TESTED: Could The Maptattoo Tablet Replace Navionics?

Frustrated by the performance deficits of normal phones and tablets for navigation, a Race to Alaska sailor invented his own – and we tested it for 500 miles.

Now that our headline grabbed your attention, it’s unlikely – in my professional opinion – that this new über-rugged navigation aid tablet from Chicago-based startup Maptattoo will push iOS and Android-based navigation apps to the sidelines. But that’s because Maptattoo isn’t necessarily trying to compete with them directly. Rather, the brand has created something that addresses different problems, carving out its own niche in the world of small boat navigation.

The Maptattoo tablet was invented by Erwan Kerebel, a small-boat sailor who was frustrated by the shortfalls of app-based navigation during his experience competing in the Race to Alaska. In a 20-foot engineless sailboat beating 750 miles from Washington to Ketchikan, Alaska, Kerebel realized he needed something that could better withstand extreme temperatures, direct sunlight, wet hands, and drops, all while running continuously for days on end without a charge, providing race-accurate data, and remaining clear and readable from a distance. Kerebel’s iPhone was failing on all fronts.

To tackle those issues, Kerebel designed Maptattoo with a 6-inch E-ink touchscreen display. E-ink is the same technology behind e-readers like Kindle – so although the Maptattoo only displays charts in black-and-white and there’s a lag that takes some getting used to, that compromise means that the battery only drains when the screen is actively refreshing. That allows the Maptattoo to comfortably claim a 50-hour average battery life, which means no more tripping over a charging cable permanently plugged into a power-sucking iPad.

Additionally, the E-ink technology runs cool and is readable in direct sunlight, unlike most standard mobile devices and tablets. Numbers displaying speed over ground and heading, calculated via GPS satellite, are oversized and can be read (by me) from around 10 feet away, even in full sun. As promised, the touchscreen works with wet fingers, although the redundant tactile controls are better. Settings options are just what you need to get from point A to point B with nothing extra: time and distance tracking, waypoints, brightness adjustment, and little else.

I recently used a Maptattoo to navigate my sailboat from Rhode Island to Maryland, and found the tablet met or exceeded its claims. Once I got used to the black-and-white color scheme and slow refresh rate (which isn’t all that slow – we’re just used to the near-instantaneous refresh from devices these days), I found it simple and intuitive. I ran it continuously for 70 hours and only charged it once for a few hours (on 12 volts) during that time. I left it sitting in the beating sun on my cockpit table, and it was always readable and cool to the touch. I also accidentally launched it about 10 feet across the cockpit one time, but its durable frame and bonded polycarbonate display were unphased. When compared to my hardwired chartplotter and a navigation app, the Maptattoo was consistently in agreement with them about our location, speed, and heading.

Of course, a Maptattoo is not a replacement for a hardwired chartplotter for most boats, and its simplicity means that it can’t do everything that other navigation apps can (with the slower refresh rate, quick scrolling around the charts during planning sessions is impossible). But for small boat sailors, adventurous paddlers, or boaters with aging navigation suites who are dragging their feet about investing in a full upgrade, this small, simple, yet powerful tablet could fit the bill. For myself, it’s a great backup to my 20-year-old plotter and is an asset for exploring via dinghy.

Each tablet is assembled by hand in small batches in Chicago. Get a glimpse of the production process from this company video:

Each Maptattoo comes with two USB-C chargers with waterproofing gaskets (the tablet itself is rated to IP68), a soft case, and preloaded charts of your choice (U.S. coasts or inland lakes). $849