Helmsman's Kit vs Apparent Wind Calculator
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side β with what reviewers say about each.
Helmsman's Kit
This navigation app provides essential yacht cockpit features, including a spherical compass, man-over-board alerts, and anchor watch. It offers offline charts, weather overlays, and marine instrument displays for a comprehensive sailing experience.
- Spherical compass display
- Man-over-board button with direction/distance
- Anchor watch with forwarding
- Offline chart caching
- Weather overlay (wind, waves, temp, pressure)
- Marine instruments display (position, heading, speed)
- Track export in GPX format
Read full descriptionHide full description
This app combines the essential features you need in the cockpit of your yacht, optimized for easy and fast usage. β’ Display of a spherical compass as you are used to. β’ Man-over-board button, display direction/distance with compass. β’ Anchor watch with forwarding to a second device. β’ Bearing compass. β’ Charts with sea signs. β’ Offline charts by caching of all chart access. β’ Weather overlay: wind, waves, temperature, pressure. β’ Tracking optimized for boats. β’ Full access to and export of the tracks in standard format (GPX). β’ Post images of your tracks on social media. β’ Marine instruments display with the standard values: Position, Heading, Speed over ground, Course over Ground, Heel, Log, Average speed, Time. No account or registration required, even not for forwarding the anchor watch alarm to a second iPhone or iPad!
Apparent Wind Calculator
Read full descriptionHide full description
Apparent Wind Calculator takes the maths out of one of sailing's most important concepts. Feed in your true wind angle, true wind speed, and boat speed β and instantly see your apparent wind angle and speed, visualised as a live vector diagram. Whether passage planning, under sail or just getting your head around why the wind always seems to come from forward when you bear away, this app makes it immediately clear. BOAT POLAR Load a polar table and the app sets your boat speed automatically based on your true wind angle and wind speed. Built-in presets cover small, medium, and large monohulls and catamarans β or enter your own target speeds for a custom polar. With auto-fill enabled, every diagram you see reflects realistic performance numbers for your boat, not a guess. FEATURES β’ Live vector diagram showing true wind, apparent wind, and boat velocity as scaled arrows β updates in real time as you move the sliders β’ Monohull and catamaran boat graphics that respond to your apparent wind angle β’ Boat polar table with presets for monohulls and catamarans, fully editable β’ Auto-fill boat speed from your polar for realistic results β’ Point of sail readout β from Close Hauled to Deep Run β’ Port and starboard tack display β’ Works entirely offline, no account required WHO IT'S FOR Sailing students learning the theory, racers checking their VMG angles, cruisers planning passages, and coaches explaining wind shifts to crew. The apparent wind is what your sails actually feel. This app helps you understand it.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Apparent Wind Calculator at every 2 months against Helmsman's Kit's every 7 months. Apparent Wind Calculator also leads on price ($0.99 vs $1.99). Helmsman's Kit's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.1). On ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price Β· Rating Β· Positive reviews Β· Number of ratings Β· Update frequency Β· Ads Β· In-app purchases Β· Monetization Β· Best chart rank Β· Devices Β· Requires iOS
Helmsman's Kit costs $1.99 and Apparent Wind Calculator $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Helmsman's Kit ships an update every 7 months, Apparent Wind Calculator every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Helmsman's Kit | Apparent Wind Calculator |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $1.99 | $0.99 β better |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | β |
| Update frequency | Every 7 months | Every 2 months β better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | β |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod β better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 β better | 15.1 |
| Further details β not scored | ||
| Size | 5 MB | 25 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Dr. Harald Merkel | Adam Harvey |
In-app purchases
Helmsman's Kit
No in-app purchases
Apparent Wind Calculator
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Helmsman's Kit free?
Is Apparent Wind Calculator free?
Do Helmsman's Kit or Apparent Wind Calculator have ads?
Which is updated more often, Helmsman's Kit or Apparent Wind Calculator?
Other comparisons















