Reviews for Orca: Boat GPS, Charts, Routes

Is your charts available world wide or for selected area only.?

Great app. I would add though, you should make the onscreen elements smaller or scalable in settings. Also the bottom panel should show the coordinates of what's selected before clicking. And when the panel opens up the user should be able to delete the coordinates and enter in any even if there already is a search. And this last one is unimportant but double clicking a moving map is difficult, especially for exact coordinates; instead the user should only have to press a location once.

So I originally gave this a 1 star as when I went through on boarding the app crashed and refuses to open... Not to sure what they done to fix it but it now works perfectly. I've threw my old Garmin out and now solely use this... Any issues and the guys respond to you quickly and are very helpful.

good app. needs depth added to maps.

I've been trying to purchase full version. App keeps saying I'm not connected to internet. Tried to reinstall and connected through either phone internet or WiFi - neither works. Couldn't reach support on the phone. Please help.

The best boating app in existence! Been using it to sail from Norway to the Med, and all the charts are perfect and the automatic routeplanner is superb! Some things that could be made better: - Make it possible to create routes without a internet connection. Just a simple track to waypoint feature would be great! - Maybe get coverage of bridge openings in NL/France, and canal charting. - Adjust the automatic routeplanner so that it keeps better safety distance to shallows and rocks. 10/10!!

This is an INCREDIBLE navigation app. It literally does everything you need, and it's so easy. I'm loving it

Bad and unititive UI. a lot of extra swipes and touches. Major problem is the this app is useless unless one have ORCA core even after paying $130 in subscription it is useless without boat connection that can ONLY be done by buying ORCA core. Don't get suck intopaying subscription. I may change my mind if i can connect to open source server for boat connection.

The app took for ever starting up (plus plan); ai/bot (?) customer service was getting me nowhere. Cancelled my subscription. If all works, promising software. I LL try another time. For now 2 stars, and I am feeling generous. Ps: please do not reach out for more information. That ship has sailed..., and sunk.

Going through navigation apps to replace Navionics after Garmin monetized it out of reach. I hoped this would be the one, but incomplete depth data make it unusable. Three stars as it might work in some places, it just doesn't work where I am or where I want to go.

Charts seem clear enough but the app is a bit clunky. I don't like that it turns on Bluetooth and there is no way of disabling this. I don't (yet) have Orca hardware to connect to so there is no need to have Bluetooth enabled. I have disabled auto connect to Orca hardware but makes no difference. It is bad for device power management and for security. Even worse, Bluetooth is not closed when app is closed. Please could this be fixed to permit Bluetooth to be disabled.

it's great id like to connect to my on board tv for more easy... but I'm still learning about that

UPDATED 09/10/2024 I booked a call with one of your team from your website. No one bothered turning up. Annoying as this looked promising. How do I get this app to consume the data onboard. There is a wifi cloud on board with all navigation data. I can't see any option to connect it to the boat. It also doesn't work with a keyboard and mouse connected. You cannot move the chart using a mouse or keyboard.

To many add in costs. the free version gives you nothing. Charts are sparse and non existent in Vanuatu. wasted money. you are paying premium for a few oth apps rolled into one but they dont do anything well.

There are numerous plus points for Orca but one fundamental flaw. Until information is included for all overhead obstacles including cables this app cannot be relied on for safe navigation. This omission seems most out of line with Orca's stated: "Our chart design follows three key principles: emphasizing features critical for safe navigation" It also makes me wonder what else has been removed? Resolve this issue and I'd very much like to return as a customer.

No customer support on weekends. Automatic routing function very limited. Nmea functions only work with their Core product Charts lack detail, not suitable for navigation.

Hard to connect to Core, repeatedly. Constantly disconnects. You can't show the map and wind compass together like on my old Garmin. They have to be on separate screens. 😞 Why have such a big screen if you can only show 1 item? Also app freezes regularly. You'll be cruising along and notice the wind speed hasn't changed in 10 minutes so you have to reboot.

Great maps, but app has serious issues. I have the paid plan, but the breadcrumb feature is gone, while my friend is on the free version and sees breadcrumbs. Also, some above water rock icons are so small, that they can easily be confused with depth numbers. And why does the aim line only appear when the sometimes annoying navigation panel is turned on?

i am trying this out for a few days. so far 50% useful. i like the look and clean feel. downloading maps of non-us cruising areas is a huge plus. there is no help, " report an issue" does not work, "guides and support" does not work. route creation accepts exactly 1 destination when though i need at least 3 waypoints for a chosen route. i have put them all on the chart but cannot add them to the route. I'm left to hope this review gets someone's attention before i cancel my sub in two days

I had very high hopes for Orca. The current chart plotters on the market all feel a bit old fashioned to me and Orca represents a more modern approach to navigation. Unfortunately, the reality is that although the app looks good and is probably somewhat more intuitive than many chart plotters, there are just too many shortcomings. For me, the main one was the lack of tidal stream information. I guess for many markets this doesn't matter so much but for UK waters this is essential.