Simrad: Companion for Boaters

Analysis by Appcrazy

Boating apps are easy to judge badly. A map can look impressive on a phone and still be awkward when you are standing at the helm, dealing with glare, movement, a weak signal, or a route that changes at the last minute. I spent time with Simrad: Companion for Boaters to see whether it feels like a practical navigation companion rather than just another chart viewer. My overall impression is positive: it is most useful when you prepare before leaving, keep your chart view uncluttered, and treat the phone as part of a wider boating routine instead of expecting it to replace every instrument on board.

Developed by Navico Norway AS, this free app sits in the Maps & Navigation category and is aimed squarely at people who cruise, fish, or move around coastal waters with a Simrad setup. Its central appeal is nautical charting, not road-style turn-by-turn navigation. That distinction matters. I would recommend it to a boat owner who wants chart access in a familiar mobile format, but I would not choose it as my only source of navigational awareness on an unfamiliar passage.

How I use it before and during a trip

A calmer baseline workflow starts before casting off

The most reliable way to use this app is to divide the trip into preparation and monitoring. Before leaving, I open the chart, look over the whole area, and then zoom into the places where decisions are likely to matter: the marina entrance, narrow channels, exposed turns, and the destination approach. This is more useful than immediately following a moving position marker because it gives me a sense of the water around the route rather than only the next few minutes.

I also make a habit of checking the chart at several zoom levels. A close view helps with local detail, while a wider view reveals whether a planned course creates an unnecessary detour or passes close to hazards and restricted-looking areas. The important insight is that zooming is not merely a readability adjustment. It changes the kind of question I am asking: “What is immediately around me?” at close range, and “Does this route make sense in the wider area?” when pulled back.

On a typical afternoon, I might use the app while preparing a short trip from a marina to a quieter anchorage. I first inspect the departure area, then follow the coastline outward, and finally study the destination approach. If the weather or traffic makes the original plan unattractive, the chart gives me a quick way to compare an alternative without starting the entire planning process again. That makes the app valuable even before the boat moves.

Once underway, I prefer short checks rather than staring continuously at the screen. I glance at the position, confirm the surrounding chart context, and then return my attention to the water, instruments, and conditions. A phone is a useful second viewpoint, but it should not encourage tunnel vision. On a moving boat, screen brightness, reflections, spray, and battery use can all turn a good chart into a poor primary display.

Advertisements

This workflow also answers an important practical question: can the app replace a chartplotter? In my experience, it is better understood as a companion. It can help with planning and provide a convenient mobile chart view, but a phone does not automatically give the same physical integration, visibility, mounting, or dedicated operating environment as equipment installed for navigation. I would use it to support decisions, not to remove every other layer of awareness.

Settings deserve attention before the first real outing

The first setting I would check is the map presentation. Nautical charts contain a lot of information, and a view that looks detailed at home can become visually tiring outdoors. I spend a moment deciding whether the current zoom and display density let me distinguish the information I actually need. If the screen feels crowded, I zoom out or in deliberately instead of repeatedly pinching without a plan.

Take a Look at Our Blog

Location behavior is another part of the setup worth testing while stationary. I want to know how quickly the position updates and whether the marker remains easy to interpret when I change direction. Testing this at the dock is more sensible than discovering during a departure that the phone is placed where the signal is unreliable or that the display orientation is inconvenient.

I also recommend checking the phone’s general display and power habits before using the app for a long day. This is not a special feature of the application; it is a realistic boating precaution. A bright screen is easier to read, but it consumes more power. Automatic locking may save battery, but it can interrupt a quick glance. The right balance depends on the phone, mounting position, sunlight, and trip length, so I would test the setup rather than assume the default configuration is ideal.

Chart preparation is especially important when the route may leave dependable connectivity behind. I would not wait until the boat is already moving to decide whether the information I need is available for the intended area. A sensible habit is to open the relevant coastal region in advance, inspect it carefully, and keep a backup plan for navigation if the phone cannot provide the expected view. This is one of the clearest differences between casual map use and responsible boating use.

The app is free to install, but it includes in-app purchases ranging from $14.99 to $89.99 per item. That means I would explore the basic experience first and only pay after understanding which chart coverage or functions are relevant to my own boating area. The purchase decision should follow a real route-planning need, not curiosity about every available option. For occasional users, the cost may be harder to justify than for someone who regularly cruises and expects to use the chart tools throughout the season.

Small habits make repeated trips faster

Experienced use is less about finding a secret button and more about reducing repeated decisions. I like to keep a consistent order: inspect the departure, review the route area, examine the destination, then check the return or diversion possibilities. Following the same sequence makes it less likely that I will focus on the attractive part of a trip and neglect the less interesting but more demanding approach.

Another useful pattern is to compare the chart with what I can see around me rather than treating the screen as an unquestionable answer. Shoreline shape, buoys, traffic, tide, visibility, and weather all add context that a mobile display cannot replace. If the view on the screen and the real scene appear inconsistent, I slow down and investigate instead of assuming that a quick gesture or position marker has solved the problem.

I also find it helpful to separate planning zoom from monitoring zoom. At home or at the dock, I zoom out to understand the route and nearby alternatives. During movement, I use a closer view only when I need local context. This prevents a common mistake: navigating with an excessively close chart that hides the wider situation, or staying zoomed out so far that nearby detail becomes ambiguous.

For a repeat journey, I would use the same departure and arrival checks every time, even if the route feels familiar. Familiar water can create overconfidence, especially when conditions, traffic, lighting, or the boat’s handling have changed. The app is well suited to this habit because opening a chart is quick, but the discipline still comes from the user.

There is also a practical social use. If another person on board is handling the phone while I steer, I can ask for a specific view rather than handing over the entire task: show the destination approach, widen the chart, or check the next turn in context. Clear requests reduce confusion and make the app more useful for shared decision-making. This is a modest advantage, but it matters on a small boat where one person may be busy with lines, passengers, or the helm.

Where the companion approach works best

The app’s strongest role is supporting boaters who already think in terms of charts and route context. It is a natural fit for coastal cruising, day trips, destination planning, and checking an area before committing to a course. Someone who owns Simrad equipment may also appreciate having a mobile companion that fits into the same general boating workflow, rather than relying only on a generic road map that treats water as empty space.

It is less suitable for a person who wants the simplicity of a car-navigation app. There is no reason to expect nautical chart reading to feel as automatic as following a colored road line. Water routes are affected by depth, hazards, access, weather, and local conditions, so the user needs more judgement. If you are looking for an app that tells you exactly where to turn with minimal interpretation, this is not the category of tool I would choose.

Compared with a general mapping application, the nautical focus is the main advantage. Ordinary map apps are excellent for finding a marina address or planning the drive to a launch point, but they are not designed around the questions a boater asks on the water. Compared with a dedicated chartplotter, the phone format is more portable and familiar, while the installed device is usually better suited to continuous helm use. I see Simrad’s app occupying the useful middle ground between those two experiences.

The audience is also reflected in its age classification: it is rated for Everyone. That makes it approachable for a household where different people may help with planning, although the rating should not be confused with a guarantee that every user understands safe navigation. A young passenger can look at the chart, but an adult with appropriate boating knowledge should remain responsible for decisions.

Limits I would plan around

The biggest limitation is not a missing button; it is the danger of giving a phone too much authority. A mobile chart can be affected by battery level, visibility, device placement, connectivity, and distraction. Even if the app is working perfectly, the person using it still needs to interpret the water and maintain a broader lookout. I would carry an independent backup appropriate to the trip, particularly when travelling somewhere unfamiliar or when conditions are changing.

Another limitation is the learning curve. The app may be easy to open, but nautical charts are not automatically easy to read. New boaters may need time to understand symbols, scale, and the difference between seeing information and acting on it safely. I would spend a quiet session learning the chart view before relying on it during a busy departure. That preparation is more valuable than trying to learn while passengers are waiting and the boat is moving.

Paid content can create friction as well. The free starting point is helpful, but the range of purchase prices means users should think about coverage and long-term value. A person who takes one boating holiday may prefer a simpler, occasional solution. A regular cruiser may find the investment easier to justify because planning and chart review become part of every outing. I would avoid buying anything until I had matched the available option to my actual cruising area and frequency.

Performance expectations should remain realistic. I would not assume that a phone version can reproduce every advantage of a dedicated marine display, nor would I expect it to solve weather, depth, collision awareness, or seamanship by itself. The app can show useful chart information, but it cannot turn an inexperienced user into a navigator. That is not a criticism unique to this product; it is the central trade-off of using a compact mobile companion.

What the current release means for a new user

The app was released on May 20, 2020, and the current version is 4.6.0. I mention this because version awareness matters when troubleshooting: if the interface on your phone looks different from an older guide or video, check the installed release before assuming you have missed a setting. I would also keep the app updated through the normal platform process, especially before a planned trip, rather than waiting until departure day.

Its audience appears established rather than experimental. The app has more than one hundred thousand installs, a 4.3 average from around two thousand ratings, and about two hundred written reviews. Those figures suggest a meaningful user base and generally favorable reception, but I would still judge it against my own boating needs. A popular chart companion can be a poor fit if it does not cover the waters I use in the way I expect, or if I need dedicated hardware integration above all else.

For a first session, I would keep the test simple. Open the app at home, locate a familiar marina, explore the surrounding water at different zoom levels, and then repeat the exercise at the dock. Check whether the display remains readable in daylight and whether the phone can stay secure and charged. Only after that would I use it as part of a longer trip. This staged approach gives me useful confidence without pretending that a living-room test proves everything about a day at sea.

My verdict after building a repeatable routine

I like Simrad: Companion for Boaters most when I treat it as a preparation and awareness tool. Its nautical chart focus gives it a clear purpose, and the mobile format makes it convenient to consult away from a fixed helm display. The best results come from repeatable habits: inspect the whole route, study the difficult approaches, choose a readable view, prepare before connectivity becomes uncertain, and keep the phone in a supporting role.

I would recommend it to Simrad users, coastal boaters, and anyone who wants a more relevant chart experience than a general-purpose map can provide. I would be more cautious about recommending it to a complete beginner who expects automatic directions, or to an offshore navigator looking for one device to handle every safety requirement. In those cases, a proper training routine, dedicated marine equipment, and independent backup matter more than the convenience of an app.

The free entry point makes it easy to try, while the optional purchases mean the long-term value depends on how often and where you boat. My advice is to test the chart workflow on familiar water, identify the exact planning problems you want it to solve, and then decide whether the paid options are worthwhile. The app is at its best when it supports good boating habits rather than trying to replace them.