Anybody Using OpenCPN Navigation Software?

Pat Anderson

I know iPhones and iPad are great, but sometimes I just like to look at a full size computer screen when thinking about route planning! I have an old version (2009) of Coastal Explorer but that is on the Windows side, and I was looking for something to use on the Mac side, preferrably free, and I came across OpenCPN. It had good reviews, so I downloaded it, and pointed it at a directory containing the 2 DVD set of MTW Electronic charts, which it processed just fine. All looks good on startup.

The problem is that the program is a real slug, even on my fast MacBook. Besides lacking a search feature entirely, which I could live with because I theoretically can center a region on the based map and zoom in, every time I zoom or pan, the program takes a minute to create some kind of new file. Then it simply stopped responding to zooming and panning entirely.

I will give it another chance or two, but has anyone else uses this program and found it acceptable, or is it just me? Is there any other free or low cost Mac navigation program that uses the NOAA and USACE electronic charts? Or am I stuck going back to Windoze to use good old Coastal Explorer?

BrentB · Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2014 12:20 pm Post subject:

Navioincs iPhone app (free) allows to load NOAA maps. THis feature is not yet available for Android devices.

NOAA has a free online chart viewer

I use Garmin Home Port software on Windows PC (<$30) and take the SD card with installed maps from Chartplotter 545s and use it on PC

You can check Active Captain and Boat US mag for recent reviews.

I dont use my Mac lap top for this purpose. It is old, running OS 10.4, 1G RAM and Intel Duo core CPU. I may upgrade after the buying Ipad Air or when AIr 2 is released... maybe this fall

Wave Rider · Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2014 12:32 pm Post subject:

I've been using Open Captain for the past two years. Just recently downloaded the latest version. It is installed on an ACER Netbook. I use a USB receiver and the program has worked great. It's actually a bit more precise than my Garmin Chartplotter.

BrentB · Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2014 3:21 pm Post subject:

Have you tried Polarview?
http://www.polarnavy.com/

free to try, $50 to buy

mgarr682 · Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2014 4:15 pm Post subject: OpenCPN on a Series 7 Slate

I run OpenCpn on a Samsung Series 7 Slate tablet computer. It runs under Windows 7 with a GPS connected via USB or Bluetooth. Everything runs quickly. I use the charts downloaded free from the NOAA website. I was really surprised at how often they are updated, sometimes every few days. I save the charts to the hard drive in the computer. If you're running the charts on CD that's probably why you are experiencing slow performance. CD I/O speeds are terribly slow compared to a hard drive. Try loading the charts onto the hard drive or just download the charts you need from NOAA to your hard drive and give it a try. You may well see a huge difference in speed.

Also, I've noticed that if you have thousands of waypoints in the system it slows it down badly too. I downloaded a set of waypoints showing fishing locations (around two thousand individual waypoints) and it really slowed things down. I'm not sure why that is because I use the tracking feature when I'm on the water and that also creates quite a lot of waypoints but doesn't seem to slow it down at all.

I also use PolarView from PolarNavy. It has two nice features. It will download charts from NOAA and the Army Corps of Engineers (larger rivers) if you have internet access. It will also use ActiveCaptain data which is nice if looking for a marina, fuel, or reviews of various anchorages.

Since I'm running both in Windows 7 I can easily switch back and forth between the two applications if I want to. I've found that for the most part I use OpenCPN, only running PolarView if I want the ActiveCaptain data.

I've been quite pleased with OpenCPN and run it just about all the time I'm on the water. If you're having performance issues try downloading the NOAA or ACE charts, save them to the hard drive and see if that speeds things up for you.

Pat Anderson · Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2014 5:22 pm Post subject:

I am not accessing charts on CD - I copied the charts to a folder and pointed OpenCPN to that folder, and it recognized the charts. The MacBook Pro is a considerably more powerful and faster machine than most garden variety Windows laptops, certainly no Netbook is in its league. Still, OpenCPN does not pan or zoom worth a damn, and seems to freeze up at times. I am specifically interested in whether anybody else runs OpenCPN on a Mac, it may be optimized for Windows, I don't know, but for me it is a dog. I will take a look at PolarNavy but Coastal Explorer runs so well with the MTW Electronic Charts under Windows that I may have to suffer along under Windows for route planning, and perhaps even get a USB GPS receiver dongle again. I have Windows 7 installed on the MacBook Pro with Bootcamp, I really only got Windows 7 for Coastal Explorer and one or two other Windows specifc apps. The MTW electronic charts set is from 2011, but includes all available NOAA and USACE electronic charts as of that time, which was a LOT. I might buy the 2014 set, but downloading individual charts is too much trouble by me!

mgarr682 · Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2014 7:00 pm Post subject:

Pat Anderson · Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2014 7:05 pm Post subject:

No Mac solution - I checked out PolarView (Polar Navy), and it does not hold a candle to Coastal Explorer. Guess I will boot to Windows to do my armchair route planning!

BrentB · Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2014 8:43 pm Post subject:

Are you using GPS puck with openCPN?

BrentB · Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2014 9:02 pm Post subject:

I have a Garmin chartplotter and bought Homeport software
There is a Mac version
see
https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/maps/trip-planning/homeport-/prod64242.html

I have download the installed BlueChart G2 map to a SD and use it on the PC and works with Active Captain

price is less $30

I dont know if it suits your needs so it's a fyi

mgarr682 · Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2014 9:21 pm Post subject:

Pat Anderson · Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2014 11:45 pm Post subject:

We have a Raymarine C-80 chartplotter and getting information into it is very difficult. Not what I want to do anyway. I want to do armchair route plotting with ease. The ONLY program that seems to do that for me is Coastal Explorer. I can export routes and get them into the C-80 with a lot of complications but I don't have chart chips for the area I am planning anyway. Hence a GPS puck and Coastal Explorer will probably fit the bill perfectly. After looking at the rest, I am really impressed with how GOOD Coastal Explorer is!

journey on · Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2014 12:38 am Post subject:

Well, Pat, if you want to run Coastal Explorer, that's understandable since you have it and are familiar with it. I haven't tried Coastal Explorer/Rosepoint, but have a friend who bought it. He uses it and it's quite good. which it should be at $400.

One thing I've found out about OpenCpn is that it is being developed by an enthusiastic group of programmers who are sailors. So it's developing and includes AIS and a radar overlay through add-ons. I noticed that the commercial programs, such as Fugawi/Coastal Explorer, etc are slow to add features since they have to deal with other manufactures.

I've tried several commercial programs (Capn, Fugawi, Maptech,) and OpenCpn runs as well as any of them. Of course I run Windows, but I also use their Linux version. As far as I can see, both versions are equal. Panning, zooming, route planning, AIS, radar overlay, tracking work well in real time. Panning and zooming are redraw functions and would depend on the speed of the computer. On an older Toshiba, it was really slow. On the newer HP it works well.

OpenCpn and the on-line NOAA charts are both free and take advantage of common technologies such at ethernet. I'm curious as to what impact the combination will have on the recreational commercial market; not just the software but on multifunction displays. I mean we all have a PC now, C-Dorys are cabin boats, so why should we invest in a limited expensive display?

If you want a demonstration as to how fast OpenCpn works, look at the images in this post: OpenCpn and Radar. OpenCpn was updating both the chart orientation and the radar overlay in real time. The radar display lagged which is the 3G radar delay, not the OpenCpn processing.

Boris

Pat Anderson · Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2014 1:10 am Post subject:

Well, OpenCPN just sucks on my fast MacBook Pro, and Coastal Explorer works great and has more features. Maybe the sailors developing OpenCPN should take a lesson from Coastal Explorer! I bought Coastal Explorer when it was first out, and it was quite a bit less then, but still expensive compared to free. But as far as I am concerned, completely worth it. And I did not hear from ANYBODY running OpenCPN on a Mac. I could try it on the Windows side, but why? I have Coastal Explorer on the Windows side already, I was just lookng for something acceptable on the Mac side, and did not find it, not in OpenCPN or Polar Navy.

mgarr682 · Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2014 6:42 am Post subject: