IPad Navionics for navigation

[Tmacmi]

I have been using an IPad with Navionics for a while now. We are typically coastal sailors in the Great Lakes with occasional charters in the Caribbean.

So far the system works great, however we were recently in the USVI in a driving rain. Anytime a drip hit the screen, depending on where the drip hit, it would cause something unnecessary to pop up. Fortunately it was in a low stakes navigation area, however had it been on the approach to Christiansted it would have been a problem.

I have an Otterbox on it.

Has anyone run into this problem and do you have another solution?

[marcjsmith]

thats one of the weak points with phones/ipads and navionics. I keep my ipad in a case under the dodger. thankfully no high stakes navigation in my area of the bay... the only other downside is screen brightness in full sun and propensity for the ipod/phone to overheat in the sun...

[markxengineerin]

Edit: marcjsmith beat me to it, but ..... Yes, I have this problem too, along with issues when the ipad gets too hot or too cold (both have happened). These are disadvantages of using ipads rather than real chart plotters. My solution has been to move the ipad from the usual location on the binnacle to underneath the dodger. It's a little harder to see, but the odds of needing to constantly refer to it + driving rain at the same time are low!

[ChrisJHC]

I use the iPad for planning then sync to my iPhone and use that for navigation.

I keep the iPhone in my pocket until needed - I prefer not to have it constantly displayed as then people look at it all the time!

[requiem]

Same here: iPad under dodger, phone in pocket.

[FabioC]

Yes, that is a common problem with iPads, together with overheating when left them in the sun (which usually happens while navigating a tricky approach between rocks...). However, iPads have other great advantages, so we have to deal with these things...
Leaving them under the dodger is not usually practical (also, that defeats one big advantage of iPads, i.e., the fact that you can have them right in front of you as you steer...)
My solution is using the iPad in a vertical position, by having iPad holders in different strategic position in the cockpit (there is one brand of holders that is really convenient and robust, albeit a bit expensive), so you can secure the iPad in a vertical position wherever you need it. Then I built a little "shield" with a piece of plastic (or if you want to be fancy, use a piece of mylar or carbon fiber sheet, it will look cool...), attached to the top edge of the device, to protect the screen from rain drops and splashes while you use it. It works very well (the back of the device is water resistant to splashes anyway, so no need to worry about it).

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by Tmacmi

Has anyone run into this problem and do you have another solution?

Yes. Also, the "overheating in the sun" problem, the "Navionics has decided I need to log in today but there's no internet here" problem, and the "the phone rang right while I was trying to make it through a tricky inlet" problem.


I had a Garmin Montana with charts loaded on it which was a good, portable solution to this, for a while, until an unfortunate series of events involving a capsized canoe on a late fall trip led me to part ways with it. The Montana is expensive but it deals with rain much better, and works in the sun, and doesn't accept phone calls.


I have a real chartplotter now and depend less on portable devices.

[AKA-None]

Buttons i like buttons

[requiem]

Originally Posted by Jammer

and the "the phone rang right while I was trying to make it through a tricky inlet" problem.

[jtsailjt]

I use one in a waterproof case but I also have a “real” chartplotter. I think it’s a good system because I can do route planning on iPad while using plotter for situation awareness at the helm. I also have the Raymarine app on it so it can act as a repeater of the chartplotter screen. That’s really handy for night watches when I’d rather be in the more sheltered area closer to the companionway. i also have that same Raymarine app on my phone so when offwatch I can monitor what the helmsman is looking at. You don’t need a big and expensive plotter at the helm and many now come with internal antennas so just one wire to power it. Very easy install a small one with internal antenna and it helps keep helmsman updated and takes the pressure off the iPad.