orca navigation, anyone heard of it? any good?

[RedFinn]

I am a newbie, looking to buy a catamaran and expect to have to update the electronics. I saw an online article on orca navigation equipment. I know nothing about it.

I heard with Raymarine etc, you have to pay to update maps when you sail into new areas and some of the charts are expensive.

I saw were orca has a one price per year for all charts, all updated online. Supposedly they integrate ais, weather etc into the charts... but no idea if that is accurate or if that is normal for all navigation tools.

The price seems decent, but... I do not know what questions to ask. Could be a company that is here today and gone tomorrow... but I wanted to see if anyone else knew about them, and then is it decent? or what is better?

[SeanPatrick]

"Narrow passages. Weather changes. Shipping channels. No problem."


All I can say is: I hope they're good jumpers, because that's a high bar.

[AedanC]

Only available to pre-order at the moment, that suggests it's brand new and they are still debugging the prototype.

[requiem]

I like that they're trying to drag plotters into the current century. However, their offering is very new and I would say primarily aimed at powerboaters. The downside of modern apps is that they often significantly dumb down the feature set. I really hope that they succeed and bring new competition to the market, but I think they'd need to being out a more advanced and possibly sailing-specific module for me to be really interested.

It's also unclear what chart coverage they will have as they mention the initial coverage will be limited. That's understandable for a company that's just getting started. I also don't see any mention of radar integration which would be my primary consideration for a helm-mounted plotter, and my other concern would be how well the touch interface handles rain and spray.

Since you're looking to buy a boat I would suggest sticking with what electronics it came with until you've got everything else sorted. Unless what's there is truly ancient I'm not sure you'd gain much more then incremental improvements with an upgrade. Going the laptop/phone/tablet route is a simpler way to gain more functionality, particularly if you already have them.

[Shrew]

Originally Posted by RedFinn

I saw were orca has a one price per year for all charts

This looks like it's following a 'subscription' model like most streaming services and software. So what happens if you miss the renewal, or decide not to renew? My guess is you loose all charts.

This means you're paying for updates, it's just a different payment model.

[canyonbat]

Navigation is not where I would want to be a beta tester.

[hlev00]

It's not obvious what they bring to the table over Navionics or Aquamaps, or etc. on an iPad or Android tablet.


I wonder if it is a consumer version of Orca X Pro chartplotters. https://www.sevencs.com/navigation-s.../orca-pilot-x/

[Cowpoos]

Have many people purchased the Orca core and are using it?

[Sy Bonnie]

hi everyone, I've been testing Orca as an app on the iPad for a whole season with a sailboat along the coast of Norway and I'm surprised by the accuracy and stability. Very good maps and it's all completely free. Have now ordered Orca core for NOK 4499. it is cheap when compared against established suppliers, my recommendation is to go for Orca

[bergius]

Originally Posted by hlev00

It's not obvious what they bring to the table over Navionics or Aquamaps, or etc. on an iPad or Android tablet.

We’re running Orca on the same 8” Android tablet that we used with Navionics. We have the Core installed on the boat, and that gives the Orca app access to pretty much all the information on the N2K bus. This means we can visualise things like wind that Navionics doesn’t support.

The Orca connection with N2K is bidirectional, meaning that when we’re following a route, the next waypoint is also available and visible in our B&G Triton instruments, and could also be used by our autopilot. With the right hardware in place, you can also control your autopilot from the Orca app.

Having navigated the rocky waters of Sweden and Finland for a couple thousand miles with each (Navionics and Orca), I find the Orca charts clearer. AIS data includes CPA rendered on the chart, so it is easy to see what manoeuvre is best for avoiding collision. And finally, Orca autoroute feature includes weather routing, so it can plan your tacks etc for you.

Now, Orca is in heavy development, and some week’s release might contain bugs. There hasn’t been anything excessively dangerous this summer, but it is something to be aware of. Maybe don’t update the app just before some tricky bit of navigating

[barold]

I stumbled upon Orca on another site and was interested in how it compares with other products - Signal K or Yacht devices.

I would like to add a tablet at in the cockpit that can be wirelessly used as an additional screen for NMEA data - windspeed, VMG, Bearing to Waypoint etc.

Am I correct that with the Orca product, without the premium service, there would be no charts available through the tablet (either their dedicated tablet or through the App), however NMEA data screens would be available - meaning it could operate as a data screen without the premium subscription?

I have a relatively recent raymarine installation (circa 2017) and can connect to the chartplotter using their older screenview App - but was wondering what additional benefit I might gain using the Orca. I have considered adding a 5G/LTE cellular router to my sailboat -- I would love to have the route finding with wind data as well as the ability to view performance relative to polars.

[CaptainRivet]

Originally Posted by barold

I stumbled upon Orca on another site and was interested in how it compares with other products - Signal K or Yacht devices.

I would like to add a tablet at in the cockpit that can be wirelessly used as an additional screen for NMEA data - windspeed, VMG, Bearing to Waypoint etc.

Am I correct that with the Orca product, without the premium service, there would be no charts available through the tablet (either their dedicated tablet or through the App), however NMEA data screens would be available - meaning it could operate as a data screen without the premium subscription?

I have a relatively recent raymarine installation (circa 2017) and can connect to the chartplotter using their older screenview App - but was wondering what additional benefit I might gain using the Orca. I have considered adding a 5G/LTE cellular router to my sailboat -- I would love to have the route finding with wind data as well as the ability to view performance relative to polars.

having Orca2 now and i am one of their betatesters.


I have Axiom7+with Quantum 2 radar and an old Raymarine Autopilot ST6001+ with S2G. thats now my backup system but i run both in parallel.



The Orca 2 now with an Samsung S7FE tablet can connect indepndetly to the Quantum radar and also have radar on the tablet with orca. Orca core is also the 9 axis Compass with 10hz fast heading ROT GPS you need for a doppler radar. THe raymarine EV1 compass would have cost me 1000Euro, orca core2 was only 550Euro+ 1year subscription.

Orca core connected out of the box the the old raymarine autopilot. I have yacht devices new autopilot computer for just 349Euro in transit which will be connected to orca2, so i have complete 2nd ap, chartplotter, chart source system for below 1000Euro. that was actually planned to be the backup but i like orca much more then the raymarine UI.

Orca UI is much simpler then of the big 4 and also much better integrated eg weather. the instrument panel is much more versatile and has much more data for optimising sailing then the big 4 chartplotter have.
orca will come with a lot of cool new features soon, eg they will a split screw view where you can run another nav app eg navionics or isailor to run alongside orca to have 2 chart sources inside their orca ecosystem. they will also integrate the Victron cerbo interface soon.

the way they listen to customers and deliver adaptions or bug fixes or new features is super fast and outstanding.


where Orca lacks a bit is chart coverage and chart detail but what they achieved in 1 year i am sure in another year thats all solved. its already very usable and in combination with isailor you have all you need. they are checkin at the moment to integrate Transas TX97 charts which would bring them very quick to a very good coverage.

[bergius]

Originally Posted by CaptainRivet

I have yacht devices new autopilot computer for just 349Euro in transit which will be connected to orca2, so i have complete 2nd ap, chartplotter, chart source system for below 1000Euro. that was actually planned to be the backup but i like orca much more then the raymarine UI.

Please share your experiences here once you get the new autopilot up and running! If it steers well, it would be a quite natural upgrade from our current ST4000+, probably coupled with the PcNautic tiller drive (which has a rudder angle sensor, unlike our Raymarine tiller drive).

[bstronger]

I am sorry to say that I received a defective Core 2 - it
Is not providing any WiFi or Bluetooth.
Unfortunately Orca support has been difficult
In not providing timely return instructions.

[CaptainRivet]

Originally Posted by bstronger

I am sorry to say that I received a defective Core 2 - it
Is not providing any WiFi or Bluetooth.
Unfortunately Orca support has been difficult
In not providing timely return instructions.

Write them on facebook, then they answer quick. Their support hotline often get too much mails for little requests and it takes them a bit time to sort them all. On facebook they see as they monitor orca owners group.