So far, I’ve only used my Sailproof 10” for any length of time on board a friend’s 1999-built yacht in Greece.
The good:
* Definite sunlight-readability even in the hottest and sunniest conditions. Apple products don’t like direct sunlight and can stop working when too hot.
* Navionics works well on it as a plotter, while GPS functions like autorouting, tracking and ETA can be very helpful, especially when the yacht’s old-style nav station is down below. I’d say that it’s almost essential at the helm when trying to inch into tricky and unknown anchorages.
* Savvy Navvy is not so successful because it is slower to respond and its charts lack the contrast of Navionics. It’s good for forward planning though. Greek charts for Memory Map are not available so that app was not tested.
* The inbuilt GPS is fast and extremely accurate as it picks up Galileo satellite signals
* The tablet is definitely robust and suitably waterproof (and heavy).
* It can be used anywhere, unlike a typical wired and fixed navigation system and (data connection permitting) can also be used for looking up stuff like the weather on the internet, sending emails, banking, listening to BBC Sounds, etc.
* The touch screen functionality is good
* I’m sure that the yacht’s elderly Raymarine instruments could easily be made to interface with the tablet by installing a cheap Seatalk 1 wifi multiplexer, allowing wind and depth data to be displayed on the tablet. Possibly also providing a close-hauled wind indicator, which the yacht didn’t have.
* The Navionics charts are very much better than the charts on the old Raymarine plotter and are kept up-to-date over the air.
Not so good
* Tethering to an iPhone drops the mobile connection at random intervals but this also seems to be a problem with the iPad. Using a cheap dedicated data SIM may be the way to go with this. Not a problem if you’ve already downloaded the relevant charts and don’t want to change app settings like contour lines.
* Long battery life at full brightness can only be achieved if the tablet screen is switched off at intervals while Navionics continues to track in the background. If left on all the time, battery life is only a few hours (I didn’t measure how many but it may only be four or five). I think that a spare battery and the ability to do USB charging on board is a must. Opening the USB port for charging is a bit fiddly
* Turning the Android screen back on after a rest is a bit convoluted compared to Apple. Android 11 is a bit clunky generally compared to iPadOS.
Overall, a success and much cheaper and less complicated than buying an expensive Raymarine repeater for the yacht’s helm. I look forward to using the Sailproof on my own boat next season in the UK, integrated with my Tacktick instrument data. Particularly using Memory Map raster charts and chartlets.
The Android 11 system is not my favourite but I can live with it. If I was in a hurry, I still found myself referring to Navionics on my elderly iPhone on occasion. If money was no object following a lottery win, I might be tempted to get a very expensive Apple iPad with decent sunlight readability (only the topmost model has this) and an armoured and waterproof case. As its battery isn’t swappable, unlike on the Sailproof, I would have to find a way of USB charging it on the go. Waterproof wireless charging will come to tablets eventually.
I think a large and clear screen is important if it is positioned at a distance from the helm. If it is closer than the front end of a BR20 cockpit (or right in front of the helm on a yacht), then an 8” version with its longer battery life may be more suitable than the 10”.