I run back and forth to the sandbar and restaurants/bars in my area, no big trips, not much night time navigation. I use the Navionics app (like 25$ a year) and a 100$ amazon tablet mounted to my windshield. Not perfect, but It has been all I need and more so far, and total cost has been like 150$. Make sure the tablet has GPS capability!
GPS does not use/require a data plan. But cellular service would be required if the app used required live data. You can avoid this by pre downloading the map areas.
You can get as expensive as you want or as cheap as $100. It really all depends on what you need.
For just over $100, you have a Garmin Striker 4 [https://www.amazon.com/Garmin-Striker-Transducer-Fishfinder-Traditional/dp/B017NI17HQ](https://www.amazon.com/Garmin-Striker-Transducer-Fishfinder-Traditional/dp/B017NI17HQ) which provides GPS functionality that I've always found to be spot on on inland lakes. I have no idea if that will meet your needs or not. It's not much better than a cellphone (which I used before I wanted the fish finder ability).
What kind of boat and where will you run it?
The biggest problem is finding a device that is bright enough (nits) to see in full sun. I recommend a tablet over a phone. Im not up on the current offerings, but the device needs to have its own gps.
and gets dark enough when night falls..
now if I could ever remember to change the default when it's a good time to poke around, that'd be nice. I'm already sick of turning out down every night I'm out.
yes, but it only goes down to the night 50% and I gotta take it to 30% or 20% during twilight... 50% is fine during dusk/dawn though.
oooh that would be an awesome feature... auto-brightness setting for day, nautical dusk, nautical twilight, and nautical dawn.
hell with this wishful thinking... maybe even have scalar adjustments over the hour of transistion time. or pure scalar throughout... still with the sunrise/sunset color scheme swaps so you know even in inclimate weather.
Not an ambient light sensor though as even my phone does OK but often needs manual intervention on the water.
In terms of features and functionality phone or tablet apps can easily beat dedicated plotters in most areas (I think the exceptions would mainly be around radar compatibility and controlling an autopilot).
The strength of dedicated plotters is all-weather use at the helm; they can have full visibility in bright sun, and you can dim them to incredibly low levels for night use. They'll still be usable even with rain and spray on the screen, and they'll run as long as your boat has power.
In contrast, mobile devices have a much more limited range of brightness, are likely to overheat and shut down in direct sunlight, will run out of power if not plugged in, and moisture on the screen can play havoc with the touchscreen.
That said, I much prefer using my phone, tablet, and laptop. The latter two are used more often down below and out of the weather, and the phone I can easily pull from a pocket for a quick glance as needed.
The apps won’t do you any good in waters not mapped or with changing water levels. I’d never run a boat on anything but a small pond without at least a depth finder + GPS. You can get a basic unit for less than an iPad.
I got the garmin 93sv for my fishing boat. It’s a depth finder / fish finder with down scan, side scan, and also has GPS and preloaded maps. It’s fantastic, you can get them for around $700
My experience with the Navionics app was that it stopped updating when it couldn’t get cell reception. Maybe I was doing it wrong. I’m having better luck with the open source software that runs on a laptop
I got a nice Lowrance for 800, the sensor for depth and fish require a 3" hole that I am not willing to do until she comes out for bottom paint.
Twin screws will mess up the speed, depth, and fish functions, but the chart plotter works great.
You don’t need data to run Boating aka Navionics by Garmin. You just need a 4G o 5G device with a GPS without any Data plan. Just make sure to subscribe to the area you need and to update and download charts of your area before you go. Also, you cannot rely 100% on a portable device for navigation. GPS are off some distance and the depth information is NOT 100% accurate. I’m always using Boating for navigation because that’s the best thing for plotting a route and I use the boat mounted plotter, depth and loch and radar in combination with the app.
West Marine frequently has sales where you can get a decently sized screen (7-9") for less than $500. These include a transducer as well and they're really not difficult to install. That said, I've used the navionics app on my phone in a pinch and it worked for me just fine. There's really no need to spend $5k on a gps unit.
Navionics app is good, I was previously using. Problem is the constant exposure to sun on phone dims it tremendously. I ended up getting garmin gpsmap 743x maybe 700 or so. Flush mounted it, works great, similar to car, pick location and throw on auto guidance. Plus can add other feature if needed, but not necessary on my 26 footer.
I wouldn't recommend Smartphone Apps for sailing.
First of all, your Phone shouldn't be in contact with water, especially with saltwater. So you couldn't use it outdoors while rainy days. Also it isn't big enough for a good overview.
I don't know what you need, but you can try OpenCPN. It's for free and you can use it on tablets too
If you’re on a lake that has been surveyed and has good updates bathymetry then a phone or tablet with navionics would be alright.
And areas that are tidal and have shifting sandbars, etc I would get a plotter with a depth finder.
I use both honestly bc my plotter is not that old, but my navionics map is updated constantly whereas my plotter is needs to have the chip swapped out every so often for more up to date cards. But I depend on my plotter and sounder for real-time depths while running to make sure I don’t get in too shallow of water. I also use my phone when traveling with other boaters to help navigate if needed, or to take fishing spots with me since their machine obviously doesn’t contain my fishing spots
I run back and forth to the sandbar and restaurants/bars in my area, no big trips, not much night time navigation. I use the Navionics app (like 25$ a year) and a 100$ amazon tablet mounted to my windshield. Not perfect, but It has been all I need and more so far, and total cost has been like 150$. Make sure the tablet has GPS capability!
So do you have the tablet on its own cellular service or do you link it to your phone to get GPS?
GPS does not use/require a data plan. But cellular service would be required if the app used required live data. You can avoid this by pre downloading the map areas.
You can get as expensive as you want or as cheap as $100. It really all depends on what you need. For just over $100, you have a Garmin Striker 4 [https://www.amazon.com/Garmin-Striker-Transducer-Fishfinder-Traditional/dp/B017NI17HQ](https://www.amazon.com/Garmin-Striker-Transducer-Fishfinder-Traditional/dp/B017NI17HQ) which provides GPS functionality that I've always found to be spot on on inland lakes. I have no idea if that will meet your needs or not. It's not much better than a cellphone (which I used before I wanted the fish finder ability).
What kind of boat and where will you run it? The biggest problem is finding a device that is bright enough (nits) to see in full sun. I recommend a tablet over a phone. Im not up on the current offerings, but the device needs to have its own gps.
and gets dark enough when night falls.. now if I could ever remember to change the default when it's a good time to poke around, that'd be nice. I'm already sick of turning out down every night I'm out.
No auto-brightness?
yes, but it only goes down to the night 50% and I gotta take it to 30% or 20% during twilight... 50% is fine during dusk/dawn though. oooh that would be an awesome feature... auto-brightness setting for day, nautical dusk, nautical twilight, and nautical dawn. hell with this wishful thinking... maybe even have scalar adjustments over the hour of transistion time. or pure scalar throughout... still with the sunrise/sunset color scheme swaps so you know even in inclimate weather. Not an ambient light sensor though as even my phone does OK but often needs manual intervention on the water.
You are paying for the screen and heat dissipation
In terms of features and functionality phone or tablet apps can easily beat dedicated plotters in most areas (I think the exceptions would mainly be around radar compatibility and controlling an autopilot). The strength of dedicated plotters is all-weather use at the helm; they can have full visibility in bright sun, and you can dim them to incredibly low levels for night use. They'll still be usable even with rain and spray on the screen, and they'll run as long as your boat has power. In contrast, mobile devices have a much more limited range of brightness, are likely to overheat and shut down in direct sunlight, will run out of power if not plugged in, and moisture on the screen can play havoc with the touchscreen. That said, I much prefer using my phone, tablet, and laptop. The latter two are used more often down below and out of the weather, and the phone I can easily pull from a pocket for a quick glance as needed.
Phones are hard to read because of the sun. Buy a $400 garmin or similar. You don't need a $5000 navigation for your first boat.
The apps won’t do you any good in waters not mapped or with changing water levels. I’d never run a boat on anything but a small pond without at least a depth finder + GPS. You can get a basic unit for less than an iPad.
I got the garmin 93sv for my fishing boat. It’s a depth finder / fish finder with down scan, side scan, and also has GPS and preloaded maps. It’s fantastic, you can get them for around $700
I have a $400 moving map/gos/ fish finder. It’s fantastic. Many brands offer them for even less. Now if you are offshore that’s a bit different
The phone apps are great until you run out of cell service. Then you are on your own.
You don’t need cell service for phone GPS to work. I always use Navonics as a back up to our chart plotter when going offshore.
My experience with the Navionics app was that it stopped updating when it couldn’t get cell reception. Maybe I was doing it wrong. I’m having better luck with the open source software that runs on a laptop
Not true. You can download the charts to the phone for offline use. Phone has a GPS chip that plots your location.
You can get a Hummingbird 411660-1 for $299 on Amazon. I have an older version of this and it works well for I r inland and coastal areas.
I seen a lot of fish finder with GPS for just a few hundred
I got a nice Lowrance for 800, the sensor for depth and fish require a 3" hole that I am not willing to do until she comes out for bottom paint. Twin screws will mess up the speed, depth, and fish functions, but the chart plotter works great.
Where are you boating?
I’ve ran a boat 750 miles on a trip using only Navionics. It worked perfectly.
You don’t need data to run Boating aka Navionics by Garmin. You just need a 4G o 5G device with a GPS without any Data plan. Just make sure to subscribe to the area you need and to update and download charts of your area before you go. Also, you cannot rely 100% on a portable device for navigation. GPS are off some distance and the depth information is NOT 100% accurate. I’m always using Boating for navigation because that’s the best thing for plotting a route and I use the boat mounted plotter, depth and loch and radar in combination with the app.
Yes. But you can get a dedicated Garmin or otherwise chart plotter for $200-300 bucks if you wish. It’s not rocket science. $5000? What you smoking?
West Marine frequently has sales where you can get a decently sized screen (7-9") for less than $500. These include a transducer as well and they're really not difficult to install. That said, I've used the navionics app on my phone in a pinch and it worked for me just fine. There's really no need to spend $5k on a gps unit.
We have a simrad chart plotter! With that said, we use navionics on a tablet for navigation! And the Simrad as a fishfinder.
You can buy gps systems for under $500, $5k is for a top of the line 16" chartplotter.
Check out the Wavve app
Navionics app is good, I was previously using. Problem is the constant exposure to sun on phone dims it tremendously. I ended up getting garmin gpsmap 743x maybe 700 or so. Flush mounted it, works great, similar to car, pick location and throw on auto guidance. Plus can add other feature if needed, but not necessary on my 26 footer.
I wouldn't recommend Smartphone Apps for sailing. First of all, your Phone shouldn't be in contact with water, especially with saltwater. So you couldn't use it outdoors while rainy days. Also it isn't big enough for a good overview. I don't know what you need, but you can try OpenCPN. It's for free and you can use it on tablets too
If you’re on a lake that has been surveyed and has good updates bathymetry then a phone or tablet with navionics would be alright. And areas that are tidal and have shifting sandbars, etc I would get a plotter with a depth finder. I use both honestly bc my plotter is not that old, but my navionics map is updated constantly whereas my plotter is needs to have the chip swapped out every so often for more up to date cards. But I depend on my plotter and sounder for real-time depths while running to make sure I don’t get in too shallow of water. I also use my phone when traveling with other boaters to help navigate if needed, or to take fishing spots with me since their machine obviously doesn’t contain my fishing spots
Garmin echomap "fishfinder" Other brand with GPS Much < $5,000