SEAiq

We use SEAIQ and Navionics on a daily basis. Navionics primarily for new harbors in the US due to their sonar charts but we use SEAIQ whenever underway outside the harbor. There is room for improvement but likely features I am interested are geared towards weekend cruises whereas SEAIQ is focused on professionals. I still love it though.

SEAiq is what I consider to be the only real navigation app around for iOS. The chart tool functionality (multiple EBLs, VRMs, and other markup functions) mean you can, if needed, perform similar operations that you might be used to on paper charts. I’ve added danger bearings, marked out anchorage areas, even plotted a running fix with it. (That last just involved creative use of a handful of EBLs.) The AIS functionality is also incredibly useful; the course vectors and rate of turn indicators make it very easy to visualize crossing situations. Also useful is the ability to attach a VRM or EBL to AIS targets. If you’re in the US you have free future access to all the official NOAA charts, and the tiling is handled reasonably well. I’ve also loaded New Zealand ENC charts as well as purchased others from Chartworld. My workflow involves planning and plotting on the laptop, then transferring the files to phone and iPad for reference underway. I see the same notes on every device. What could be improved is the overall app speed, and being able to use purchased charts across devices (I know that last is more a problem of the chart suppliers).

This the best nav software by far. It is ready apparent that it is coded by people who use it, and really know software. Navionics, TZiBoat, iNavX, this one is far better and its free no nonsense goodness! It does have few obtuse bits like downloading charts the first time. The chart updater is great. Thanks for the good coding!

Great navigation app. Uses NOAA Raster and ENC charts. All the extras like tides and are integrated nicely.

Downloads, at least from the NOAA site, are excruciatingly slow in comparison to direct downloads from the site. Plus the app needs to be on screen with the iPad awake for downloads to complete. Any switching away can cause one or more chart downloads to fail, and you, rather than the app have to retry the update to pick up the missed charts. Lazy software design yields a poor user experience. The premium features would be worth the money but presumably the quality of the free version matches that of the paid version so no thanks.

I love this app, especially for their NMEA as AIS features as well as showing a data bar on the map. The only feature I'm missing is VMG.

This was great application back in the days when cm93 was supported. That was also the sole reason to buy it the time. Not anymore. Shame

SEAiq is the best chartplotter available for the iPad for use by recreational cruisers in areas that low cost digital charts are available. In other areas the cost of chartworld and primar charts are excessive for recreational boats, when other chartplotters can use charts as good as the chartworld and primar charts at 10% of the cost, and 1% of the aggravation. If SEAiq can fix this inequity, I would give it 10 stars, not just five.

I have been using SEAiq open for a few years now. I rely on free charts from NOAA for sailing in the USA, and charts from Chartworld for other areas. The app has proven to be very reliable, integrates with Active Captain, and Aye Tides data and others for complete offline use. Highly recommend the app S/V Cormorant

Early versions let you use your CM 93 charts, like Open CPN does for your laptop. Like Open CPN you can also view your Google earth .kap files. Of course the latter are extremely accurate, even in parts of the world where your regular charts can be off by miles - and often are. Now the CM93 charts are no longer supported on the newer versions. Unfortunately there is no option of loading an older version. I like the old version so much that I have kept my old iPad which still has the old version. In an attempt to use the newer version on my new iPad, I purchased some reasonably priced charts for the app and found them like crude sketches. Useless waste of money. So while still useful for viewing .kap files, there are far easier, cheaper apps for that. So unless you are a professional mariner, and can afford extremely expensive charts, this app has become almost useless for cruisers.