Observed arrival · 2026-09-16
Helm Boating, for when your chart needs to know about the boat
A forthcoming marine-navigation app for US coastal waters, rivers, and lakes, with draft-aware routing, merged depth data, tides, weather, AIS, and offline chart packs.
Field notes
Helm describes a depth model assembled from NOAA electronic navigational charts, USACE eHydro surveys, state lake-elevation data, and live tide information. Its route planner is intended to use a vessel’s entered draft, show the shallowest point on a leg, and suggest calmer departure windows. The site lists 161 downloadable chart packs and says charts, routing, depth, tides, and anchor alarms will remain available without cell service after download. The App Store release is presented as forthcoming.
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Editorial observations of this landing page, not a rating.
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