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.

If you are cruising internationally–including Canada, Mexico, or the Bahamas–you must purchase your own digital charts, either directly from the Canadian Hydrographic Service, or a re-seller such as NDI or those listed above. If you want data extras such as 3D contour maps, shoreline topographic maps, or aerial and navigation photos, then consider the branded Chart Navigator Pro version from Maptech. This package includes the same software as Coastal Explorer, with Maptech's additional chart and data libraries.

Finally, although your vessel's GPS can connect to your PC to display your boat's position, you may want to purchase a small external GPS sensor. These tiny devices cost less than $100 and connect to your computer through a serial or USB port.

LOOK AND FEEL

If you value a hassle-free installation process, you'll enjoy working with Coastal Explorer. We had no trouble installing the software, databases or our external devices. In fact, Coastal Explorer's installation is so easy and automatic it attempts to autoload everything "nautical" on any disc you insert. If you are short of hard drive space–or just want to keep your system lean–intervene and don't load all the chart and data files.

Coastal Explorer is an elegant and carefully-crafted application that pays attention to details. Its careful design is evident in uncluttered screen layouts, quick access to information, and an easy-to-use interface.

There are no floating toolbars or overlapping chart windows, a common problem with many charting and navigation applications. This means your chart remains unobscured as you access the features and functions. You don't have to constantly "clean up" your screen display as part of your workflow.

To make the user experience even more efficient, Coastal Explorer operates in two display modes: Planning Mode or Cruising Mode. Even slicker, the display changes automatically to the most appropriate, based on your vessel's movement (or lack thereof). You can also toggle between the two displays by pressing the F12 key.

Planning Mode is the normal mode, providing tools such as creating routes or getting information from the guide books. It uses small Windows-style menus suitable for working at home or at the slip.

In Cruising Mode, the toolbars and the windows change to a chartplotter-like display, with windows showing instrument displays and position data (such as range, bearing, speed over ground, course over ground, and cross-track error). These displays are customizable in the Data Console. Cruising Mode displays large easy-to-read buttons and windows of virtual analog-style instruments.

Unlike many charting and navigation applications, where every task seems to require multiple clicks and window displays, in Coastal Explorer most information is literally a mouse-click away. Those of us who use computers extensively have come to expect a streamlined user interface. Coastal Explorer has brought this standard of software engineering into the marine computing environment.Rose Point Navigation SystemsFollowing a route entering the Chesapeake Bay from seaward, Coastal Explorer labels the legs between waypoints with course and distance information, as you would on a paper chart.

For example, other charting and navigation applications typically have a window of data showing the bearing and distance to your next waypoint. But why have a dedicated window of data cluttering an already-too-small laptop screen? Coastal Explorer displays your magnetic bearing and distance directly along your course line, just as you would record it in pencil on a paper chart (see photo).

Similarly, all included NOAA paper chart notes are integrated into the chart display. One click on a small black rectangle containing the word "NOTE," opens that object and alerts you of a cable area or special anchorage.

Like any sophisticated and mature program, Coastal Explorer uses a lot of shortcuts. You can view a list of keyboard shortcuts at the end of the Exploring Coastal Explorer booklet. More welcome, Coastal Explorer uses many standard Windows shortcuts. Standardization is particularly important in an application that is used seasonally or only on weekends. Coastal Explorer spares you re-learning a slew of new shortcuts or icons at the start of each boating season or after five days at work using other computer applications. And during those first two weeks of the boating season–when you're still warming up–the multi-level undo capability is great for those of us who click first and ask questions later.

WORKING WITH CHARTS

Coastal Explorer is compatible with the major chart formats, including NOAA RNCs (raster charts), NOAA and international S-57 ENCs (vector charts), and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers IENCs (vector charts of U.S. inland waterways). Coastal Explorer also reads all Maptech digital charts (except Maptech's BSB5 format), SoftChart digital charts, NDI DigitalOcean charts (Canadian charts in raster and vector format), and PhotoNavigator products.

We had no trouble panning and zooming over a chart. Coastal Explorer's "chart quilting" seamlessly moved across chart files of different scales. Charts can be displayed north-up, course-up, or heading-up.

Laptop navigating tends to become porthole driving, where you only see the small chart area around your vessel. In addition to the detailed, full-screen chart display, a small window in Coastal Explorer's upper right screen shows the larger overview area. And we particularly liked the split chart display option. You can choose to split the main chart display into two or three panels (see photo ).

Rose Point Navigation SystemsSplit window functionality allows Coastal Explorer users simultaneous access to raster charts (left), satellite images (right) and Coast Pilot information (bottom) on one screen.

Our favorite chart display feature was Coastal Explorer's search capability. Search functions have been the Achilles' heel of several of the charting and navigation applications we've reviewed so far. At best, some of the programs, such as MacENC, let you search for, then "scroll to," waypoints, routes, or tracks by name.

Coastal Explorer allows a complete search of all objects in its database–a staggering two million places and points-of-interest (POIs). For example, type any word or string that relates to data on a chart. We typed "Elliott Island" and the chart for Elliott Island, Maryland popped up. In case we didn't mean this Elliott Island, a small window displays similar options, letting you click on an alternative location.

WAYPOINTS AND ROUTES

The creation of waypoints and routes is very sophisticated in Coastal Explorer. Obviously you can do all the regular tricks: create unlimited waypoints and routes, set boundary circles and areas with alarms, make chart annotations, draw range and bearing lines, and so on. But let's focus on some "wow" features that require getting down into the details.

To make a route, you can simply click along a string of waypoints. This is certainly convenient–and a lot better than the klutzy alternatives offered by some programs, such as dragging and dropping waypoint names into a "new routes" folder. But even better, as you string together waypoints and approach the edge of the chart, the cursor flips to a white arrow. Nudge the edge and the chart automatically scrolls so you can continue creating your route seamlessly across displays and charts.

A nice safety feature is the Check Route for Obstacles function. When you create a route, Coastal Explorer reads the data from its navigation object database and alerts you if your proposed route encounters obstacles such as navigation aids or wrecks. Even more impressive, this feature works even if you are viewing a raster chart. Remember, a raster chart is simply a picture of a paper chart and does not contain any nav aid, depth or obstruction linked data. Coastal Explorer allows you to view a raster chart but have access to the navigational object database at the same time.

After creating a route, an option called Fork Route lets you re-use this information to build additional routes. This is a perfect example of an option designed by boaters who have clearly put in time on the water. For example, you probably have two or three common routes that split or "fork" after you exit your home marina or mooring field. Or, when you enter an anchorage, you may enter from the south and depart to the north. Fork Route lets you create a route, then use that route to build a new route that splits off from any waypoint in a new direction.

Lastly, if you have trouble seeing your route on a cluttered chart area, choose Highlight Objects in the toolbar. The chart image will dim, highlighting or emphasizing your route.

ADDITIONAL FEATURES

Coastal Explorer is designed to work with nearly any NMEA 0183 device with an appropriate PC interface. For example, you can connect a GPS, autopilot, depth sounder, water temperature sensor, knot/log, wind speed and direction sensor, rudder angle sensor, AIS receiver, and radar (including ARPA and MARPA equipped models).

Coastal Explorer does not include the extensive chart and data libraries of the Maptech-branded Chart Navigator Pro version. However, it does include the most commonly used databases, including tides and currents, weather, and guide book information.

Rather than including a plug-in or separate companion application, tides and currents are fully integrated into Coastal Explorer. A horizontal window shows the tidal current prediction displayed as a graph and marking slack water times and maximum ebbs and floods. We liked this display because it was visual and included specifics for flood or ebb in knots, date, time, degrees true of current flow, time of slack, and maximum ebb and maximum flood (see photo).

Obtaining weather data is also exceptionally easy with Coastal Explorer. Rose Point maintains a server with GRIB weather files, allowing you to download weather data directly through an email attachment. Simply select your choices of location and data from the Weather Browser window and click Download. You can choose to download all the weather data for your location (GRIB files are not very large), then toggle to display specific information such as sea temperature, wind or air temperature. The weather data is stored on your hard drive so you can view it underway without an internet connection.

Coastal Explorer currently includes a free "one year" subscription to its weather server, although the free access has currently been in place for two years. In other words, weather downloads are currently free but in the future there may be a cost associated with renewing the weather subscription.

Rose Point Navigation SystemsCurrent, historic and predictive tide level information is available and richly displayed in Coastal Explorer. The visual presentation (bottom) is easy to read at a glance.

Coastal Explorer is the only program that integrates NOAA Coast Pilots, geo-referencing this important navigational information so it can be accessed directly from the charts. Some applications include this data, but in the less useful form of PDF documents viewable with Adobe's Acrobat Reader. Integrating this data with the charts is what fuels Coastal Explorer's powerful and extremely valuable search engine.

Rose Point's connection with Microsoft comes through in Coastal Explorer's concept of a "documents file." All waypoints, routes, tracks and event marks–called "Navigation"–are stored in a special user documents file. This file is not simply an ASCII waypoint text file–a common feature of many charting and navigation programs–but a file that packages and saves all your navigation data for export.

With the documents file, you can send your navigation information to other users of Coastal Explorer or Chart Navigator Pro simply by selecting Send To. This navigation document is a great way to transfer information to other boaters. For example, a flotilla captain could develop a rich float plan with waypoints, routes, marinas and attractions, then distribute all this information as a package by email or CD to other flotilla boats using Coastal Explorer or Chart Navigator Pro.

ASSESSMENT

The foundation of Coastal Explorer's customer support strategy is an application that is extremely easy to use and seemingly impossible to crash. We intentionally pushed its features and never experienced even a lock-up. We suspect their technical support team may feel a bit like the lonely Maytag repairmen. However, if you do need to call, they can be reached by phone or email.

Coastal Explorer does not include an extensive printed or PDF manual. However, there are hot-linked topics through the Help menu. Although it is a bit tedious and time-consuming, we recommend opening and printing each of the seven topics. Rose Point's website is a bit thin and outdated, particularly compared to Maptech's website on the branded Chart Navigator Pro product.

Note, however, that this year Rose Point launched its Coastal Explorer User Network (see link below). This site includes tips and tricks, descriptions of Coastal Explorer installations on real boats, and links to technical articles. We would expect it to grow in volume and in function.

Overall, Coastal Explorer is a robust, well-designed, and incredibly stable program that can serve many boaters well, and it continues to improve. If you must have the fancy data extras, such as the 3D bathymetrics, aerial and satellite photos, or shoreline topographic maps, then you'll want to upgrade to the slightly more expensive Maptech-branded version. But don't assume that Chart Navigator Pro is exactly like Coastal Explorer. In addition to different chart and data libraries, the differences in technical support, product range and corporate infrastructure make these two very different product offerings.

Look for our detailed review of Chart Navigator Pro later in the series.

Capt. Mark Doyle and Capt. Diana Doyle are authors of the Managing the Waterway cruising guide series, and their work has appeared in numerous publications. They also produce CDs and DVDs of NOAA and USACE charts.