A marine navigation app for US waters: NOAA charts, draft-aware routing, depth merged from four sources, tides, currents, weather, AIS and a logbook. It runs on iPhone and iPad, natively on both.
Helm comes with a free trial, then continues as a subscription. You can try the whole app before deciding.
Not yet — Helm is in review with Apple. Leave your email on the home page and you will get one message when it is live.
Loop Mobile FZCO, a software company registered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The same company name appears on the App Store listing.
Official NOAA electronic navigational charts, with satellite imagery and a night palette as alternative styles.
Yes. Coastal, intracoastal, rivers and inland lakes. Lake depth comes from state elevation surveys rather than NOAA charts, so inland water is not a blank space.
Weather falls back to a global model. Charts, tides and currents are built around NOAA and are strongest in US waters.
Yes. Download the chart packs for your area first, and charts, depth, routing, tides, the anchor alarm and track recording all keep working. Live weather and AIS need a connection.
161. You download the ones covering the water you actually run.
Four sources merged: NOAA charts, USACE eHydro dredging surveys, state lake elevation data, and the live tide — reported with the date the measurement was taken. Full explanation here.
No. A sounder tells you what is under the hull right now. Helm tells you what to expect ahead and how much to trust it.
Yes, natively — a real iPad layout rather than a stretched phone screen.
Yes. Routes, markers and saved spots sync, so a passage planned on the iPad is on the phone at the dock.
Yes, Helm imports GPX.
Yes. Set a radius and it wakes you if you drag. It runs on GPS, so it works without a signal.
Yes, nearby vessels on AIS, on the same chart you are navigating with.
Yes. Save spots, read the depth contours around them and return from your recorded trips.
Helm Boating