Practical Navigation Solution for Small Boats: Navionics and iPad?

[Coos-spearo]

I will admit to using google maps as a navigation tool in my kayak when I was caught offshore and the fog came in before I could paddle back to shore. While that worked in a save-my-ass-moment, that was far too dicey, even for me.

I need advice please:
The boats I use in the near shore environment of the Oregon coast are my kayak and a RIB (small Stabicraft). The instructor at a coast guard auxiliary navigation class I took uses Navionics on an iPad. That seems like a practical, portable and budget friendly way to have a solid system.

What tablet and case would you recommend if it were a dedicated navigation instrument?

Any advice is appreciated

[Marcus]

Solely relying upon electronics for navigation is a recipe for death. I'd suggest some study of your area on a actual map whilst recognizing features relative to their compass headings. Especially your safe port. Your compass is your go to instrument. Any navigation class that doesn't teach you how to use a compass shouldn't be teaching. A GPS is your next line of defense. Always carry a battery operated back up.
It's scary when the dense fog rolls in and you can't see but 20' in front of you. It's even worse in a boat that requires enough water to safely navigate...hence, all the more reason you need to be aware of the contours/features of your local area. A depth finder helps. Relying upon electronics is a recipe for failure/death. Read my sig.

[Coos-spearo]

The compass is a must. Most of my life has been dedicated to racing sailboats so that is a no brainer. Carrying a chart is an option, however, a bit tough in a kayak. On our rocky shoreline, it is the shoreline that can kill you. I like the idea of a back up, hand-held GPS. While the iphone is a backup, the batteries drain far too quickly for it to be a reliable solution. Thanks for the input.

[Marcus]

Originally Posted by Coos-spearo

The compass is a must. Most of my life has been dedicated to racing sailboats so that is a no brainer. Carrying a chart is an option, however, a bit tough in a kayak. On our rocky shoreline, it is the shoreline that can kill you. I like the idea of a back up, hand-held GPS. While the iphone is a backup, the batteries drain far too quickly for it to be a reliable solution. Thanks for the input.

My apologies for being ignorant of your area. In my area, the worst case is having to come ashore in a mangrove infested area for which traveling is almost impossible...but at least I wouldn't get beat to shit by waves against rocks.

[Polespearo]

Like others said compass and comon sense rule. I have used ipad and navionics but make sure your IPAD IS 3g Not only wifi. Plus theres is a transducer that can send readings to ipad so i had fishfijder gps on the ipad. I always carried external battery cause it will drain and the brightness of screen is not so good against sunlight. I have now a regular gps. You can find em for $150

[Coos-spearo]

Perfect. Thanks.

[diveBabe]

Originally Posted by Coos-spearo

I will admit to using google maps as a navigation tool in my kayak when I was caught offshore and the fog came in before I could paddle back to shore. While that worked in a save-my-ass-moment, that was far too dicey, even for me.

I need advice please:
The boats I use in the near shore environment of the Oregon coast are my kayak and a RIB (small Stabicraft). The instructor at a coast guard auxiliary navigation class I took uses Navionics on an iPad. That seems like a practical, portable and budget friendly way to have a solid system.

What tablet and case would you recommend if it were a dedicated navigation instrument?

Any advice is appreciated

I actually teach a mobile navigation for small vessels class for the coast guard auxiliary here in Florida and that's exactly what we suggest, Navionics on a tablet or iPad. If you have an iPad I'd suggest the life proof case. Beat mine to hell for years now and it's still working great. If you have any questions about using Navionics for navigation let me know!

Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk

[Smash]

Maybe this has been covered, but if not, could you address a question I have? To the best of my knowledge Ipads and other tablets don't have an internal GPS. I thought They functioned using cellular data. If that's true, what do you do if you're out of cellular range?

[jersymudsniper]

Navionics works great on my phone. I use that for kayak navigation and onxmaps for hunting and sometimes launch spots to find property lines. They both work offline incase no cell service.

[Smash]

Thanks,
RW

[diveBabe]

Originally Posted by Smash

Maybe this has been covered, but if not, could you address a question I have? To the best of my knowledge Ipads and other tablets don't have an internal GPS. I thought They functioned using cellular data. If that's true, what do you do if you're out of cellular range?

Most tablets and other electronic devices these days do have internal GPS. In fact, if they are cell enabled then they definitely have internal GPS. I used the mobile app all over the Caribbean and Bahamas where we wouldn't see cell reception or wifi for days or even weeks and the Navionics app followed us perfectly.

[Coos-spearo]

Thanks everyone for the advice.