It’s a beautiful thing for e-charting when software engineers are also experienced boaters–and that’s exactly how Rose Point Navigation Systems, the maker of Coastal Explorer software, was born.
Rose Point was founded in 2003 by Brad Christian, an avid boater and 17-year Microsoft alum, who built the first prototype of Coastal Explorer while cruising Puget Sound. His efforts set a company standard for clean, stable and efficient code–the entire application takes up just 3.5 megabytes–that still shows in the latest version.
Coastal Explorer is a robust, well-designed and incredibly solid program that did not crash on us once–even when we tried to bring it down. At $399, the program can safely be called mid-priced software–costing more than a program like Fugawi Marine ENC but less than more complex packages like Nobeltec Admiral or MaxSea Commander. Yet it has a feature set that can complete with almost anything on the market.
Unlike many competing products, Coastal Explorer is capable of serving a wide range of boaters. Weekend or short-season skippers will appreciate the easy-to-use interface. Long-distance cruisers can take advantage of advanced features, such as the ability to read international charts and connect an AIS receiver or MARPA-equipped radar.
In addition to selling Coastal Explorer, Rose Point also licenses its code to other companies, notably Maptech, which sells it under the brand name Chart Navigator Pro. Maptech, a large and established navigation company, adds value by incorporating its extensive chart and data libraries and charges more ($499) for its version.
But the underlying program is the same. In fact, whether you are running Rose Point’s Coastal Explorer or Maptech’s Chart Navigator Pro, requests for software updates and weather data are routed through Rose Point’s servers in Kirkland, Washington.
SETTING UP
Coastal Explorer can be purchased directly from Rose Point Navigation. Alternatively, it is also sold through select retailers, such as Landfall Navigation, Seabreeze Books & Charts, and Armchair Sailor. A complete list of retailers is available on the Rose Point website (see link below).
The software comes in a boxed set with two CDs and a 56-page Exploring Coastal Explorer booklet, which serves as a Getting Started guide. One CD has the installation software. The other CD contains raster and vector chart data, including about 100 small-scale raster charts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, suitable for planning purposes only. The vector chart library includes all available NOAA vector charts of coastal U.S. waters; all available charts from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for U.S. inland waterways; and 250 Digital Navigation Charts (DNCs). According to Rose Point, Coastal Explorer is the only charting and navigation package that includes DNCs, an alternative vector format produced by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agencythat supplements NOAA’s incomplete vector coverage.
Although Coastal Explorer includes all available vector charts for the U.S., it does not include NOAA’s complete raster library. In order to display raster charts suitable for navigation, you must purchaseBSB charts on CD or DVD, now available for under $50, or download them at no cost directly from NOAA’s site (see link below). However, note that if you need extensive chart coverage, downloads are limited to 100 charts per session and take much time–and bandwidth–to download.
