. I just cut a section from a chart with a lat and long line. After a few days working the same area you build up a "Chart". Because its a computer programme you can unlock and drag and drop marks all about the place. USB stick and you can store and run the whole programme and charts or borrow your mates charts and marks. Unscrupulous deckhands can also steal secrets!
My experience is that Navionics does need network connection from time to time. It needs to update the charts even after you have downloaded them.
Anyone else had this experience?
Could be a bit annoying if you were out there and it decided it need to download again.
regards
Stephen
Select to expand quoteRamona said..LooseChange said..
If you are in a position to buy the charts then there is a fairly good chance you already own a plotter or aren't that short of funds, thereby negating the need to use programs like Seaclear or OziExplorer.
In the USA because taxes have already paid for the charts they are free. Britain has visitmyharbour which offer their charts fairly cheap. In Australia our taxes pay for the charts and they are sold on to companies like Navionics or to the punters direct for a large some of money. If you have access to navy/waterpolice/rescue association cds then it's a different matter.
The MSB coastal charts on PDF are free and extremely accurate. In open water you can calibrate a sheet of paper if you want. When I was droplining I made a chart for each area that covered an area of about 500 metres and added my own marks. I just cut a section from a chart with a lat and long line. After a few days working the same area you build up a "Chart". Because its a computer programme you can unlock and drag and drop marks all about the place. USB stick and you can store and run the whole programme and charts or borrow your mates charts and marks. Unscrupulous deckhands can also steal secrets!
Maybe Ramona might need a deck hand some time
On my IPad I'v got an app called Compass 12th which is a compass that also displays lat & long , works without wifi
Also have ITactic which is a great race start app. You can plot the start line and enter how many minutes until start and it works out time to the line so you can adjust speed accordingly. It even gives you a horn sound at the start time.
Have navtroncis also which I use more for planning routes rather than navigating on the water due glare
has anybody found a solution to the glare problem with using tablets . I have a anti glare film over the face but it's useless
Select to expand quoteseabird said..
On my IPad I'v got an app called Compass 12th which is a compass that also displays lat & long , works without wifi
Also have ITactic which is a great race start app. You can plot the start line and enter how many minutes until start and it works out time to the line so you can adjust speed accordingly. It even gives you a horn sound at the start time.
Have navtroncis also which I use more for planning routes rather than navigating on the water due glare
has anybody found a solution to the glare problem with using tablets . I have a anti glare film over the face but it's useless
I'm shopping for a new smart phone at the moment and it seems that you have to have a GPS installed not just a A-GPS to have some accuracy offshore. A_GPS is fine if your close to towers and the GPS updates via wifi but slowly. Full GPS in a phone or tablet does not need wifi but also is slower than a GPS dongle and does not have the accuracy and speed of something like a SIRF4 chip. Feel free to shoot me down if I'm incorrect!
I wont be using it for navigation I'm more interested in the apps for lap timing at car circuits.
My Tracks, while definitely NOT a navigation app, is a free app for capturing your route, with convenient synchronization to Google Drive.
For just latitude/longitude and GPS satellite info, the free GPS Status app from MobiWIA is also excellent.
Select to expand quoteMadmouse said..
My experience is that Navionics does need network connection from time to time. It needs to update the charts even after you have downloaded them.
Anyone else had this experience?
Could be a bit annoying if you were out there and it decided it need to download again.
regards
Stephen
As far as I am aware it does not NEED network connection but when you have it running and you do get network connection, it will phone home and update itself.
That is what happened to the version I had on my Aldi Tablet.
It seems that navionics mobile version does not download maps for the whole of Australia on installation. It is not until you zoom in on an area for the first time that it brings the information. if you do not have access to a network then the data will not be available. once the area is loaded you do not need to download it again. I guess that it is saving storage space on the device.
If you zoom right out you will see some areas are highlighted and others are a dull grey. the highlighted areas are downloaded into the Device.
This is how it is working on my phone anyway.
That's correct for all apps, they have to be updated from time to time.
Some airports, shoppings incl MacDonalds have free wifi. Easy to connect.
Speed is often problem.
Typicaly I don't download apps which need permanent wifi connection , with some exceptions / Google Earth, Viber etc./.
Any off network apps have access to build in GPS if they need it for proper function.
They are off network maps of Australia, type of Where Is, they very good ones and for free , but
I purchased HEMA 4WD, and deleted them all.
there is one thing I have. to find out, ...you pay for full version of Navionix, you buy new tablet,
you just reload it again, you don't have to pay,
it might also mean multiple units with good software???m
Select to expand quoteRiffRaff said..
It seems that navionics mobile version does not download maps for the whole of Australia on installation. It is not until you zoom in on an area for the first time that it brings the information. if you do not have access to a network then the data will not be available. once the area is loaded you do not need to download it again. I guess that it is saving storage space on the device.
If you zoom right out you will see some areas are highlighted and others are a dull grey. the highlighted areas are downloaded into the Device.
This is how it is working on my phone anyway.
You have got it.
The purchase and download/installation only installs the program.
Maps will install as you access them IF you have network connection. The maps for Aus and NZ will only take up a couple of hundred MB of memory. It is worth spending 5 or 6 hours downloading the maps onto your device as once installed, if your device has a GPS chip, you will have a stand alone GPS/Chartplotter that will operate without any kind of network connection.
I thought I had outlined that in posts above. I will spell it out again.
If your device has an integrated GPS chip (as the Lenovo A8-50 does) and the program and associated maps are installed onto the device you DO NOT NEED a network connection of any kind except satellite reception to operate the system.
Do I need to repeat that?? Well I will do that for those that don't get it.
If your device has an integrated GPS chip (as the Lenovo A8-50 does) and the program and associated maps are installed onto the device you DO NOT NEED a network connection of any kind except satellite reception to operate the system.
This is the easiest and cheapest marine chartplotter you can get today. I believe Samsung now has a waterproof tablet at a price.
I am sure the military has some very sexy units and as we know military requirements drive technology.
Select to expand quoteCharriot said..
That's correct for all apps, they have to be updated from time to time.
Some airports, shoppings incl MacDonalds have free wifi. Easy to connect.
Speed is often problem.
Typicaly I don't download apps which need permanent wifi connection , with some exceptions / Google Earth, Viber etc./.
Any off network apps have access to build in GPS if they need it for proper function.
They are off network maps of Australia, type of Where Is, they very good ones and for free , but
I purchased HEMA 4WD, and deleted them all.
there is one thing I have. to find out, ...you pay for full version of Navionix, you buy new tablet,
you just reload it again, you don't have to pay,
it might also mean multiple units with good software???m
Refer one of my posts above. The Navionics licence is for one year with updates.
If your device breaks down within that year, you can reload on a new device without cost.
If your device does not break down for 5 years or more, you can continue using the out of date maps for as long as you like apparently.
If an annual update of your charts is in the region of $20, I am quite happy to pay it. The change of light details is easy to write onto your paper charts with fine ink nibs.
Navionics seems to be the only company that is meeting consumer demand for accurate marine digital charts at an affordable price.
Garmin can go fall in the hole of their own making.
Ramona, it might sound like tablets or IPads are slow to update.
I have iPad TomTom app full version / no network / for car navigation
works like a charm.
10 inch screen.....talking guidance, how good and easy is that.
of course with all features of TomTom you know from p... little car units.
Cisco,
Do me a favour, on your pad, turn off WIFI and the data connection, and see if it can get a fix with the GPS alone.
And also Cisco, again with wifi & data-connection off, zoom in to somewhere on the navionics chart app that you haven't looked at before, to check if you get full detail, cheers. m
My Navionics download to my Sony phone worked exactly as Riffraff detailed, I got caught out once, as I didn't zoom into areas that I was sailing too & only had very, very basic info onscreen until I found somewhere(free Wi-Fi onshore) that I could download the detailed areas. cheers
Getting data for new area through network, you never been to
only happen, if software full version was not downloaded to your device.
When you purchase full version, it's always smooth.
Here is a screen shot from my Galaxy Note 10.0, it is running Navionics that didn't come via the play store. I can display any area in Australia with full clarity and detail without a sim card or being connected to a WiFi node. Just to be clear, I have never been to Darwin before, either physically or with the app.
Select to expand quoteYara said..
Cisco,
Do me a favour, on your pad, turn off WIFI and the data connection, and see if it can get a fix with the GPS alone.
I did that yesterday and opened up Google maps and had the blue dot within a second.
I use a Samsung galaxy with Navionics and as a backup a Portworld el cheapo from Deal Extreme loaded with Navionics and a Garmin as a backup to the backup.
If offshore and all the above fail, well, I will just resort to the old fashioned way?
Bill
I have an Ipad 2 with 3G and also an Iphone4 with 3G and have used both as a GPS when over 80NM off shore on return from LHI. There are no cell towers out there.
Steve
Just a small point or question about Navionics.
Had some time to waste today and brought up the Camden Haven River [my home port]
and to my disgust I found 6 new rocks just outside the bar.
Now, I KNOW the rocks do not exist so the question is....
HOW DID THEY GET THEY 
And how many other ghost rocks are out there
propwalk....nothing wrong with the back ups.....serious stuff you have up there...
we all have the same problem ..... poorly charted maps
Propwalk , I though Pub.249 and 229 been obsolete by now
and little hand held Nav. calculator is used instead .
This is art...admire your top class instrument
Select to expand quotenswsailor said..
Just a small point or question about Navionics.
Had some time to waste today and brought up the Camden Haven River [my home port]
and to my disgust I found 6 new rocks just outside the bar.
Now, I KNOW the rocks do not exist so the question is....
HOW DID THEY GET THEY
And how many other ghost rocks are out there
The Navionics chart shows Shoalhaven heads as an entrance. Its clearly not and the last successful crossing was probably when Bass did it awhile back. Early this year an old bloke while under a bit of pressure checked his plotter and went for it.
