EDITOR'S NOTE: The End Of The Series

No one can deny that e-charting has come a long way since the early days of a jury-rigged "MacSea" prototype used on world-girdling racers or bootlegged copies of The Capn passing dinghy-to-dinghy among Caribbean cruisers. With laptops now comprising two-thirds of all U.S. computer sales, USB GPS sensors costing less than $100, and Internet access as easy as popping in a wireless card, e-charting has become commonplace and easily within reach of the smallest vessel or even the pathologically techno-phobic.

Many of the insights we've garnered over the course of this series have been discussed in the individual product reviews or the summary in the last three days. But insights on usability and functionality bear repeating and, now at series end, we'd like to offer you our recommendations in several price ranges and the reasoning behind them.

Today's applications are staggering in their extraordinary range of capability, yet none could justifiably be considered too complex or impossible to master by the average boater. Basic needs such as displaying electronic charts, creating waypoints and routes and integrating instruments are standard fare. You can also link a complete personal photo library to your charts, stream video footage from your engine room, cruise over a fishing ground to create your own 3D bathymetric charts, display the location of your buddy's boat and download satellite weather imagery. The list of available features goes on and on.

More impressive is the fact that, today, these tools and resources are not the sole purview of large companies. In the final shakeout, three of our five picks were produced by "small shops." In fact, six of the 14 applications have programming teams of less than three! The small companies did well because they were late entrants in the market, learning from others' mistakes and providing a boat load of functionality at a reasonable price. Their applications are clean and fast, engineered by first-rate programmers rather than committees of people struggling with legacy-ware. Unlike the past, small companies are now safe to choose as partners and should be given your consideration.

And so, we give you our top picks. Similar to many marketplace comparisons, we divided 14 applications into five categories, grouped by price. (We actually reviewed 15 software packages, but one of them, CARIS Easy View, is a chart reader rather than a full-features application, and was therefore left out of our final tally.)

We recognize this is an imperfect parsing in that many lower-cost packages often contain some "higher-end" functionality. Conversely, some higher-cost packages omit (or charge extra) for certain features that are standard in their inexpensive brethren. But you'll notice that price does in fact gather many of the "similar" packages into familiar clusters. In the end, you'll need to carefully inventory the features you desire and the functions you need, and then make value-based tradeoffs.

FREE TO $100 CATEGORY

This includes SeaClear II, reviewed October of 2007; Software-On-Board, reviewed January of 2008; and NavimaQ, reviewed October of 2007.

This category ended up a toss-up between two one-trick ponies. Although NavimaQ had some unique features and easy-to-use Macintosh functionality, it really came down to a free program that only reads raster chart formats versus a more fully-featured program that only reads C-Map charts.

Although Software-On-Board delivers good functionality for a bargain price, the decision was made easy for two reasons. DigiBOAT is still struggling with stability issues and has yet to deliver on all of their documented features. And we cannot, in good conscience, recommend any e-charting package to U.S. boaters that does not support NOAA's free raster format charts. (Free S-57 support is less important because neither NOAA nor the Army Corps of Engineers have completed the conversion of their chart catalog to this vector format.) NOAA BSB charts are simply too great a resource to ignore. Unlike any other country, the U.S. issues free, regularly updated, official cartography.

Although a bit Spartan, SeaClear II is the clear pick of the litter in this category for its price (free), clean interface, excellent use of screen real estate, simple ease-of-use, capable instrument support and unique ability to scan and geo-reference paper charts by hand.

$100 TO $200 CATEGORY

This includes MacENC, reviewed in October of 2007, and TIKI Navigator, reviewed in December of 2007.

This, in fact, may have been our most difficult category to judge. Unfortunately, for many the choice here may be a no-brainer. As the ads ask, "Are you a PC or are you a Mac?" But that would be letting the tail wag the dog. This price point is especially attractive to boaters. But with only two options, is the choice that simple?

TIKI Navigator was, by far, the easiest package to learn and use of all the packages we reviewed. That surprised us, because a Macintosh typically takes the honors here. With TIKI's clever non-traditional interface, operation is streamlined and screen real estate is maximized. It also proved extraordinarily responsive. TIKI included many features MacENC does not, such as one-button man overboard creation (a priority safety feature), split windows, "steer-to" functionality, buddy boating, converting tracks to routes and supplemental data support. TIKI also did a much better job in route creation and range/bearing calculation.

In the end, however, MacENC slightly edged out TIKI Navigator in this category for its vector chart support, GPX data exchange, integrated GPS transfer, GRIB weather capability, waypoint and route searching, chart printing, Google Earth waypoint and route exchange, and chart management capabilities.

But it was almost too close to call. For many, this will come back to a PC versus Mac debate.

$200 TO $400 CATEGORY

This includes Marine ENC, reviewed in October of 2007; BoatCruiser, reviewed in December of 2007; and Coastal Explorer, reviewed in November of 2007.

This category introduces you to the landscape of higher-end packages and their specialized features. Not only is the basic functionality of each program expanded and improved, but more chart formats and supplemental data sources are also included. Capabilities such as video camera support, full-featured tactical sail optimization, and side-by-side Google Earth viewing are possible. Additionally, customization of the user experience and of the data metrics becomes a standard inclusion.

This fall, we labeled Marine ENC the "Swiss Army knife" of e-charting software. Packed with features to attract varied sportsmen, there seems to be something that any user would find attractive. Fugawi also led the pack with NOAA free chart integration and Navionics proprietary vector card support. The Navionics relationship has been expanded and Fugawi demonstrated Platinum chart integration here at the Miami Boat Show this week.

NavSim has done an excellent job in their short existence. It is the most up-to-date application in user interface and general computing sense. BoatCruiser proved highly customizable, with frequent automated software updates and many features not typically found at this price point (such as track logging, a fuel calculator and sail route optimization). And, within weeks of their December review, an excellent automated chart updating capability was released just in time for Christmas!

However, as often takes place in these navigation software "shootouts," Coastal Explorer clearly distances itself from the pack. This program sets the standard for other e-charting packages. It seems to have all of the features one would reasonably care about, in an extremely well-thought-out and stable program, at a more-than-fair price.

Ex-Microsoft employees deliver a strict Windows look-and-feel and functionality, including multi-level "undo" capability. Benchmark search capability of literally millions of integrated Coast Pilot entries and points-of-interest (POIs) compliment a nice split window implementation, free weather downloads and solid waypoint and route management. A GPS port wizard, auto-route planning, full GPX support and robust instrument interfacing are icing on the proverbial cake.

$400 TO $1,000 CATEGORY

This included The Capn, reviewed in December of 2007; Nobeltec VNS, reviewed in November of 2007; Chart Navigator Pro, reviewed in November of 2007; and Raytech RNS, reviewed in November of 2007.

Many popular applications reside in this category. Consumers have been conditioned to think "about $500" for an e-charting package and have traditionally looked to stalwart offerings such as The Capn, Nobeltec VNS, and "Maptech" to satisfy their computer-based navigational needs. Relative newcomer Raytech RNS has come on the scene and is particularly attractive to boaters who own Raymarine electronics, such as the company's C-, E-, and G-Series.

All of these products are extremely capable and will fulfill the expectations and nautical needs of most boaters. The issue is horses for courses. Which of these thoroughbreds is right for you?

The Capn, as we stated in our December review, is getting fairly long in the tooth. Nobeltec is in the process of a chart format upheaval. (Much of which will presumably be stabilized by the Spring of 2008.) And while Raytech RNS is a capable relatively inexpensive addition to a Raymarine network, it remains a pricey, less-featured standalone e-charting application.

We almost feel lazy giving the nod to Maptech's Chart Navigator Pro, which is built upon the same base program as Coastal Explorer. But the truth remains that Coastal Explorer is a remarkable application, and in adding 15 DVDs of data–including complete U.S. raster and vector chart coverage, aerial navigational photos, shoreline topographic maps, satellite imagery and 3D bathymetric charts–for a mere $100 price premium, the Maptech-branded version merits serious consideration.

$1,000 PLUS CATEGORY

This includes MaxSea and Nobeltec Admiral, both reviewed in January of 2008.

Now who in the world needs an e-charting application that starts at more than $1,000? That's a fair question. It turns out, lots of people. And, as we discovered, these folks' boats weren't necessarily captained mega-yachts or around-the-world racers. No one blinks when you discuss multiple, networked chartplotters in the cabin and the bridge–or at a steering station and the nav desk. But what if your "chartplotter" is a PC?

What if you do have a specific need for sea floor mapping, competitive-level optimized sail routing or distant passagemaking and Great Circle route planning? Or maybe, like many of us, you simply don't know what your next adventure may be and where it might take you? A modular, extensible, without-limits solution that you only have to learn once may give you peace of mind.

In this category, we favor MaxSea. Both programs are so feature-rich that one reasonably has to assume a more complicated equipment setup and application learning curve. But MaxSea gets you out of the box and up and running quickly and with minimal hair-pulling.

It also edges out Nobeltec Admiral in better implementation of many common features and user expectations, including documentation, image quality, data exchange, waypoint and route management and search capabilities.

MaxSea also includes several features that Nobeltec does not have, or charges a premium for. This includes integrated and automated GRIB weather downloads, GPX data exchange, a tabbed-interface with layers, chart format support (ARCS, Seafarer, C-Map), weather routing and unequaled responsiveness.

And to top it off, MaxSea is available in a staggering array of base configurations and options. As we reported in our January review, even those looking in the "about $500" price range should investigate MaxSea Navigator+.

A LONG TRIP

Well, that's our series and we're sticking to it! After six long months flogging 15 very different PC and Macintosh e-charting applications, it comes down to 19 articles and 8 sidebars, around 80,000 words, and just five picks.

We hope you agree with our choices. If not, we invite you to re-read the articles and then drop us an email at authors@managingthewaterway.com. We'd love to hear from you! Any comments, clarifications, and corrections will guide us as we springboard from this series to our forthcoming book.

"Get Onboard with E-Charting" is due to be published this fall. The book will update the Mad Mariner software reviews and contain sections on the history and perspective of electronic position finding, e-charting basics, chartplotters, viewers and planners, full-featured software applications, electronic cartography, external sensors and instrument data, software data exchange, the interoperability of hardware, the future of e-charting, tips and troubleshooting, and lots of other information and links to relevant e-charting issues.

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.