charts charts charts?

[jsquared]

hey yall! I am taking a trip around the west coast of florida up to GA. we have a GPS but no chart plotter or electronic charts on our computers or anything fancy like that. We are looking for charts and are having a hard time knowing what to get. we have used active caption to kind of plan our trip, but we will likely not have access to the internet so we want paper charts. we have heard of getting free charts from the noaa website but are not having alot of luck figuring it out. then we started looking waterway guide because they seem cheap, but we heard that the waterway guides are not really charts but ancrage and marina guides. then we started looking into Maptech Region 7 Fl East Coast & Keys 15TH ED. this seems good but is quite expensive.

1.could anyone recommend good charts at a reasonable price?
2. Should we look into getting electronic charts?

thanks so much

[KeepInTune]

You could go to NOAA and download the PDF version of each chart to your computer. When you pull those back up you don't need internet, as they will already be on your computer. Then you can zoom in and view the chart as needed.
Just a suggestion.

[Adelie]

Originally Posted by jsquared

hey yall! I am taking a trip around the west coast of florida up to GA. we have a GPS but no chart plotter or electronic charts on our computers or anything fancy like that. We are looking for charts and are having a hard time knowing what to get. we have used active caption to kind of plan our trip, but we will likely not have access to the internet so we want paper charts. we have heard of getting free charts from the noaa website but are not having alot of luck figuring it out. then we started looking waterway guide because they seem cheap, but we heard that the waterway guides are not really charts but ancrage and marina guides. then we started looking into Maptech Region 7 Fl East Coast & Keys 15TH ED. this seems good but is quite expensive.



1.could anyone recommend good charts at a reasonable price?

2. Should we look into getting electronic charts?



thanks so much

You don't need internet access to run electronic charts aboard. Once they have been downloaded from NOAA they are resident on your hard drive. OpenCPN free and work just fine. You would need to get a GPS dongle for the computer.


Sent from my iPhone using Cruisers Sailing Forum

[btrayfors]

I would not go to sea in a 27' sailboat without paper charts. Yes, laptop-based charts (especially NOAA raster charts...RNCs) are great, and I have used them on my own boat for many years.

HOWEVER, you can't depend on a laptop working 100% in an offshore situation, especially on a smallish boat where electric power is at a premium (and laptops eat a lot of power) and where water damage possibilities are heightened.

So....... download the NOAA raster charts by all means, put them on your laptop, use an appropriate charting program, and learn how they work.

BUT, acquire and carry on board PAPER CHARTS as well. The Chartkit charts are convenient and appropriate. Whatever they cost, they're worth it.

Bill

[Greg H]

Navionics?

[BMD21]

My question: is the Navionics PC App still available? Searching Navionics indicates that the app is no linger available for a PC, just a tablet and phone. Is this correct?

If so, it appears that one cannot display/use any Navionics cards you may have on a PC. It looks like OpenCpn is the inly PC based navigation program, since C-Map doesn't have one either.

Boris

[RainDog]

Not sure how far up the West Coast of Florida you are starting, but cheapest option I have found for paper charts is Richardson Waterproof for Tampa to Miami, then NV Charts north of there:

West Coast Florida and Okeechobee Waterway: https://www.richardsonscharts.com/pr...ail.php?id=136

Est Coast of Florida: Bluewater Books & Charts - NV Charts Reg 8.1 Florida Northeast 2012 ED

Georgia and S Carolina: Bluewater Books & Charts - NV Charts Reg 6.2 S Carolina & Georgia Coast 2012

If you need the Keys, then add: https://www.richardsonscharts.com/pr...ail.php?id=132

[Cap Erict3]

Take the pdf's to a copy center. They are used to printing charts these days.


------------------------------
Looking for another pretty place to work on the boat.

[Harding]

Originally Posted by Greg H

Navionics?

Never use Navionics homemade drawings.
Use the official updated charts with the Seapilot nav. program.
Take a look at seapilot.com

[pesarsten]

Regardless of how many electronic systems I have, I would not set out without paper charts. Check craigslist, eBay and other sites for used charts. Even if they are several years old they will do the job.

Also try asking around your marina, perhaps someone will loan you a set.

[KeepInTune]

Originally Posted by Cap Erict3

Take the pdf's to a copy center. They are used to printing charts these days.

I agree with this. Now days you can email or upload to Kinko's. Just get the correct size (I think 30x40" +- is close) with simple black and white.

[leftbrainstuff]

Originally Posted by jsquared

hey yall! I am taking a trip around the west coast of florida up to GA. we have a GPS but no chart plotter or electronic charts on our computers or anything fancy like that. We are looking for charts and are having a hard time knowing what to get. we have used active caption to kind of plan our trip, but we will likely not have access to the internet so we want paper charts. we have heard of getting free charts from the noaa website but are not having alot of luck figuring it out. then we started looking waterway guide because they seem cheap, but we heard that the waterway guides are not really charts but ancrage and marina guides. then we started looking into Maptech Region 7 Fl East Coast & Keys 15TH ED. this seems good but is quite expensive.

1.could anyone recommend good charts at a reasonable price?
2. Should we look into getting electronic charts?

thanks so much

You can download the noaa charts and the relevant pilot guides. The pdf chartbooklets are conveniently in letter size. Unfortunately these are next to useless but easy to print out. Trying to find the right page while sailing is a nightmare.

The noaa charts, not the pdfs, are awesome in opencpn or with navionics on an ipad.

We also have the full size charts as a backup. The noaa pilot guides work well with the full size charts.

So I suggest you get the full size paper charts, the noaa pilot guides and the noaa electronic charts on an ipad in a waterproof case.

Sent from my SM-N900T using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[Captn morgan]

I have found the Cruising Guides at West Marine very good and they do contain actual charts.

Since your coastal cruising you probably won't be out of cell phone range, so look into the navionics program. It's not very expensive.

Captn Morgan
S/V Chase The Clouds

[jtulls]

Originally Posted by Captn morgan

I have found the Cruising Guides at West Marine very good and they do contain actual charts.

Since your coastal cruising you probably won't be out of cell phone range, so look into the navionics program. It's not very expensive.

Captn Morgan
S/V Chase The Clouds

The cool thing about the Navionics app is that the charts get stored to the device, so once you download, you don't need a cell connection to access them offshore.

[karle]

- Definitely get PDF or BSB charts for free from NOAA website. I would post a link for the ones you might need but this forum would not let me post links. You can use PDFs to print paper charts and BSB with opencpn.

-opencpn has a little learning curve. But once you have set up everything it works well.

- Do you have an iPhone or an iPad? There are plenty of really high quality charting apps ($10 to $20 range).