TZ iBoat – Marine Navigation

I have tried all of the sailing apps out there and it’s hard to find one that’s a good balance of functionality and price. I am a long time user of a different popular app, but decided to give this one a try and have been surprised by how much I like it. There are a few features that I wish it had (a better management system for saved tracks) and the companion laptop software is absurdly priced, but the app is worth trying and spending the money for maps. I still haven’t managed to get it connected to Furuno network on the boat I sail on (better instructions on making the network connection work would be nice), but the maps are very nice to view and all the interactions are intuitive and easy.

I’ve been using the computer version of TimeZero and older versions of Nobeltec for a very long time, and this has almost all the features of the computer version. It seems like they replaced the track line recording feature with the ability to share with your followers, which is kind of annoying, but not too big of a issue. For $20 a year it is not the professional navigation program that the $3000 one for PC is, but it is much better than the other app I had. They also seem to make improvements based on feedback, so I hope they bring back the old way of recording track lines. One other thing, and this is not that much of an issue for average use and is probably less of a problem with the app than the actual GPS in my phone, is that if you’re going slow, as you do while setting a longline, it sometimes doesn’t show the boat icon facing the right way. Again, not too much of a problem for average use, but one of the times it happened I was setting a longline and I thought the boat was pointing towards a 25 fathom sounding on the chart, but the icon was pointing the wrong way and it ended up being 49 fathoms. The other small things that could be improved is it would be nice if you could see the SOG without having the whole sidebar open. Overall, while it has a few small issues, it is great for navigating skiffs and much better than the competition.

TZ iBoat is one of the easiest and most complete aids to navigation on the market. The seamless charting works flawlessly, the detailed tides and currents right on the chart make it easy for anyone looking on. There is no time needed for flipping between programs which enables you to keep your eyes out on the water and not always buried in the screen. The distance and bearing feature is so easy ito use that identifying navigation aids and points of land with a hand bearing compass is fast and accurate. iBoat is clearly a fantastic navigation aid that when used with other aids such as hand bearing compasses, depth sounders, binoculars, etc, will help to make your trip as safe as possible. This aid to navigation does so much more including being able to add and remove features from your screen easily in order to keep your screen uncluttered works extremely well. I would rate this Nobeltec product higher than anything else seen on the market today. Look it up and I challenge you to find a more complete easy to use program. Captain Thomson.