Suppose you currently own a boat or are considering purchasing one soon and have access to a mobile device.
In that case, you are undoubtedly interested in gathering as much information as possible on the best iPhone Apps for Boating.
Marine navigation apps are among the most helpful of the numerous boating applications currently available.
You can transform your smartphone or tablet into a full-fledged Chartplotter by downloading any device’s best maritime navigation apps.
This implies that you have a valuable backup to the electronics at your helm and may carry your technology with you even while aboard small boats that do not have electrical systems.
This article will look at the best iPhone apps for boating.
Best iPhone and iPad Apps for Boating
1. Inavx
Inavx gives you incredible flexibility in terms of the navigational charts you use, and the in-app chart store that it offers has charts from eight different companies (NOAA charts come free).
This is the best iPhone boating app, allowing you to do simple navigational tasks with quite advanced functionality.
Such as overlaying GRIB files (a form of current weather data) on your chart plotter screen or connecting with NMEA (National Marine Electronics Association) compatible instruments on your boat via WiFi to display features like engine data and AIS (Automatic Information System).
So, for example, you could connect your boat with NMEA-compatible instruments to display current weather.
Learning the fundamentals of navigation is not unduly complicated by the new features, but becoming proficient with the more advanced functions will require some preparation.
2. C-Map Embark App
C-Map has been making digital charts for many years and once offered a variety of navigation tools; however, the company recently switched to using Embark in favor of those older options.
The goal of building this next-generation navigation app was to make it as user-friendly and straightforward as possible.
It is a goal that C-Map accomplished, and although this does, by design, make it one of the more simplistic apps in our round-up, that is one of the reasons that we love it – it will take you all of thirty seconds to figure out how to accomplish important navigational tasks like going from point A to point B.
C-Map is one of the apps that we love because it is so easy to use. The app can “see” your lighting scenario and will automatically modify the color and contrast settings for the optimal viewing experience. This is a cool added function.
3. Seapilot
Seapilot is a fairly extensive navigation program; however, more complex capabilities, such as routing and weather forecasts, require upgrading to the premium version, adding a new element to the mix: Seapilot also provides a 3D model of the area around the boat.
Additionally, with the incorporation of Facebook Into the app, connected pals appear as AIS targets, making it simpler for users to locate one another and link up when they are out on the water.
Seapilot is also unique in that it can provide polar diagrams for over 300 different sailboats.
Polar diagrams illustrate a sailboat’s theoretically achievable speed based on the wind’s direction and speed.
Seapilot uses these diagrams to determine the ideal course to steer a sailboat while considering wind and current forecasts. These cool features make it one of the best iPhone Apps for Boating.
4. Maptech Iplot
Suppose you have an Apple device (no version available for Android). In that case, the navigation app Iplot from Maptech is one of the best iPhone Apps for Boating because of its user-friendly interface.
When you zoom in, you can prefer to make the difficult-to-read depth sounding and marker numbers as large as you want, thanks to using raster charts and digitalized versions of the paper charts that NOAA uses.
The app is incredibly simple to figure out. In addition, “quilting,” which refers to the process of digitally stitching charts together, happens quickly, preventing you from losing your view while zooming in, a problem that can occur with other apps.
However, the facility locator function this one offers truly sets it apart from the rest of the options.
Not only are marinas, yacht clubs, and other waterfront facilities detailed on the screen, but if you choose them, it takes you to their website.
This is a feature that people who are going on an overnight or weekend getaway to foreign ports will most certainly appreciate.
5. Navionics
The navigational features and functionalities of the Navionics software, which claims to be the best iPhone and iPad app for boating accessibility, are, to put it mildly, extensive.
However, there is no proof of this assertion. It provides several features that are unavailable on many contemporary chart plotters.
Simply tapping the starting and ending points causes dock-to-dock auto-routing, for instance, to generate a route from point A to point B that considers nav aids and the draft constraints of your boat. This route goes from point A to point B.
Using the Sonarchart Live function, it is possible to generate real-time bathymetric maps of the region your boat is currently navigating.
It can display community modifications produced by users with daily updates. These are just some highlights in a long list of characteristics that set it apart from other products.
6. Fish Rules
The book “Fish Rules” is a favorite of anglers everywhere. When you tell the app your location, it will tell you which fish are in season where you currently are, how many you are allowed to keep, the maximum size they can be, and even whether they are edible.
No signal, no problem. To obtain the fishing laws you require, manually enter your latitude and longitude or pick the location to fish.
7. Fishing Deluxe
Using this program, you can determine the best time of day to fish for the most success.
How does it work? The solunar tables, which consider both the position of the moon and the tides, are used to determine the optimal times for fishing.
The best time of day to go fishing is approximately two hours every six hours, and this period moves forward approximately an hour each day into the future.
8. What Knot to Do
Although learning to tie a knot might be challenging, every boater should understand how to tie a bowline.
And you can make it happen with What Knot to Do! This is among the best iPhone and iPad Apps for Boating software that provides you with a pocket handbook for 70 essential knots, along with illustrations of each knot.
Whether you’re going fishing, sailing, camping, building a shelter, putting down a weight, or tying up your lama, learning how to tie the perfect knot is essential.
9. BoatUS
The free BoatUS app is among the best iPhone Apps for Boating general statistics such as tides, weather predictions, and weather alerts.
However, the app’s most important feature is that it allows you to ask for towing assistance whenever you need it, 24 hours a day.
And because your phone is equipped with GPS, the dispatchers are immediately aware of your location and can send assistance on its way as soon as possible.
10. Marinetraffic
You can view a chart on your phone that displays the real-time whereabouts of all freighters and commercial boats tracked by marine traffic.
The software covers the majority of important ports and shipping routes by utilizing the broadest network of land-based AIS receivers.
An automatic identification system (AIS) is a boat locating transmitter that is obligatory on commercial vessels but voluntary on private boats.
This software is already really interesting, but what makes it even more awesome is that it allows you to click on a boat on the map, and then it opens a page with more information and pictures of the cargo or cruise ship you clicked on.
You will be able to find out where the vessel is headed and its speed and direction at the present moment.
11. Sea Tow
This is yet another app that provides users with some fundamental data regarding the tides and the weather; however, the primary function of this app is to allow users to call for a tow.
It’s the same as the BoatUS version, but it caters to people who have to tow insurance through Sea Tow rather than BoatUS.
12. Dockwa
Dockwa allows you to make reservations and receive price quotes for dockage and storage at marinas in your area.
Discover new marinas, view the facilities and photos of existing marinas, and make and manage reservations for marinas, all from the convenience of your iPhone or iPad.
Dockwa does not charge boat owners any additional fees to use their platform; the prices and policies displayed on the Dockwa platform for marinas are the same as those displayed for all reservations.
13. MarineMax
Boaters can connect to the nation’s largest recreational boats and yacht retailers through the Marinemax app, one of my favorites.
The app connects boaters to MarineMax, the nation’s largest recreational boats and yachts retailer.
It helps boaters find the perfect boat, request service, communicate with their preferred store, and view information on local boating events.
14. Savvy Navvy
This incredibly powerful combined routing program takes into account the requirements of sailboats and is swiftly developing into an exceptionally powerful system that will include chart plotting capability.
Compared to other routing software, it begins with a fundamentally different premise: that the process ought to be practical, user-friendly, and instinctive.
Because of this, Savvy Navvy does not have the advanced features available in SailGrib; nonetheless, the concept behind it is that anyone with fundamental navigation understanding may quickly receive relevant results.
This boating app has gained additional features like tracking tide heights, streams, and weather conditions. However, the app’s concept, streamlined and easy to comprehend, has not changed.
All this information is laid out in tabs on a dashboard that is simple to comprehend.
In addition, this boating software may now be used as a Chartplotter thanks to the most recent version, which enables charts to be downloaded for usage when the app is not online.
15. Imray Tides Planner
Calculating the tide’s height was a complicated and time-consuming process.
However, this is one of the areas in which the best iPhone Apps for boating may make a significant difference.
Imray’s Tides Planner is just one of a variety of applications that offer data on tidal streams and tidal heights in formats that are simple to understand.
The latter may move forward in time and display the tide height at any given period and location.
In addition, the calculations for the secondary port’s tidal height are much simplified as a result.
If you are in a port unfamiliar with, for instance, you can easily determine how much the depth under the boat will decrease before the next low water and, as a result, whether or not you need to transfer to a new berth to remain afloat.
This boating app’s free edition updates its database of ports every day. You can remove this restriction if you pay a small annual subscription cost.
Still, for some countries, including the United Kingdom and France, you’ll need to pay an additional, similarly little one-time fee to get forecasts for any day of the year.
16. Windy
Before setting sail, gathering the most accurate meteorological information is imperative.
The Windy Pro version offers data from various models, such as ECMWF, and, for users in the southern half of the United Kingdom and France, the fine-grained Arome data.
The data is easy to interpret and covers several criteria. Hourly time steps cover wind basics such as mean wind speed, gusts, wind direction, precipitation, cloud cover, and surface pressure.
Even when I’m not on the water, I use this boating app to plan practically every day because it’s my go-to resource for weather information related to boating.
17. Predictwind
PredictWind is among the best iPhone Apps for Boating that includes routing options. Unfortunately, it has a higher price tag than other similar apps.
Still, it is worth the investment because it runs its models for popular sailing areas worldwide using algorithms initially developed for America’s Cup.
This best iPhone Apps for Boating app is popular among racing players, but cruisers who sail significant distances should also consider it.
18. Anchor! Drag Alarm
The most recent generation of anchors is superior to the items that came before it.
However, even a hook well embedded in the ground can become dislodged by a change in the direction of the wind or if it becomes entangled with the ground tackle of another vessel.
Because of this, anchor alarm apps make a great deal of sense. Even though they are standard features on many chart plotters and multifunction displays (MFDs), having one on your phone can be quite helpful in certain situations.
There is a good chance that the power usage overnight will be lower, and many anchor watch apps include the capability to send an alarm to a mobile phone.
It is an ideal solution if there is an issue while you are onshore or if you are merely on a friend’s boat in the same anchorage.
This is the best iPhone Apps for Boating app that has received a lot of positive feedback and requires a one-time, low-cost payment to use it.
Conclusion
Now that you have a better understanding of the best iPhone apps for boating, you can choose one of them to take your boating experience to the next level if you already have one or are planning to in the future.
