Comparison

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.

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read 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!

About

Apparent Wind Calculator

Features
Read 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

Helmsman's Kit4 screens
Apparent Wind Calculator4 screens

Verdict

The call

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

CostPrice Β· In-app purchases Β· Ads Β· Monetization

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.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

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.

Scorecard3 real differences Β· 5 level
Helmsman's Kit versus Apparent Wind Calculator: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHelmsman's KitApparent Wind Calculator
Price$1.99$0.99 β€” better
Positive reviews100.0% of reviewsβ€”
Update frequencyEvery 7 monthsEvery 2 months β€” better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidβ€”
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod β€” betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS13.0 β€” better15.1
Further details β€” not scored
Size5 MB25 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDr. Harald MerkelAdam Harvey

In-app purchases

None

Helmsman's Kit

No in-app purchases

None

Apparent Wind Calculator

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Helmsman's Kit free?
Helmsman's Kit costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Apparent Wind Calculator free?
Apparent Wind Calculator costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do Helmsman's Kit or Apparent Wind Calculator have ads?
Neither Helmsman's Kit nor Apparent Wind Calculator shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Helmsman's Kit or Apparent Wind Calculator?
Helmsman's Kit ships an update every 7 months, and Apparent Wind Calculator every 2 months. Most recently, Helmsman's Kit was updated on October 24, 2026 and Apparent Wind Calculator on October 13, 2026.

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