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tablet for navigation

  • Thread starter Thread starter Larry A
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Larry A

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  1. OWNER - I own a Hatteras Yacht
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Last September, I purchased an 88, 40ft double cabin On Lake Erie and stored it there over the winter. This June, I plan on piloting the boat down to my home on the west coast of Florida. I recently purchased a Raymarine Axiom 9 with a Navionics chip for my basic navigation. However, I would also like to add a tablet as back up and load it with Aqua Map and Navionics and perhaps overlay Bob 423 tracks and routes. I have to admit, I know nothing about this. I guess my first question is: what features do I need on the tablet? Cellular? GPS? 4G, unlocked? Etc.? The second question is do I need to add a phone line at $20 per month?
Thanks for your help
Larry
 
No phone line needed. Get an I pad with GPS capability. I have Navionics, Inavix and Garmin apps on mine and all three work in airplane mode on my I pad. If you use Apple devices there is redundancy that they are on your phone as well. Anytime I go offshore, even on someone else's boat, I take my phone and have my spots with me. In my boat I take the I pad as a back up in case my main electronics give me issues. Has bailed me out more than once.
 
Also where is your home on FL West coast? I live in Hernando Beach about an hour North of Tampa
 
I use a 15" ipad pro running navionics as a backup, it's also useful for looking up marinas, restaurant hours, fuel prices, etc., which you can't do on your plotter. I got one of the keyboard attachments for it so it's super easy to use. You will definitely want the cellular connection, it's way better that way. If you have cellular internet on your boat, sign the ipad up with a different carrier than your cellular wifi hotspot runs and you will have redundancy.
 
If you get the cellular connection you will want to make sure you are not on data roaming, etc when you get way offshore or you might get some high bills unless things have changed in the last couple years. It is nice to have when you are coastal but if you are going to cut across the Gulf of Mexico you might get some high bills if you happen to get a cell signal off an oil rig or other means while you are using data.
 
If you r enjoy going to muse it for nav you don’t need cell service although you will Need Wifi to install the apps, download and update charts as well as active captain

If you have a router with cell modem on board, no need for call service

Now, if you don’t have a service on the boat, whether thru a hot spot or a cell modem / router, you may want to add a service plan. Coats depends on your carrier. Relying on marina Wifi rarely works

An alternative is to use your phone as a hotspot. Cost vary depending on carrier.

I m not familiar with android tablets. iPads only have build in GPS chip in cellular models. Highly recommended for navigation. Otherwise you need to use a Bluetooth GPS receive your high adds a layer of complexity. Worth the extra $100

Accuracy is iPads is excellent. Primary drawback is that they can be left in the sun for long. Also, they are not waterproof, unlike phones, so you need a waterproof case. My favorite is the Lifeproof Nud as it doesn’t have a screen cover. The seal I made between the case and the glass. Apple screens are very tough so don’t worry about scratching it… wont happen. Not having some cover on the screen helps visibility.
 
Thank you very much for your input gentleman.
Since I will be off shore as little as humanly possible and I already have these apps on my phone, I don't think I will go with the cellular connection. Will I still need an iPad with cellular capability? Where does the internal iPad GPS get it's signal?
Home port is Punta Gorda Fl. About an hour and a half south of Tampa (by car)
 
Yes only the cellular models of iPads have the GPS chip. You don’t have to activate service
 
x2 on what Pascal said. First time I bought a wifi only and it wouldn't work. Had to buy one with cellular but no cell activation and it worked like a charm because it had a GPS. My current one has cellular plan on it but I use the app in airplane mode to avoid roaming charges when I am offshore.
 
I bought an iPad with cell/GPS and added a Garmin GLO 2 for better GPS acquisition and accuracy, and I've been very happy using this with both Aqua Maps and Navionics apps.
 
This Hatteras cruiser makes a decent case for Samsung tablets, if you are open to the idea of non apple products are your boat.
No need to buy the cellular version for aquamaps and navionics. https://youtu.be/ROr1j1cPkRE
 
I bought a cheap Android tablet on Amazon - "DragonTouch". At the time was under $100, now it's something like $130-150. It has integrated GPS and runs Aqua Maps nicely.
 
I know everybody says the cellular service for it is a waste of money...but hear me out. My boat's primary internet is through Calyx Institute (one of the only true unlimited no-throttling data-plans left out there), which runs off the Sprint/T-Mobile network. It works great most of the time. When traveling in some rural areas you do lose signal from time to time. Our cell phones are with AT&T. If Sprint/T-Mobile has low or no signal, AT&T has it covered most of the time. The big iPad we use for backup navigation and tide apps has a cellular plan through Verizon. Between the three of them, we always have service everywhere all the time. The only exception is once you get +/- 10 miles offshore, but that can't be helped, there are no cell towers in the ocean. The redundancy gives us reliable service all the time wherever we go.

Apple devices can tether, they become a router and broadcast your wifi network to your other devices onboard, including your phones where you can do wifi calling. You were already going to pay for the cell phones anyway, it doesn't really factor in budget-wise. The Calyx subscription on Sprint/T-Mobile is $600/yr for unlimited cellular data, it works out to $50/mo including taxes and fees. The Verizon iPad data plan is $50/mo also including all taxes and fees. I have them all set up with the same network name and password, so failing over from one to another is a 2 second process.

It's not that expensive and there's basically nowhere in the country I can't go and not make a phone call, watch tv, or do work if I need to. If you wonder why it matters, I think I'm a little younger than most of the crew here. I just turned 40 so I'm getting up there, but still young enough that my better half and a lot of my friends and family members are into video games and tv. Freebird had some observations on the wisdom of this, he did a 900 mile delivery trip with me during which one spent almost the entire time in his cabin playing video games and 2 more were glued to tv's 24/7. Yes I also think it's ridiculous, but what're you gonna do. Anyway, just saying there is a huge upside to having plans from multiple providers from a reliability standpoint.
 
Relying on Wifi is a waste of money and energy, not cellular. I stopped bothering with Wifi boosters a few years ago and switched to a good cellular modem. Almost always have service even in the bahamas.

I ve been using cellular for data one way or another for 15+ years now. Back around 2008-2012 I used to rein a web cam at the helm of the boat I was running using a cellular card on my laptop. Between Miami and cape cod I had coverage 95% of the time.

Yes you can share a connection from your phone but most carriers charge you extra. Not worth it. Better get a sim and stand alone plan

As to android tablets, I m not a fan. Maybe the high end ones are good but the cheap ones are too slow. There was two of them on the boat i run now just to be used as remotes for the Control4 system and I ended up throwing them away to replace them by IPod Touch. Much faster.
 
I didn't read the whole thread. Two notes, you need wifi to download charts you don't already have (I realize this off shore when we motored off the chart) and 2, the sun washes some tablets.
 
I got a Samsung Galaxy S7 FE and it works great with Navionics. It has built in GPS
it wifi connects to my phone for updates etc., or to marina wifi when docked.
 
I've used several tablets on board various boats. Virtually all work fine and no need for cellular. Biggest problem with all of these is the screen when in direct sunlight. Good luck being able to see what's being displayed.
 
Larry A said:
Thank you very much for your input gentleman.
Since I will be off shore as little as humanly possible and I already have these apps on my phone, I don't think I will go with the cellular connection. Will I still need an iPad with cellular capability? Where does the internal iPad GPS get it's signal?
Home port is Punta Gorda Fl. About an hour and a half south of Tampa (by car)
Click to expand...

I am in Fort Myers at Legacy Harbor. I bought a cheap (Under $100) Android tablet with independent GPS capability. While we've only run across Okeechobee WW, and down to the coast and back, the tablet performed very well running Aqua Maps, which I have been really pleased with. The current incarnation of the tablet is $150 or so, but I plan on buying a second one to have a spare.

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/slredir...7474561&id=1026834875585498&widgetName=sp_atf

If you're in Punta Gorda, I was just in your neighborhood Friday picking up a part at the West Marine store, as they were the closest store to me that had it on hand.
 
zigzag930 said:
I've used several tablets on board various boats. Virtually all work fine and no need for cellular. Biggest problem with all of these is the screen when in direct sunlight. Good luck being able to see what's being displayed.
Click to expand...

This is true, also if you have polarized sunglasses they can be a problem.
On my upper helm I have a Garmin, and I bring up my Samsung tablet with navionics on it and my android phone with navionics on it. When I put my sunglasses on the tablet and phone go pitch black to me, the garmin is unaffected. I don't know why this is but good to know if you happen to where polarized sunglasses.
 
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