If you have a boat (or you're thinking about buying a boat) and you have a cell phone, you’re probably interested in learning all about the best boating apps. And among the many types of boating apps out there, marine navigation apps are some of the most useful. With the best marine navigation apps you can quite literally turn your phone or your tablet into a full-blown chartplotter. That means you have a valuable back-up to the electronics at your helm, and you can carry your tech with you even when aboard small boats with no electrical systems.
- Verdict: iSail GPS is a revolutionary GPS software that can be used in the water and gives you real-time information about marine navigation. With this high-performance map drawing software, you can easily browse through over 50 channels and plan your next move or just check on your current position on the world map.
- Most mobile marine navigation apps use NOAA raster charts, effectively paper charts that have been scanned and uploaded into the app. Vector charts are electronic charts that offer seamless scrolling between different areas plus allow the user to zoom in for extra detail.
- Onboard Marine Electronics. NMEA Multiplexer. Weatherfax Modem. NMEA To Analog Paddlewheel Signal Converter. USB NMEA AIS adapter. Accessories Connectors Adapters Cables. USB Serial Adapter. Serial cable with 9-pin connectors. Jack Adapter 6.3 to 3.5 mm. Maritime Navigation Software.
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We’ve put a number of marine navigation apps to the test through the years, and these are our favorites (in alphabetical order):
- C-Map Embark
- iNavX
- KnowWake
- Navionics
- SeaPilot
C-Map Embark
C-Map has been creating digital charts for years and has had other nav apps in the past, but Embark recently replaced previous offerings. The concept behind developing this next-gen nav app was to make it as simple and easy to use as possible. It’s a goal C-Map reached, and although this does by design make it one of the more simplistic apps in our round up, that’s one of the reasons why we love it – it’ll take you all of 30 seconds to figure out how to accomplish essential navigational tasks like going from point A to point B. Nifty bonus feature: the app can “see” the lighting situation you’re in and automatically adjust color and contrast for the best viewing.
Price: Free basic version with in-app purchases of varying costs for some map access and weather data.
iNavX
iNavX provides you with amazing latitude in the charts you choose to navigate with, and has eight different providers in their in-app chart store (NOAA charts come free). This app also allows you to do much more than simple navigational tasks, with quite advanced functionality like overlaying GRIB files (a form of current weather data) on your chartplotter screen, or connecting with NMEA (National Marine Electronics Association) compatible instruments on your boat via WiFi to display things like engine data and AIS (Automatic Information System, which uses transponders on commercial ships and boats to broadcast information regarding things like identification, speed, course, and destination) data. Figuring out the navigational basics isn’t made overly-complex by the additional features, but using the advanced functions will take some studying up.
Price: $4.99 for Apple plus in-app purchases; free for Android’s basic version, $19.99/year for the enhanced Pro version.
KnowWake
Free Marine Navigation Software Download For Laptop
KnowWake previously made our list of the Best Boating Apps for Navigation, Fishing, Weather and More, so it's no surprise that it found its way to this list, as well.
Diving into the app, you'll immediately see similarities between GPS apps that you might use in your car—like a Google Maps or a crowd-sourcing app like Waze.
KnowWake is home to a real-time community of boaters across North America, Canada, parts of the Caribbean, Australia and New Zealand, covering coastal waterways and more than 350 inland lakes and rivers. KnowWake provides its users with an easy way to explore all the dockside and waterfront locations available by boat. You'll will find everything from local restaurants, marinas, fuel docks, boat ramps, dive shops, inlets, dive sites, snorkel areas, and so much more.
- C-Map Embark
- iNavX
- KnowWake
- Navionics
- SeaPilot
C-Map Embark
C-Map has been creating digital charts for years and has had other nav apps in the past, but Embark recently replaced previous offerings. The concept behind developing this next-gen nav app was to make it as simple and easy to use as possible. It’s a goal C-Map reached, and although this does by design make it one of the more simplistic apps in our round up, that’s one of the reasons why we love it – it’ll take you all of 30 seconds to figure out how to accomplish essential navigational tasks like going from point A to point B. Nifty bonus feature: the app can “see” the lighting situation you’re in and automatically adjust color and contrast for the best viewing.
Price: Free basic version with in-app purchases of varying costs for some map access and weather data.
iNavX
iNavX provides you with amazing latitude in the charts you choose to navigate with, and has eight different providers in their in-app chart store (NOAA charts come free). This app also allows you to do much more than simple navigational tasks, with quite advanced functionality like overlaying GRIB files (a form of current weather data) on your chartplotter screen, or connecting with NMEA (National Marine Electronics Association) compatible instruments on your boat via WiFi to display things like engine data and AIS (Automatic Information System, which uses transponders on commercial ships and boats to broadcast information regarding things like identification, speed, course, and destination) data. Figuring out the navigational basics isn’t made overly-complex by the additional features, but using the advanced functions will take some studying up.
Price: $4.99 for Apple plus in-app purchases; free for Android’s basic version, $19.99/year for the enhanced Pro version.
KnowWake
Free Marine Navigation Software Download For Laptop
KnowWake previously made our list of the Best Boating Apps for Navigation, Fishing, Weather and More, so it's no surprise that it found its way to this list, as well.
Diving into the app, you'll immediately see similarities between GPS apps that you might use in your car—like a Google Maps or a crowd-sourcing app like Waze.
KnowWake is home to a real-time community of boaters across North America, Canada, parts of the Caribbean, Australia and New Zealand, covering coastal waterways and more than 350 inland lakes and rivers. KnowWake provides its users with an easy way to explore all the dockside and waterfront locations available by boat. You'll will find everything from local restaurants, marinas, fuel docks, boat ramps, dive shops, inlets, dive sites, snorkel areas, and so much more.
You'll also find helpful tools like Destination Routing based on vessel draft, Location Sharing between users, Local and Remote Depth Gauge, Vessel Tracks, Pre-Departure Checklists, and a simple Float Plan submission form.
Seaclear
Price: Yep, you're in luck—this one's free.
Navionics
Navionics lays claim to being the most popular boating app available, and its navigational features and functions are comprehensive, to say the least. In fact, it offers many features that some modern chartplotters can’t match. Dock-to-dock auto-routing, for example, creates a route from point A to point B taking things like nav aids and your boat’s draft constraints into account, when you merely tap the beginning and end points. The Sonarchart Live function lets you create bathymetric maps of the area you’re boating in, in real time. User-generated community edits can be displayed with daily updates. And these are just some of the highlights in a long list of unique features.
Price: A two-week trial comes free, then the subscription varies depending on the chart region(s) you want ($14.99 to $54.99).
SeaPilot
Seapilot is a fairly comprehensive navigation app (though some of the more advanced features, like routing and weather forecasting, require upgrading to the premium version), which introduces a different twist into the mix: Facebook integration. Connected friends are displayed like AIS targets on the app, so finding each other and linking up on the water is easier. Seapilot is also unusual in that it can offer polar diagrams (which show the theoretical attainable speed depending on wind direction and speed) for over 300 boats, to determine the ideal path to steer a sailboat taking wind and current forecasts into account.
Price: Free basic three-day-trial version, $7.99 to $64.99 depending on chart area subscriptions.
Looking for more boating apps to try?
Hey, you anglers, wait a sec—don’t put that phone back into your pocket just yet, because when you’re out fishing it’s good for more than just navigation. Also be sure to check out the Best Apps for Fishing so the next time you hit the water you catch more fish.
Free Marine Navigation Software Download
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