I forgot to mention OpenCPN - thanks for the reminder, Jim.
We actually have used Fugawi and OpenCPN prior to switching to Polar
Navy (all three use free NOAA charts). We stopped using Fugawi in 2013
when their "new and improved" version 5 couldn't accept input from WiFi
- up until then, it was our go-to nav program running on a Windows
laptop. We then tried OpenCPN, but it's difficult to use when planning
routes because it takes so darned long to load the next chart you want
to look at - I don't know what the problem is but it occurs on all four
of our laptops as well as my desktop which is a speed demon!
Now we're using Polar Navy, and have been since 2013 when we dumped
Fugawi - it still has a few drawbacks (can't get it to load in "Live
Ship Mode" and tracks are separated by days, for example), but otherwise
we like it. One of its nice features is that it will update charts with
just a couple of mouse clicks; same with AC (Points of Interest) data!
It's great for route planning with the AC data and easily updated charts.
For a couple of years we ran all three simultaneously on the same laptop
to get a feel for the differences - fed by WiFi (OpenCPN and Polar Navy)
and a USB connection (Fugawi) from our VesperMarine AIS. We finally
settled on Polar Navy as the most user friendly.
<><><><><><><><><><><><>Mozilla Thunderbird<><><><><><><><><><>
Bob McLeran and Judy Young Manatee Cove Marina
MV Sanderling Patrick Air Force Base
DeFever 41 Trawler Melbourne, Florida
Blog: http://mvsanderling.net/Blog
Web: http://cruising.mvsanderling.net/
On 5/15/2017 2:46 PM, Jim Healy wrote:
Joe,
I agree with Bob. There are several excellent programs that use the free NOAA and USACE charts in the US. In addition to Polar Navy and Fugawi, SEAiq, Coastal Explorer and OpenCPN all come to mind.
I forgot to mention OpenCPN - thanks for the reminder, Jim.
We actually have used Fugawi and OpenCPN prior to switching to Polar
Navy (all three use free NOAA charts). We stopped using Fugawi in 2013
when their "new and improved" version 5 couldn't accept input from WiFi
- up until then, it was our go-to nav program running on a Windows
laptop. We then tried OpenCPN, but it's difficult to use when planning
routes because it takes so darned long to load the next chart you want
to look at - I don't know what the problem is but it occurs on all four
of our laptops as well as my desktop which is a speed demon!
Now we're using Polar Navy, and have been since 2013 when we dumped
Fugawi - it still has a few drawbacks (can't get it to load in "Live
Ship Mode" and tracks are separated by days, for example), but otherwise
we like it. One of its nice features is that it will update charts with
just a couple of mouse clicks; same with AC (Points of Interest) data!
It's great for route planning with the AC data and easily updated charts.
For a couple of years we ran all three simultaneously on the same laptop
to get a feel for the differences - fed by WiFi (OpenCPN and Polar Navy)
and a USB connection (Fugawi) from our VesperMarine AIS. We finally
settled on Polar Navy as the most user friendly.
<><><><><><><><><><><><>Mozilla Thunderbird<><><><><><><><><><>
Bob McLeran and Judy Young Manatee Cove Marina
MV Sanderling Patrick Air Force Base
DeFever 41 Trawler Melbourne, Florida
Blog: http://mvsanderling.net/Blog
Web: http://cruising.mvsanderling.net/
On 5/15/2017 2:46 PM, Jim Healy wrote:
> Joe,
>
> I agree with Bob. There are several excellent programs that use the free NOAA and USACE charts in the US. In addition to Polar Navy and Fugawi, SEAiq, Coastal Explorer and OpenCPN all come to mind.
