Paul I. wrote:
Get a real marine GPS. We spend all this money on your boats and you want to use an Ipad?
Safety is first! You can't beat a marine GPS for, daylight viewing, there water proof, can take a beating and keeps on ticking and you can integrate it with the rest of your systems. More so your VHF that can send out a distress call in 3sec with you position if hooked up to you GPS.
The Navionics app runs the same maps as the $1000 Lowrance chartplotters do. And faster. Much faster. With internet connectivity that updates with user inputted content like...downed tree, rocks, etc
My Samsung S4 Active is IP67 rated. It stays on the windshield mount if it's sunny or rainy. I had a Garmin 441 GPS with the latest maps, it was garbage compared to it.
If your just boating and not trans atlantic crossing with autopilots connected to your gps, the iPad app solution is just as good for the price. Most GPS are not even water proof, but water resistant (if that). For the price of a fixed Marine GPS that will never upgrade or change its format, an iPad app that still connects to the satellites is perfect, but don't go offshore with out a back up (as with anything gps).