Argo Navigation vs Keeldragger Sailing SoCal

Argo is a boat navigation app you can actually use for free. Not a trial. You get NOAA charts and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers depth surveys for US waters, 500,000+ marinas, anchorages and fuel docks, hazards reported by other boaters, and routes you plot yourself, with ETA and fuel use. On your first trip, open the map to see how deep it is and read what other boaters say about the anchorage before you drop the hook. A hundred trips in, you're checking how old the Army Corps survey is before you run a shoaling inlet, or laying out a few route options and picking one underway. Think of Argo as the boating buddy who knows every good dock bar and never asks for gas money. FREE FOR EVERY BOATER Navigate • Up-to-date NOAA charts plus Army Corps (USACE) surveys you can filter by survey date • Shoal areas, dredged channels, restricted areas and recommended tracks on the coast and inland rivers • See your GPS position and speed on the chart • Search buoys, beacons, lights, wrecks and mile markers • Record your track and use Return to follow it back • Depth shading presets, including two built for bright sun glare Plan • Search 500,000+ places, from boat ramps and moorings to non-ethanol fuel and dock bars • Read reviews from boaters who've been there • Plot your own route on the map and see distance, ETA and fuel use • A trip log of everywhere you've been Connect • See other Argo boaters on the water and share your live location with family ashore • Join your boat club, marina or rally group • Share routes, places and trips, and post photos and video • Report hazards and see the ones other boaters have reported • Keep fishing spots private or share them with your group One account works on every phone and tablet you own, free. ARGO PREMIUM, WHEN YOU WANT MORE Smarter routes • Autoroute plans around shallow water, hazards and restricted areas based on your boat's draft, height and safety buffer • Run inside or outside, or set Autoroute to stay in the marked channel • Save several routes to your chart, start a track, and choose between them underway • Have a sailboat and a powerboat? Save both, each with its own draft and height Marine weather and tides • 7-day marine forecast: weather, wind, wave height and period, tides and currents • Wind, rain and lightning overlays on your chart • 6,000+ tide and current stations on your chart, with predictions as far ahead as you want • Tide variance right next to your depth gauge On the water • Offline charts download automatically around your location and home port, for when you lose signal • Connect over NMEA (Wi-Fi gateway) for depth, speed and heading from your electronics, plus AIS targets • Custom depth shading and contours, so shallow water and fishing drop-offs stand out • Distance, time, bearing and course to your next turn, always in view Logbook and planning tools • Import and export GPX routes and tracks between Argo and your chartplotter • Download a PDF trip report to document sea time toward your captain's license Coverage: US coastal waters, the ICW, inland lakes and rivers, Canada and the Caribbean. WHO'S BEHIND ARGO Argo is family-owned. Our founder, Captain Jeff, grew up boating on the Chesapeake Bay. He built Argo so the local knowledge usually shared between friends at the dock is on the map for everyone. Many of our features started as boater requests. Send yours to support@argonav.io. Argo is a navigation aid. Always check official charts and conditions, and use your own judgment on the water. Plan. Navigate. Connect. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://www.argonav.io/privacy/

Keeldragger Sailing SoCal is a free reference for sailing Catalina, the Channel Islands and the Southern California Bight: for planning, under way and at anchor. It brings together charts, mariner's information and first-hand guidance written by sailors who have sailed and anchored here. It puts the information in front of you; the skipper decides. KD CHARTS, NOW IN 3D • KD Charts are Keeldragger's own charts, drawn from NOAA's electronic navigational chart (ENC) data and updated as NOAA publishes. Download them once at the dock; they work with no signal. • 3D view (Preview): zoom in and the islands and coast rise in relief under satellite imagery, with KD Charts on the water, waypoints and landmarks from Avalon's Casino to Ensenada. It streams as you look, or download it for no signal. • Island topography: contours and spot heights ashore, beside the soundings. FIRST-HAND GUIDANCE • Every published waypoint is written by a sailor who has been there: approach, holding, depth, moorings, contacts and photos, credited to its author. • Each anchorage's exposure, with a comfort forecast from the NWS swell. • Conditions reports and photos from other boats, shown with their age. Your own notes are never overwritten. MARINER'S INFORMATION • From Coast Pilot: NOAA's U.S. Coast Pilot 7 on 43 waypoints, entrance cautions on the chart and on planned legs, and "Read the rule" on charted areas that cite a regulation. • Military & security zones: 61 areas with their rules, from Navy danger zones to Coast Guard security zones, and San Clemente Island's scheduled closures. • Marine protected areas, and La Jolla's swim and 5-knot areas. • Coast Guard Notices to Mariners, with hazard areas drawn on the chart. PLANNING • NWS marine forecasts in their own words, coloured against your own wind and sea limits, and live buoy reports. Wind, seas and current animated three days ahead. • Routes drawn on the chart or typed point by point, with each leg's bearing, distance and time at your speed. Shipping lanes, land, an after-dark arrival, charted shallows and Coast Pilot cautions are flagged once; the decision stays yours. UNDER WAY • Connect your boat's NMEA Wi-Fi gateway for AIS targets, a collision (CPA) watch and an instrument display. The app only listens. • MOB: one tap marks the spot; the screen becomes bearing, distance and elapsed time. • The ship's log keeps itself: passages open and close on their own, and each prints as a PDF with its track. • Night mode: red on black, dusk to dawn. AT ANCHOR • Anchor alarm with a rode helper, and wind, depth and feed-loss alarms, which keep watching with the screen locked. • Shore Watch: the device left aboard sends a drag or an alarm to your phone ashore. • Apple Watch: alarms with Mute and Acknowledge, instruments, and the bearing and ETA to your waypoint. FOLLOW ME AND BUDDY BOATS • Share My Boat is off until you turn it on. While a passage is open it sends your position, boat details, instruments and the AIS you receive to Keeldragger, and anyone signed in to a Keeldragger account can follow you live. • Buddy Nearby, and messages to a buddy, a sharing boat or a group, with check-ins, report and block. Not for emergencies: use VHF 16. YOUR DATA • No account needed. No ads, no analytics, no tracking. • Syncs through your own iCloud. An optional free Keeldragger account adds end-to-end encrypted sync with the web edition (app.socal.keeldragger.com) and other devices, and is needed for Follow Me and Messages (Messages are not end-to-end encrypted). Data from NOAA, the NWS, the U.S. Coast Guard, USGS, USDA, Whale Safe and others, credited in the app. NOT FOR NAVIGATION. Keeldragger Sailing SoCal is reference and planning material. KD Charts, the 3D view and the NOAA chart are not official and not certified for navigation, and forecasts can be wrong. Navigate by official charts and publications, proper instruments and your own eyes. The skipper remains responsible for the vessel and crew.