New equipment: Orca co-pilot navigation system

Norwegian marine tech start-up Orca has unveiled its first product: Orca co-pilot, a navigation system for boaters, which the company says goes even further than MFD’s current crop in terms of usability and control. .

Orca claims that the Orca co-pilot is able to display nautical charts, automatically finds routes with the push of a button, and advises the user of weather changes and difficult situations through his co-pilot information.

“Traditional chart plotters and multifunction displays have failed to meet the expectations of the modern boater. They are difficult to install, learn and use, ”says Jorge Sevillano, CEO of Orca.

This appears to be the key offering from the Orca co-pilot, removing some of the notorious complexity of MFDs to offer a simple and easy-to-use electronic navigation system.

Indeed, a look at the available functions shows that faced with some of the most powerful MFDs on the market, the Orca co-pilot is a relatively clean system.

But the goal is not to produce an MFD that offers all the features, but rather Orca has set itself the goal of creating an MFD system that provides everything the average sailor will need in one package.

Orca co-pilot core

At the heart of the system is the Orca Core which plugs into a NMEA 2000 backbone via a micro-C connector, allowing access to various NMEA 2000 devices already on board.

The core contains a 9-axis inertial motion unit, a compass and a 10Hz GNSS receiver. This allows the Orca Core to determine the location and movement of your boat with high accuracy and update rate. .

Via these, the Orca Core shares the location, heading and orientation of the boat with other devices on the network.

Installing a kernel would essentially replace traditional NMEA 2000 GPS and compass units – providing location data for your VHF, autopilot, and similar devices.

The Orca Core also wirelessly broadcasts information from the NMEA 2000 network and its built-in sensors.

Co-pilot of Orca Applications Display and Mobile

The Orca display is basically the MFD part of the system.

The 10.1 “waterproof and waterproof screen (manufactured by Samsung) is mounted on the boat but can be unplugged from its holder and used as a wireless tablet while maintaining connection with the Orca core – it has active navigation autonomy approximately 8 hours when unplugged.

If you buy your own SIM card and install it on the display, you will be able to access Orca cloud services allowing the Orca display to download card updates, sync data and update its software automatically. .

Continued below …

It is the access to these cloud services that also provides some of the impressive features: automatic creation of a log of your trips; provide insight into fuel consumption and efficiency; analysis of boat travel patterns to create recommendations for port entrances and other areas that require careful navigation; as well as weather information and automatic routing options such as real-time rain spot avoidance.

In addition, there is also an Orca co-Pilot app, which can be used with Orca Core and cloud services, providing roughly the same functionality as the Orca display on your own tablet or smartphone (Android or iOS).

This means that you can potentially use the Core with your own screen or if you opt for both, your own screen can function as an onboard snooze screen. The apps can also be used to plan routes away from the boat with route plans etc. automatically uploaded to the Core on board via the cloud.

What do we think?

On the one hand, many of us have struggled with the usability of MFDs and if the Orca co-pilot provides a simplified and easy-to-use system, that would indeed be a very good thing for some sailors.

However, this simplicity comes at the expense of functionality.

It does not appear that some detailed functions that appear on other MFDs, such as laylins, are available.

Of course, many of us don’t use all of the features of our MFDs, so if you’re the kind of sailor who wants an easy-to-use system with features designed to make piloting easier, maybe this could be for you.

The system integrates with your boat via NMEA 2000. Credit Orca

The two big drawbacks we can see are that many great features like live weather information will require an active cellular connection – although maps are saved and route plans can be saved in advance.

So, for those who stray from the coast, the Orca co-pilot quickly becomes a streamlined MFD – compared to other units on the market.

Again, if you buy it purely to provide a better user experience, that wouldn’t be a major problem.

Access to cloud services also comes at a cost.

The Orca subscription is priced at € 120 per year and gives access to: continuous map updates; Advanced weather forecasting and monitoring services; Cloud-based automatic routing; Multi-device synchronization and trip analysis.

The Orca display kit (Orca Core and screen): € 1,499
Orca core: € 449

Get the Orca co-pilot at Orca

Did you enjoy reading this?

A subscription to Yachting Monthly magazine costs about 40% less than the cover price.

Print and digital editions are available through Magazines Direct – where you can also find the latest offers.

YM is packed with information to help you make the most of your time on the water.

• • • Take your seamanship to the next level with tips, advice and skills from our experts
    • In-depth and unbiased reviews of the latest yachts and equipment
    • Cruise guides to help you reach these dream destinations

follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.