The Navionics phone app.

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richg99

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I have an android phone, but I am certain that the same app is available for iPhones, too. For $10.00 a year, it is amazing how much depth and contour data is on the app.

Takes a bit to learn how to use it, but you can practise from your easy chair. If you don't already have it, I suggest you, at least, download the trial copy and check out all of the local waters that are covered.

Areas that I NEVER thought would be on there show up with details of bottom changes that will be helpful.

Just FYI richg99
 
I love it, especially since I fish a lot of intracoastal stuff, you can download areas for offline use as well if you can't get service where you are going to be. It shows channels, public reefs, markers, some attractions/businesses on the water, some speed zones. Pretty awesome.
 
I did receive a warning, on another site, that this app uses a lot of data.

Here is an independent review of the app. richg99

https://sailing.about.com/od/SailingApps/a/Review-Of-Navionics-Marine-And-Lakes-Android-App.htm
 
So I found this app about two weeks ago and thought wow what a deal. So I downloaded it, was very impressed, downloaded it on my iPad mini and bought an awesome ram mount to for my console. Went out to fish a morning tourney and my iPad kept telling me I was in the gulf of guenea off the coast of Africa and would t find my actual location! I was lucky however it worked fine finding my location on my phone and was able to use that.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Sure sounds like it should have worked . Did you hit the little icon on the bottom left? That icon is the location finder. It is just below the three nested bowls icon.

Rich
 
Catch Release Repeat said:
Went out to fish a morning tourney and my iPad kept telling me I was in the gulf of guenea off the coast of Africa and would t find my actual location!

This sounds like a GPS issue, the Gulf of Guinea happens to be the intersection of the prime meridian and the equator. Thus if your GPS coordinates are getting null values (zeros), that's where you're going to be. I'm not very iPad literate, but I'd check to see if your GPS is disabled.

I haven't tried this app myself yet, but it seems great and I'll probably be downloading it soon. It uses the free NOAA charts, which is always a plus for me. Do you know if it displays both RNCs (raster charts) or just the ENCs (electronic navigational charts)? Even though they're just "dumb" images of the paper chart, I like RNCs because I can easily correlate with an actual paper chart.
 
Thanks I didn't know that I'll check that out!! In terms of which charts you can switch between the government charts and the Navinics charts. They do not overlay each other or split screen it's one or the other.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
This review discusses which type of charts. It appeared to me that the charts are the lower quality ones, but plenty fine for my useage. richg99

https://sailing.about.com/od/SailingApps/a/Review-Of-Navionics-Marine-And-Lakes-Android-App.htm
 
richg99 said:
lower quality ones

Just read the review and it appears that it only offers the ENCs. I should point out that the reviewer is incorrect in his assertion that the vector charts are lower quality or have less information; they actually have far more information. If you're a USCG inspected vessel and you want to go paperless (i.e. not use official paper charts and just use electronic navigation systems), then you have to use an ECDIS (Electronic Chart Display and Information System) with the ENCs.

I'm going to geek out over nautical charts now, so feel free to disregard (I used to work for NOAA making charts):

The raster chart is essentially just a picture of the paper chart that is geo-referenced. A "dumb" chart as it were. As you zoom in the image gets bigger and as you zoom out, the image gets smaller. There is also no additional information with the chart.

The ENC or vector chart, by contrast, is a smart chart and is far more interactive. Point features (like rocks, wrecks, and obstructions) and lines are individual features that are select-able with lots of information on particular features. With a vector chart, as you zoom in and out, everything scales appropriately (e.g. if you zoom into an area the soundings can get denser and more features can be displayed that would be confusing and jumbled at a smaller scale). You can turn on and off labels or other features, display specific depth curves (e.g. if you draw 3-ft you could highlight the 3-ft depth curve to know to say outside that line), issue warnings if you cross into an area you designated as off limits, and a host of other cool features. I don't know if the Navionics App allows you to do any of this since I haven't played with it, but the functionality is there in the ENC.

You can also read more about the differences at the NOAA website (https://www.nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/mcd/learn_diffRNC_ENC.html).
 
I love this app. I can scout an area before I fish and then use the app to find the spots I found.
 
I have had it for a while now

as long as you download maps while you are on a wifi connection (like at home before you head to the lake) it doesn't use much data at all

once its on your phone thats it. No real data use after that
 
Don't navigate by it though - I found two maps for lakes up in CT that were WILDLY wrong - showing deep channel areas that are actually semi-submerged rock piles.

The rest of the lakes I've used it for seem to be pretty close to what's depicted on the charts.
 
sure thing

and if you were not aware of it, once you download a map its yours forever even if you do not renew the yearly membership. you can still use the program and the maps you downloaded
 
perchjerker said:
and if you were not aware of it, once you download a map its yours forever even if you do not renew the yearly membership. you can still use the program and the maps you downloaded

Do you have to download the NOAA charts through the program or can you download them on your own? I haven't downloaded the app yet, but plan to and will definitely fiddle with it to see if it's possible.

All the NOAA ENCs can be downloaded for free from the NOAA website, which is great for those operating in more heavily trafficked coastal areas. However, as onthewater102 noted, recent coverage in inland lakes and shallow areas can be either outdated or non-existent. I do a lot of boating at Lake Powell, which has no official government charts, and recently purchased the Navionics Western Lakes chart for use on my Lowrance Elite-7; I'm very impressed with it, but would not rely on it as my sole means of navigation...nothing takes the place of keeping your eyes peeled and using common sense.
 
they are not actual NOAA charts.

They are Navonics proprietary charts based on NOAA data and other data they provide

You have to download them through their program

and no, you should not use this for navigation purposes.

Every chartplotter I have ever used has a popup stating this disclaimer on startup
 
Thought I would add some feedback on the Navionics phone app.

I've had the app for about 4-5 months now and have not really used it much until this week. I also have a Navionics card for the fish finder/gps on my boat. The card is only a few weeks old and was updated online at the time of purchase.

I just spent the week up at Caddo Lake in East Texas and got a chance to use the app. The first evening there I used the phone app while in the cabin to layout a plan of attack for the next morning, selecting all the deep holes I wanted to fish. The next morning I jumped in the boat and started marking way points based on the phone app locations. I noticed that there were more deep holes showing on the phone app than were on the Navionics Card in the GPS. I set the way points anyhow and motored to each of the locations only to find that the phone app was completely wrong and the card was correct. Not sure what the deal is but I even tried updating the phone app with no change.

I am going to send an email to Navionics if I can find an email address for support to see if they can help with this mystery.

Has anyone had a chance to compare the two for bodies of water in your areas?

Rob

Edit: I have the Navionics+ with subscription installed on the phone app so it gets updates and has community edits.
 

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