Navigation & Weather Tools for Offshore Sailing

Professional offshore passage-making requires reliable systems and accurate data. This page collects the tools, software, and equipment we use on Paikea and recommend to fellow sailors.

Weather Routing & Forecasting

PredictWind – Our go-to for offshore weather. We use the professional version for GRIB files, routing, and the Offshore App for satellite communication. Join PredictWind using our Affiliate Link

PredictWind Education Portal – Master weather routing with their professional education series. Access PredictWind Education Portal

Navigation Systems

  • Primary: Navionics on Android tablet, qtVlm on laptop, Raymarine E120W chartplotter, Sailmon sailing display
  • Communications: Iridium GO with external antenna, Starlink maritime, AIS Raymarine 500, VHF Garmin 100i
  • Autopilots: Raymarine (primary), Raspberry Pi/Arduino Pi pilot (secondary)
  • Anchoring: Raymarine anchor alarm, Anchor Lite (Android), Navily, Google Maps

For Paikea’s specific installation details, visit the Navigation Systems section in our Refit Log

Performance Analysis Tools

We use specialized software to analyze sail data and route efficiently:

  • Live Polar Analyser / qtVlm – Real-time polar analysis and routing
  • Polar builder / OpenCPN – Custom polar diagram generation
  • Excel & Project Libre Calc – Spreadsheet analysis and project tracking
  • Sail Performance Analysis / Sailpack Vision – Sail shape optimization

For Paikea’s specific details, visit the Performance Analysis Tools section in our Refit Log

Design & Engineering Tools

For composite engineering and boat building tools, visit the Composite Engineering Tools page

For sailing techniques and on-the-water tutorials, visit Sailing Techniques & Skills

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