Our main navigation is PC-based running TimeZero. We do most of our plotting on this and the memory within the system is good enough to save all of our tracks over the past four years covering thousands of miles.
Thanks to the input from BR & SM Webber, we’ve upgraded our other components to include Simrad 4G radar, forward scanning sonar and C-map charts, all incorporated in a 12 inch multi-function display.
When anchoring in unfamiliar areas we rely heavily on a new app called Ovital Maps which uses satellite images. The feature we like most about this app is that it shows our position on the satellite image along with a heading line and a snail trail. This gives us the confidence to anchor in areas where we would otherwise avoid. Traditional charts for South East Asia are very inaccurate.
If you look at the photo above of our navigation system, the TimeZero screen shows us on dry land, C-Map shows us in an inland waterway which doesn’t exist. Ovital shows us in our correct location.
We also run navionics on the iPad in the background as a safety backup and also do early course planning on it as it is so user friendly and portable. The crowd sourced anchorage information is invaluable.
Through the simrad internal wifi we are also able to plot depths via navionics and the forward scan echo sounder. This is a crowd sourcing feature to update chart depths if we choose to.
The simrad also has an app which allows us to mirror the main screen to our ipad. We use this function as an anchor watch through the night. By sitting the iPad next to the bed, we can easily check our location on the chart.
Our navigation system is also a combination of 240V and 12V. This is beneficial in case of any worse-case-scenarios where we can choose between power sources.
