iSailGPS : NOAA USA RNC Charts App Reviews

Perfect for day sailing!

All the staff from check in to exit were great. The iPhone issue was corrected with some effort. Henry was very skilled. Thanks so much:)

No coarse up makes it useless to me. Otherwise seems like a nice app.

And very inexpensive. Its easy to learn, and, though Im a died-in-the-wool plotter and dividers kinda sailor, I love the ease of making and recording routes. Paper charts still have their uses -- still the best way in MHO to get an overview, but at night in the wind, my i-pad with this app is a more practical backup to my chart plotter than paper. And one more thing -- when you read that a chart has been changed in the LNM, youll be able to download it fairly soon and for free. An earlier rater found the program deficient because it does not have a course-up feature. That would be nice, but until then, I can turn the iPad.

Love this App. While sailing last year, my friend had it on his iPhone. I enjoyed watching where we were going with this App…it was so simple! The Help Menu is amazing - and the App does exactly what it says it will do! When I got my iPhone for Christmas, the first App that I bought was iSailGPS. Looking forward to Spring and Sailing!

As a novice to coastal navigation, i have found this app to be awesome. It Works just like a chart plotter but better cause you can save screen images of your routes. I know theres pricier nav apps out there, but for 8 bucks this one is an accurate way to chart your course and see exactly where you are, speed, ETA, waypoints, and easy to use. Just be sure to download your charts before you set sail so you can access them at sea. Im still learning all it does, but so far its perfect for my Ga. Coastal navigation .... S/V Glory Days

Used for first time on a mark boat at Yngling North American Championship regatta. Very easy to use. Made verification of mark locations simple and adjusting courses a breeze using Go To functions. Highly recommend.

Waste of money, dont buy it. Very difficult to make a new waypoint and dont change from a chart to another chart

I have played with this app for some time and I really like it. NOAA charts work great and waypoints are easy to add. Sometimes its a bit slow to load the charts but other than that it works great.

This is, hands down, my FAVORITE app. There are others that I use more often, but only because were only out on the boat now and then, and only in the summer (this being Alaska, winter is NOT conducive to boating). I think that it is fantastic that I can track our progress from the passenger side (or anywhere else) and make sure my husband is aware of any possible obstacles that I see on the chart, that may, or may not, be showing up on the main GPS. The only improvement I would like is the tracking line. Its kind of hit-or-miss. Some times is shows, sometimes it doesnt. No biggie, but it would be nice if it were more consistent.

The designer of this software made some rather inexplicable decisions that make it much less intuitive to use. Some suggestions for improvement: 1. Let the user download chart KITS not individual charts. By requiring me to download individual charts I am almost guaranteed to find myself in a tiny, complicated harbor without the local chart and no cell signal. 2. Use the current map focal point to load the local chart rather than loading based on my current location. Sometimes I like to see the map of where Im going BEFORE I get there (and I do not want to have to dig the chart up by name when Im trying to steer a boat). 3. Add "use map" to the "add waypoints" screen. Does anyone really enter waypoints by manually entering lat/long coordinates??? Kind of impossible without a paper chart for reference! As it is right now this software is kind of useless for anything but simple day sailing where you will only traverse 2 or 3 charts in one day.

Hard to use

The noaa charts are great. Its intuitive, tracks very well. Since this is the 3rd gps program for sailing on my iphone, I know what I want from the App. I was able to set waypoints and plot a route pretty easily. When you turn on tracking it works really well. Like showing details of us circling to Anchor and later motoring on a dingy to shore and back. The only caveat is if you forget to turn off the tracking when you get home it will continue to track and delete your previous tracks when the memory becomes full. One of the interesting features is the ability to email a copy of the chart with your track and current location straight off the app to your friends or to post on Facebook. I havent tried it yet but its an interesting feature. The only thing that I had spent time figuring out was how to change the course heading and bearing from true to magnetic. If you click the "help" button, its got a lot of details on how to use the app. And of course you know that because it relies on the GPS on your phone you dont need to be connected to your 4G or Wi-Fi. Just remember to download the charts before you leave home. Im giving it a four star, but it should actually be 4.5. When I use the app again I will further update. All the other crew on the boat were also very impressed and said they are going to download the app.

Not a user friendly software, not ready for marine navigation.

App does not work. No maps to be seen. Very nice information under help but no maps are visual and it cannot find my location, using multiple wifi connections to check.

The waypoint functionality is good, but Marine US has much better chart functionality. Its annoying that you have to download individual charts.

A real navigation program worth far more than its $8.00 cost. A bit tedious loading NOAA charts, but well worth the required effort. Used on recent yacht delivery on St Johns River Florida USA with perfect results. The up to date marked charts big help. Kept me and my crew on track through somewhat complex unfamiliar waters. Prevented two near groundings. Every boater with an I phone should have this program. Perfect for small boats with no other navigation equipment. Shows "course/up" and can be used by anyone with basic boating course qualifications. I hold a US Coast Guard 100 Ton Masters License.

From the first time we used this app, we were impressed with its ease of use and clear interface. We downloaded the charts we needed with no problems. Many guest crew members have used it successfully and found it easy to interpret. We used it to navigate from New Bern, NC to the Delaware River in NJ and currently on the Chesapeake with very few problems. A great app for the price!

I will preface by saying that I have never used a charting app before so my baseline is limited. That said, I found the app very intuitive and easy to use when navigating a sailboat through some reefs while sailing from St. Croix USVI to Fajardo, Puerto Rico. I also appreciated the very prompt pre-purchase e-mail response from the app developer to a question of mine.

I use this app when I go open water rowing. The iPhone is in a waterproof pouch in a storage compartment of the shell( boat). After the row, my track is displayed on the beautiful noaa map. I hope that a companion apple watch app will be offered so that the iPhone app can be controlled from the wrist. This is a wonderful app.