Maptech is an established charting and navigation company, with a product portfolio that includes printed paper chartkits, cruising guides, digital charts on CD, and charting and navigation software. In fact, Maptech has so many offerings—including many with overlapping names and features—that it is sometimes difficult to keep it all straight.
Here, however, we keep it simple: reviewing only Chart Navigator Pro, which Maptech markets as its full-featured flagship navigation software package for recreational boaters. As we mentioned before, Chart Navigator Pro is a branded version of Coastal Explorer, developed by Rose Point Navigation (for a review of Coastal Explorer, see link below).
Rose Point benefits from this arrangement because Maptech's stronger marketing presence and distribution reach allow them to sell more retail copies. Maptech adds value by including 15 DVDs full of data resources – including extensive chart coverage and extras such as 3D contour maps, shoreline topographic maps, aerial photos and satellite images – and then charges $100 more.
The result is Chart Navigator Pro ($499), an application that takes Rose Point's extraordinarily stable program and marries it with Maptech's extensive charting resources to produce a full-featured package that will work well both for serious weekend boaters and long-distance cruisers.
GETTING STARTED
Because Chart Navigator Pro and Coastal Explorer were born of the same parents, much of what we highlighted in our review of Coastal Explorer also applies here. Good features are good features. But there are some substantial differences, and we have tried to point those out.
Chart Navigator Pro is sold in a boxed set that includes an installation DVD for the software, a 20-page Getting Started Guide, and 15 DVDs of additional information. Boaters who already use Maptech's chart CDs, chartkits, or guides will find these sets familiar. The DVDs even include coverage for Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
In addition, all raster charts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Maptech's BSB3 file format are included, as well as all available S-57 ENC and IENC vector charts from NOAA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The data libraries also include Maptech's navigation photos, shoreline topographic maps, and contour 3D charts for the entire U.S. coastline.
In some of our previous software reviews, we detailed a long list of the items "you'll also need." This is not the case with Chart Navigator Pro. When they say, "Everything you need in one box," they're not exaggerating. Because all the digital charts and additional databases are contained in the stack of DVDs, you truly are all set for U.S. cruising.
However, if you are cruising internationally, including Canada, the Bahamas or Mexico, you must purchase your own digital charts. Maptech sells international digital charts on CD for most regions of the world. Canadian charts may also be purchased directly from the Canadian Hydrographic Service or from private sources such as NDI (see links below).
MAPTECHBoth Coastal Explorer and Chart Navigator Pro scan communication ports to auto-detect your GPS sensor.
If you want to display your boat's movement on your PC without wiring into your vessel's electronics, you need an external GPS sensor. These small devices connect to your computer through your serial or USB port and cost about $100.
LOOK AND FEEL
You don't need to be a computer geek to install Chart Navigator Pro. Installation was trouble-free. The software and data loaded immediately. A GPS wizard scanned the ports, found the GPS device and automatically assigned a communication port (see photo).
The program's default is to automatically load all the extra data. If you want to manage your storage space or have concerns about your computer's performance, watch the installation prompts and limit what gets loaded. Load the big libraries, such as photos or 3D displays, only if you'll use them and can afford the hard drive space.
Chart Navigator Pro has the cleanest user interface of all the applications we've reviewed so far. We particularly liked the use of "display modes," which kept the screen uncluttered by only displaying necessary tools and information. For example, Planning Mode displays planning tools such as creating routes or getting information from the guide books. Cruising Mode switches to a chartplotter-like display, with windows for instrument and position data.
In addition, Planning Mode uses small Windows-style menus suitable for work, at home, or in the slip. Cruising Mode displays big easy-to-read buttons and windows with virtual analog-style instruments suitable for viewing while underway. Even more impressive, the application senses whether you are stationary or transiting, changing to the most appropriate display automatically. At any time you can manually toggle between the two displays by pressing the F12 key.
WORKING WITH CHARTS
Like Coastal Explorer, most information in Chart Navigator Pro is a mouse-click away. For example, most software applications show a data window with bearing and distance to your next waypoint, squeezing one more window of data on an already-too-small laptop screen. Chart Navigator Pro displays your bearing and distance directly along your course line, just as you would record it in pencil on a chart.
Like any sophisticated and mature program, Chart Navigator Pro includes many keyboard shortcuts, summarized in a table at the end of the Getting Started Guide. More importantly, it uses standard Windows shortcuts, a particularly nice design feature of an application only used seasonally or on weekends. The application also has multi-level undo capability.
Although Chart Navigator Pro ships with the complete United States Maptech chart library, it is also compatible with nearly all major chart formats. This means you can use the program with digital charts you already own, such as SoftChart GEO/NOS formatted charts; international charts from other sources, such as NDI DigitalOcean charts; or the free charts provided by NOAA or the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The only exception is that Chart Navigator Pro does not display DNCs, an alternative vector format produced by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. Coastal Explorer does display DNCs.
We had no trouble panning and zooming over a chart. Chart Navigator Pro's "chart quilting" seamlessly moved across chart files, even when using charts of different scales. We particularly liked the split screen option, allowing you to simultaneously display two or three charts or aerial/satellite panels.
Like Coastal Explorer, Chart Navigator Pro's search capability is exceptional because it searches the entire database. Many charting and navigation applications only search your waypoints. For example, we typed "Seward" – a location in Alaska where we don't have any waypoint marks – and the chart for Seward Bay, Alaska popped up on our screen. A window of similarly-named locations also opens so you can correct the search result in a single click if need be.
WAYPOINTS AND ROUTES
The creation of waypoints and routes is very sophisticated in Chart Navigator Pro. It has all the expected features: unlimited waypoints and routes, boundary circles and areas with alarms, chart annotations, range and bearing lines and so on. But Chart Navigator Pro also includes some exceptional features that enhance usability and safety.
For example, to make a route you can simply click along, creating a string of waypoints. This is certainly convenient – and a lot less cumbersome than dragging and dropping of waypoints into a route folder. But even better, as you approach the edge of the chart, the cursor flips to a white arrow. Continue to nudge the edge and the chart automatically scrolls so you can continue creating your route seamlessly.
A welcome safety feature is the Check Route for Obstacles function. When you create a route, Chart Navigator Pro reads the data from the vector database and alerts you if your proposed route encounters obstacles such as a navigation aid or wreck. Even more impressive, this feature works even if you are viewing a raster chart (remember, raster charts are simply images, with no attendant data) – as long as the vector chart for the area is installed (see photo).
MAPTECHThe Check Route for Obstacles feature warns mariners of wrecks, obstructions, restricted and caution areas, ferry routes, and many other hazards to navigation.
After you've created a route, an option called Fork Route lets you use this information to build additional routes. For example, if you have two or three common routes that split or "fork" after you exit your home marina, the Fork Route feature lets you create a route, then build a new route, departing at any waypoint in a new direction. If you have trouble seeing your route on a cluttered chart area, choose Highlight Objects in the toolbar. The chart image will dim to highlight or emphasize the route.
ADDITIONAL FEATURES
Chart Navigator Pro is designed to work with almost any NMEA 0183 device that has a PC interface. For example, you can connect a GPS, autopilot, depth sounder, water temperature sensor, knot/log, wind speed and direction indicators, rudder angle indicator, AIS receiver, or radar.
With the inclusion of fifteen DVDs of data, you have plenty of information at your fingertips. In addition to the chart library, Chart Navigator Pro ships with a library of aerial and satellite navigation photos, 3D bathymetric contour charts, topographic maps, and tide and current prediction tables. The integrated Coast Pilot and Light List information means you can access data by clicking directly on a chart rather than having to open a PDF document. The built-in Gazetteer lets you click on a harbor to display a window with a cruising-guide-synopsis of that location.
MAPTECHBegin weather downloads by choosing the region (left), weather data type (top right), and forecast period (bottom right).
Chart Navigator Pro obtains up-to-date weather information through a server maintained by Rose Point Navigation. Obtaining weather data is exceptionally easy. From the Weather Browser window, click Download and select your choices for location and data (see photo). You can choose to download all the weather information for your location – GRIB files are not very large – then toggle to display data such as sea temperature, wind speed, or air temperature (see photo). The weather data is stored on your hard drive so you can view it underway without an Internet connection.
It may not seem as sexy as flying over 3D hilltops, but we vote for Chart Navigator Pro's concept of a "documents file" as its coolest feature. All waypoints, routes, tracks and event marks – called "Navigation Objects" – are packaged and saved in a special user documents file. If it reminds you of the standard computer convention, you're correct. Remember, the code for Chart Navigator Pro was written by former Microsoft engineers over at Rose Point.
MAPTECHView downloaded weather data such as wind, pressure, temperature, precipitation, and wave height.
Why is a documents file cool? It means you can send all of your navigation information to other users of Chart Navigator Pro (or Coastal Explorer) simply by selecting Send To. It lets you share your navigation information with other boaters as a seamless import/export package. What a great feature for a flotilla captain, who could develop a float plan with waypoints, routes, marinas and attractions, then distribute this information in one package by email or CD.
ASSESSMENT
Like Coastal Explorer, Chart Navigator Pro is an excellent choice for a wide range of recreational boaters. Weekend or short-season boaters will appreciate Chart Navigator Pro's easy-to-use interface. Its intuitive and standard design lets you minimize time re-familiarizing yourself with the software every time you use your boat. At the same time, with its ability to read international charts and connect to AIS receivers and MARPA-equipped radars, it is full-featured enough for long-distance cruisers.
Maptech's infrastructure is part of the value equation if you choose to purchase Chart Navigator Pro versus Coastal Explorer. Maptech has a strong presence in marine retail outlets, boat shows and on the Internet. For example, Maptech maintains an extensive website for Chart Navigator Pro, including technical documents covering chart and instrument questions; downloads such as software updates and BSB chart registration; and a discussion forum with about 70 topics.
When it's time to update your chart cartography and supplemental data (aerial, satellite, and topographic photos), Maptech sells an update through its site for $129.95 (see link below). This "upgrade" includes updated NOAA raster charts (RNCs), NOAA vector charts (ENCs), Army Corps of Engineers vector charts (IENCs), navigation photos, and an updated database of marina facilities.
To supplement the brief Getting Started Guide included with the software package, additional manuals are available on Maptech's website and through the Help menu on the application itself. Unfortunately, the website download for the User Manual was a disappointing 14-page primer. To create a manual with more detail, we recommend you open and print each of the seven chapters in the Help menu.
That said, Chart Navigator Pro's best customer support is the exceptionally stable code produced by Rose Point. This is an application that is easy to use and – as far as we could tell – impossible to crash. Chart Navigator Pro begins with this well-designed software, then harnesses Maptech's extensive resources, ranging from complete raster chart coverage of the U.S. to extras such as 3D contour maps and photos. Contrary to many false marketing promises, this package truly does include everything you need in one box.
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.