Connecticutt to Galveston

[jyoung]

my plans have changed and now i am looking at departing Norwalk and going for Galveston. I'm having a little trouble finding good paper charts for this venture. the plan is too leave mid to late April. is this a decent time and where is the best place to buy charts

[Sailmonkey]

google bellingham chart printers
or just download all the noaa charts for free and use your laptop for charting

[dacust]

Give BlueWater Book and Charts a call. They have an 800 number. Every time I call I get someone who knows their stuff.

I bought the Maptech chartkits. About $120 each. They cover the ICW and offshore enough for most people. But it'll take 6 of them, I think, to cover your route. They may have better ideas.

--> Bluewater Books and Charts

800 number is at the bottom of the page.

-dan

[jyoung]

i checked out bellingham (and a million others) but they seem to be about the most affordable. but holy crap I think i'm going to have to sale the boat to pay for the charts

[jyoung]

not to mention the fact that it's going to take about 120 ... how dangerous is the east coast really? i mean if i'm not looking to cover every inch of the coastline then how safe am i just to stay out a couple miles and wing it?

[Sailmonkey]

All you need to stay out a couple of miles and wing it is the overview chart. These will show the entrances......once inside your depth sounder can take you to a comfortable anchorage.

[zydecotoad]

You would have to be real lucky to 'wing it', there are shoals off shore.

Buy the chartkits, I have sailed most of the coast from RI to GA and the chartkits give you enough detail to duck into any useful harbor.

If you have access to free printing, then NOAA publishes booklet charts:
Office of Coast Survey
NOAA BookletCharts

But you will spend far more in time and ink printing them all out.

Have fun.

[Kettlewell]

All you need to stay out a couple of miles and wing it is the overview chart. These will show the entrances......once inside your depth sounder can take you to a comfortable anchorage.

No! That is not safe advice. You will get in trouble without proper charts.

April is too early--you will freeze until you get to the Chesapeake. At the very least you should obtain the free electronic NOAA charts and a charting program for your laptop, which would include every chart you need. I would also have a backup series of paper charts at 1:80,000 scale, and of course I much prefer a paper chartbook for the ICW portions.

[Sailmonkey]

Originally Posted by Kettlewell

No! That is not safe advice. You will get in trouble without proper charts.

Ah yes, they "YOU WILL DIE" response. it's been done before and can be done again. Notice I said overview, this will show shoals offshore. Also remember the free noaa charts to download.

[Kettlewell]

Ah yes, they "YOU WILL DIE" response. it's been done before and can be done again.

A lot of stupid stuff has been done before and will be done again. That doesn't make it any less stupid. Get the proper charts, stay safe, and enjoy the trip a lot more. The "overview charts" simply do not have the detail needed to navigate the many inlets and harbors on the coast.

[scaliwag]

I may I have a better and cheaper answer for you.

Starting in the sixties, my father and I delivered dozens of boats offshore and ICW to/from Florida each year. I got to the point that I actually thought I could do it without charts! Not smart!

Well, I'm in my 60's now and only seven years ago I left Long Island sailing solo with my Labrador and headed for St. Lucie Inlet in Florida... carrying both chips and charts as well as decades of sailing experience... Entered the ICW AT NORFOLK AFTER INLET HOPPING from New York.

The new Garmin Plotter became my constant aid as I had onset cataracts that were to be attended in Florida. Unfortunately the position offset is all too often 3-500 feet misrepresented. The ICW strip charts were far more help.

The used Garmin chips were bargain priced on Ebay.com all about $35.00 each. The old BBA chart kits I bought on Ebay were out of date, but fine for the offfshore legs. The strip chart set was within date and was $10.00 on Ebay too.

What about about giving Ebay a try first? A computer techie in Florida copied my (proprietary) Garmin chips somehow and I resold my chip collection for double my costs.

I/You Can never have enough charts...

[Unicorn Dreams]

Buy a chart plotter, a lot cheaper than 120 charts..

[Prerequisite]

Originally Posted by Unicorn Dreams

Buy a chart plotter, a lot cheaper than 120 charts..

Without starting an electronic vs paper debate, I agree with the above. When I was sailing down from MD to FL I wanted both aboard- I couldn't believe what it was going to cost for charts I'd use once (if at all since they were a back up for the plotter anyway). I ended up just going with my chartplotter. You could probably buy a second (and and more simple) chartplotter for less than the paper charts to use as a back up.

And regarding your move, I used to live in CT before moving to Galveston for college. You're going to love it. I haven't lived there in years but my wife and I still consider it home.

[jyoung]

awsome help from all; i think i am going to eat the cost and just buy all new charts. the free ones from noaa are too small to read and i am not planning on taking laptop.. so, only other alternative is spend the money and then sale them. i'm sure it'll be quite sometime before i go up the east coast again!! then again, maybe keep them and try a trip to britain on the high side next year? who knows but thanks to all

[dacust]

Originally Posted by jyoung

awsome help from all; i think i am going to eat the cost and just buy all new charts. the free ones from noaa are too small to read and i am not planning on taking laptop.. so, only other alternative is spend the money and then sale them. i'm sure it'll be quite sometime before i go up the east coast again!! then again, maybe keep them and try a trip to britain on the high side next year? who knows but thanks to all

I have gotten years of fun from the charts I bought back in 1998 and 2002. Even though I used them in anger only once, I have pored over them many times. And in 2002 I loaned a bunch of them to the guy that bought my boat in Charleston and was going to go to Louisiana by "just following the bouys, right?". I expected to never see them again, but they appeared in the mail about 4 months later.

I still pull them out from time to time just to explore and to look at the pencil marks from the past trips. All in all, $700-800 well spent.

-dan