A New Way to Navigate? Installing Orca on Our Sailboat | Ep. 97
Sailing Polaris
17,415 views
We’re adding a completely new navigation system to Polaris — but we’re not replacing Garmin. In this episode, we install Orca Core 2 and Display 2, connect them to our existing Garmin NMEA 2000 network, and see how well the two navigation systems work side by side.
Find out more about Orca: @
After using the Orca app throughout last season, we wanted to take the next step and integrate Orca properly into Polaris.
In this episode, we install the Orca Core 2, connect it to the boat’s existing NMEA 2000 backbone, fit and power the Orca Display 2 and Top Charging Mount, and bring live boat data into the Orca system.
The aim isn’t to remove our Garmin chartplotter. Instead, we want to see whether Orca can give us a more flexible approach to route planning, weather routing and everyday navigation while keeping the Garmin system intact.
We also look at three Orca features that are particularly interesting to us for cruising in Norway:
AIS and CPA — Orca gives us a highly visual indication of the closest point of approach, including whether a vessel is expected to pass ahead or behind us.
Custom anchor alarms — rather than relying only on a circular alarm radius, we can create a guard zone shaped around the actual anchorage.
Weather and route planning — forecasts can be viewed directly on the chart and along a planned route, including the high-resolution MET Norway Nordic model that we find particularly useful for the complex wind conditions found in Norwegian fjords and along the coast.
And because the Orca system connects to the boat’s existing data while retaining its own capabilities, it also adds another layer of redundancy to our navigation setup.
Disclosure: We used the Orca app on a paid subscription during the previous season and were impressed enough to approach Orca ourselves. Orca subsequently provided the Core 2, Display 2, Top Charging Mount, RAM mount and one year of their Smart Navigation subscription for Polaris.
A big thank you to Orca for supporting us.
Subscribe if you’d like to see how the system performs once we start using it properly aboard Polaris — particularly for cruising and passage planning in Norwegian waters.
📘 Norwegian Cruising Guide
We also co-write and publish the Norwegian Cruising Guide — a harbour and anchorage guide for sailors exploring the Norwegian coast.
Find practical information about harbours, anchorages, approaches, facilities, and local cruising details for Norway: https://www.norwegiancruisingguide.com
We are Kathrin & Daniel, a sailing couple living aboard Polaris Helvetica. After leaving our land-based life behind, we refitted Polaris into a liveaboard cruiser and set sail north to explore Norway, the Arctic Circle, Svalbard, and beyond.
⛵ Watch next:
Norway sailing playlist: https://studio.youtube.com/video/ir-W...
Boat tour of Polaris Helvetica: Our Upgraded Bavaria Cruiser 46 (2017) | B...
Previous episode: We Couldn’t Leave This Arctic Island – Sai...
🌐 More from Sailing Polaris:
Website: https://www.sailingpolaris.uk
Instagram: Instagram: sailingpolaris
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/18xwSX...
Contact: dan@sailingpolaris.uk
📍 In this episode:
00:00 Why we’re adding Orca to Polaris
00:35 Unboxing the Orca system
01:38 First look at Display 2
02:28 Top Charging Mount
04:07 Where will it fit on Polaris?
04:37 Orca Core 2 and NMEA 2000
06:04 Finding an installation location
06:44 Connecting to the NMEA 2000 backbone
09:03 First startup and live boat data
10:04 Installing the cockpit mount
11:29 Wiring the charging mount
13:11 Powering everything up
13:55 Installation complete
14:26 Why Display 2 works in the cockpit
14:51 AIS and CPA
15:17 Custom anchor alarms
15:46 Weather routing and MET Norway Nordic
16:10 Disclosure and what’s next
Keywords: Arctic sailing, sailing Norway, Norwegian coast, Norway anchorages, Norwegian harbours, sailing Northern Norway, high latitude sailing, liveaboard sailing, sailing couple, fjord sailing, yacht cruising, Norway by sailboat, Arctic Circle sailing, sailboat life, remote anchorages, cruising guide Norway.
#Sailing
#OrcaNavigation
#SailingNorway
#MarineNavigation
#LiveaboardSailing
6 Comments
I really love the structure of your episodes: the sailing itself, useful information about the passage, exploring the towns and surrounding areas, and then the closing thoughts at the end. The local stories and history are always presented in such a detailed and engaging way that it feels as though we are travelling alongside you. Even the technical aspects of sailing are explained simply, clearly and in a very human way.
I also greatly admire the way everything is filmed and edited. I started watching somewhere in the middle of your journey and have now gone back to the earliest episodes, so it is fascinating to see how your filming, storytelling and editing have evolved over time.
My wife and I also joined the Bavaria family about a year ago when we bought our Bavaria 36, Sirene. She may not compare with your wonderful floating home, but for now she suits us perfectly. Last season we spent five weeks sailing her from Bergen to Klaipėda, visiting 21 harbours along the way. Our way of travelling was quite similar to yours: sailing from place to place, exploring the towns and surrounding areas, and trying to experience much more than just the passage itself. Next season, we hope to explore the northern Baltic Sea.
We are so happy to have discovered you. You have become a real source of inspiration for us, so please keep going - there are people out here who are genuine fans of your journeys and who eagerly await every new episode :)
Thank you for taking us along with you. We wish you every success, many more wonderful adventures and, of course, fair winds!
It's such a brilliantly conceived system, at least to me.
Following your findings with interest.
A New Way to Navigate? Installing Orca on Our Sailboat | Ep. 97
Sailing Polaris
17,415 views
We’re adding a completely new navigation system to Polaris — but we’re not replacing Garmin. In this episode, we install Orca Core 2 and Display 2, connect them to our existing Garmin NMEA 2000 network, and see how well the two navigation systems work side by side.
Find out more about Orca: @
After using the Orca app throughout last season, we wanted to take the next step and integrate Orca properly into Polaris.
In this episode, we install the Orca Core 2, connect it to the boat’s existing NMEA 2000 backbone, fit and power the Orca Display 2 and Top Charging Mount, and bring live boat data into the Orca system.
The aim isn’t to remove our Garmin chartplotter. Instead, we want to see whether Orca can give us a more flexible approach to route planning, weather routing and everyday navigation while keeping the Garmin system intact.
We also look at three Orca features that are particularly interesting to us for cruising in Norway:
AIS and CPA — Orca gives us a highly visual indication of the closest point of approach, including whether a vessel is expected to pass ahead or behind us.
Custom anchor alarms — rather than relying only on a circular alarm radius, we can create a guard zone shaped around the actual anchorage.
Weather and route planning — forecasts can be viewed directly on the chart and along a planned route, including the high-resolution MET Norway Nordic model that we find particularly useful for the complex wind conditions found in Norwegian fjords and along the coast.
And because the Orca system connects to the boat’s existing data while retaining its own capabilities, it also adds another layer of redundancy to our navigation setup.
Disclosure: We used the Orca app on a paid subscription during the previous season and were impressed enough to approach Orca ourselves. Orca subsequently provided the Core 2, Display 2, Top Charging Mount, RAM mount and one year of their Smart Navigation subscription for Polaris.
A big thank you to Orca for supporting us.
Subscribe if you’d like to see how the system performs once we start using it properly aboard Polaris — particularly for cruising and passage planning in Norwegian waters.
📘 Norwegian Cruising Guide
We also co-write and publish the Norwegian Cruising Guide — a harbour and anchorage guide for sailors exploring the Norwegian coast.
Find practical information about harbours, anchorages, approaches, facilities, and local cruising details for Norway: https://www.norwegiancruisingguide.com
We are Kathrin & Daniel, a sailing couple living aboard Polaris Helvetica. After leaving our land-based life behind, we refitted Polaris into a liveaboard cruiser and set sail north to explore Norway, the Arctic Circle, Svalbard, and beyond.
⛵ Watch next:
Norway sailing playlist: https://studio.youtube.com/video/ir-W...
Boat tour of Polaris Helvetica: Our Upgraded Bavaria Cruiser 46 (2017) | B...
Previous episode: We Couldn’t Leave This Arctic Island – Sai...
🌐 More from Sailing Polaris:
Website: https://www.sailingpolaris.uk
Instagram: Instagram: sailingpolaris
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/18xwSX...
Contact: dan@sailingpolaris.uk
📍 In this episode:
00:00 Why we’re adding Orca to Polaris
00:35 Unboxing the Orca system
01:38 First look at Display 2
02:28 Top Charging Mount
04:07 Where will it fit on Polaris?
04:37 Orca Core 2 and NMEA 2000
06:04 Finding an installation location
06:44 Connecting to the NMEA 2000 backbone
09:03 First startup and live boat data
10:04 Installing the cockpit mount
11:29 Wiring the charging mount
13:11 Powering everything up
13:55 Installation complete
14:26 Why Display 2 works in the cockpit
14:51 AIS and CPA
15:17 Custom anchor alarms
15:46 Weather routing and MET Norway Nordic
16:10 Disclosure and what’s next
Keywords: Arctic sailing, sailing Norway, Norwegian coast, Norway anchorages, Norwegian harbours, sailing Northern Norway, high latitude sailing, liveaboard sailing, sailing couple, fjord sailing, yacht cruising, Norway by sailboat, Arctic Circle sailing, sailboat life, remote anchorages, cruising guide Norway.
#Sailing
#OrcaNavigation
#SailingNorway
#MarineNavigation
#LiveaboardSailing