Canadian Chart Source

[NWSail]

Hello, I am new to and learning about OpenCPN. I’m excited about an open source navigation program; I use open source software when possible. I have not yet installed OpenCPN, am trying to decide on a GPS receiver to connect to my laptop (any suggestions? I was thinking of the very basic BU-353 USB device for my laptop).



I would really appreciate some advice regarding Canadian charts: I can see that there are free options for U.S. charts (I’m still not sure which to use—raster or vector). I also see that Canadian charts need to be purchased. I plan to sail in the waters above the U.S./Canadian border between Vancouver Island and the mainland. Where is the best (read: cheapest) place to purchase digitized Canadian charts for this area?



Navionics seems to be one of the big vendors, but when I try to view charts on their website, I am forced through a “wizard” type of interface that wants me to first identify my plotter. Well--I’m using a laptop with OpenCPN and it is not listed. What should I do in this circumstance? Is there a plotter that corresponds closely to a WinPC/OpenCPN setup? It won’t let me start by choosing a chart format. Should I be looking somewhere else for Canadian charts? Advice in this area would be very much appreciated.



Thanks so much!

[Stu Jackson]

If you're only sailing between Vancouver Island and the mainland, the US charts cover that area, all the way up to Swartz Bay. Look at the US chart website NOAA's On-Line Chart Viewer

If you're going further or want to visit the Gulf Islands, you'll need the Canadian charts.

The BU-353 is pretty much the "standard" for that application. If you buy it, remove the huge magnet inside or you could fry your hard drive.

[bobofthenorth]

There's no (legal) way around paying CHS their exorbitant price.

[NWSail]

Stu, I have a question about your comment on the magnet in the BU-353--I had no idea there is a magnet in there. I assume this is so someone can attach it to car tops or something. Is the magnet easy to remove? Does the device come apart by removing some screws so it can be re-assembled?

Originally Posted by Stu Jackson

If you're only sailing between Vancouver Island and the mainland, the US charts cover that area, all the way up to Swartz Bay. Look at the US chart website NOAA's On-Line Chart Viewer

If you're going further or want to visit the Gulf Islands, you'll need the Canadian charts.

The BU-353 is pretty much the "standard" for that application. If you buy it, remove the huge magnet inside or you could fry your hard drive.

[Stu Jackson]

NWSail,

GPS and Navigation Software Options

[Nicholson58]

BU antenna is the one I use. Cheap on Amazon. It is very fast picking up the sats.

[Gilletarom]

Hello,

For Canada charts read here :

SHC - Cartes marines et services (french language)

Or this web site

CHS - Nautical Charts and Services (english language)

Read also this thread for use canada charts :

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ics-64744.html (English language)

Or

Cartes lisibles par OpenCPN. (french language)


And do not forgot to download the OpenCPN plugin bsb4.

[Victor12]

Originally Posted by Gilletarom

Hello,

For Canada charts read here :

SHC - Cartes marines et services (french language)

Or this web site

CHS - Nautical Charts and Services (english language)

Read also this thread for use canada charts :

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ics-64744.html (English language)

Or

Cartes lisibles par OpenCPN. (french language)


And do not forgot to download the OpenCPN plugin bsb4.

Canadian BSB Charts are licensed and protected. Only two installations are allowed. Updates are good for one year and often for two years. Vector Charts S57 can be purchased separate for $25,- each as typical package cost $600,-. They can installed anywhere and NO license. Updates are good for one year. S57 Charts are identical to protected S63. For those vector Charts there is mostly no difference between CM93 and S57.

[jackdale]

At $175 the digital charts are way less expensive than all of the paper charts.

BTW -you will also need to carry paper charts and publications unless you have extensive local knowledge.

The BU 353 is a great receiver. The magnet cannot be removed, nor does it need to be.

[bobofthenorth]

Originally Posted by jackdale

BTW -you will also need to carry paper charts and publications unless you have extensive local knowledge.

I don't think its quite that cut and dried Jack. The act doesn't specify "local knowledge", merely "sufficient knowledge" for vessels under 100 tons. To my mind "sufficient knowledge" can be satisfied by information gleaned from electronic charts. I'm not a maritime lawyer but I put my money where my mouth is. We carry three layers of computerized backup, plus an independent dedicated chartplotter, plus a handheld GPS, plus chartbooks but we do NOT carry paper charts and we have no intention of ever doing so.

I think this old saw of being legally obligated to carry paper charts is a falsehood trotted out by CHS and I think its time it was put to rest. Very few cruisers do this anymore and I think their numbers are in steady decline.

[jackdale]

Originally Posted by bobofthenorth

I don't think its quite that cut and dried Jack. The act doesn't specify "local knowledge", merely "sufficient knowledge" for vessels under 100 tons. To my mind "sufficient knowledge" can be satisfied by information gleaned from electronic charts. I'm not a maritime lawyer but I put my money where my mouth is. We carry three layers of computerized backup, plus an independent dedicated chartplotter, plus a handheld GPS, plus chartbooks but we do NOT carry paper charts and we have no intention of ever doing so.

I think this old saw of being legally obligated to carry paper charts is a falsehood trotted out by CHS and I think its time it was put to rest. Very few cruisers do this anymore and I think their numbers are in steady decline.

You are correct "sufficient knowledge" is the phrase

Most vessels of any kind in Canada have an obligation to carry and use official charts and publications and to keep them up to date. The chart carriage requirements are listed in the Charts and Nautical Publications Regulations, 1995 of the Canada Shipping Act.

CHS paper charts meet the requirements of the chart carriage regulations. CHS digital charts meet the requirements of the chart carriage regulations under certain circumstances. CHS Electronic Navigational Charts (ENCs) meet the requirements provided they are used with an Electronic Chart Display and Information System (ECDIS). CHS raster charts meet the requirements only if paper charts are carried and used as a backup.

For further information on which charts meet the official requirements, please see our CHS Official Products and CHS Licensed Manufacturers.

CHS - Frequently Asked Questions - General

CARRIAGE OF CHARTS, DOCUMENTS AND PUBLICATIONS

4. (1) Subject to subsection (2), the master and owner of every ship shall have on board, in respect of each area in which the ship is to be navigated, the most recent editions of the charts, documents and publications that are required to be used under sections 5 and 6.

(2) The master and owner of a ship of less than 100 tons are not required to have on board the charts, documents and publications referred to in subsection (1) if the person in charge of navigation has sufficient knowledge of the following information, such that safe and efficient navigation in the area where the ship is to be navigated is not compromised:

(a) the location and character of charted

(i) shipping routes,

(ii) lights, buoys and marks, and

(iii) navigational hazards; and

(b) the prevailing navigational conditions, taking into account such factors as tides, currents, ice and weather patterns.

(3) If a ship, other than a pleasure craft of less than 150 tons, is making a foreign voyage, a home-trade voyage, Class I, II or III, or an inland voyage, Class I, the master and the owner of the ship shall have on board and make readily available to the person in charge of the navigation of the ship an illustrated table of life-saving signals for use by ships and persons in distress when communicating with life-saving stations, maritime rescue units or aircraft engaged in search and rescue operations.

(4) If a Canadian ship is of 150 tons or more, the master and the owner of the ship shall have on board and make readily available to the person in charge of the navigation of the ship the International Aeronautical and Maritime Search and Rescue Manual, Volume III, Mobile Facilities, published by the IMO.

Charts and Nautical Publications Regulations, 1995

USE OF CHARTS

5. (1) Subject to subsection (2), in order to plan and display a ship’s route for an intended voyage and to plot and monitor positions throughout the voyage, the person in charge of the navigation of the ship shall use the most recent edition of a chart that

(a) is issued officially by or on the authority of

(i) the Canadian Hydrographic Service, when the ship is in Canadian waters, and

(ii) the Canadian Hydrographic Service or the government or an authorized hydrographic office or other relevant government institution of a country other than Canada, when the ship is outside Canadian waters;

(b) applies to the immediate area in which the ship is being navigated; and

(c) is, for that area,

(i) the largest scale chart according to the reference catalogue, or

(ii) of a scale that is at least 75 per cent of the scale of the chart referred to in subparagraph (i) and is as complete, accurate, intelligible and up-to-date as that chart.

(2) The person in charge of the navigation of a ship may use the most recent edition of a chart that is the second-largest scale chart for an area according to the reference catalogue where

(a) the scale of the chart is at least 1:400,000 (2.16 nautical miles to the centimetre); and

(b) the ship is

(i) more than five nautical miles from any charted feature or charted depth of water that represents a potential hazard to the ship, or

(ii) within an area for which the largest scale chart, according to the reference catalogue, is primarily

(A) a chart intended for the use of pleasure craft, or

(B) a chart of an anchorage, a river or a harbour that the ship will not transit or enter.

(3) The chart may be in electronic form only if

(a) it is displayed on an ECDIS or, in the case of failure of the ECDIS, on a back-up arrangement; and

(b) the ECDIS

(i) in waters for which an ENC is available, is operated using the ENC,

(ii) in waters for which an ENC is not available, is operated using an RNC,

(iii) when the ECDIS is operating in the RCDS mode, is used in conjunction with paper charts that meet the requirements of subsections (1) and (2), and

(iv) is accompanied by a back-up arrangement.

Charts and Nautical Publications Regulations, 1995

USE OF DOCUMENTS AND PUBLICATIONS

6. (1) Subject to subsection (3), the person in charge of the navigation of a ship in waters under Canadian jurisdiction shall use, in respect of each area to be navigated by the ship, the most recent edition of

(a) the reference catalogue;

(b) the annual edition of the Notices to Mariners, published by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans;

(c) the following publications, namely,

(i) sailing directions, published by the Canadian Hydrographic Service,

(ii) tide and current tables, published by the Canadian Hydrographic Service,

(iii) lists of lights, buoys and fog signals, published by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, and

(iv) where the ship is required to be fitted with radio equipment pursuant to any Act of Parliament or of a foreign jurisdiction, the Radio Aids to Marine Navigation, published by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans; and

(d) the documents and publications listed in the schedule.

(2) Subject to subsection (3), the person in charge of the navigation of a Canadian ship in waters outside Canadian jurisdiction shall use, in respect of each area to be navigated by the ship, the most recent edition of

(a) the reference catalogue;

(b) the annual edition of the Notices to Mariners, published by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans;

(c) the following publications referred to in the reference catalogue, namely,

(i) sailing directions,

(ii) tide and current tables,

(iii) lists of lights, and

(iv) where the ship is required to be fitted with radio equipment pursuant to an Act of Parliament, the list of radio aids to navigation; and

(d) the documents and publications listed in the schedule.

(3) The publications referred to in paragraphs (1)(c) and (2)(c) may be replaced by similar publications issued officially by or on the authority of an authorized hydrographic office or other relevant government institution of a country other than Canada, if the information contained in them that is necessary for the safe navigation of a ship in the area in which the ship is to be navigated is as complete, accurate, intelligible and up-to-date as the information contained in the publications referred to in those paragraphs.

Charts and Nautical Publications Regulations, 1995

MAINTENANCE OF CHARTS, DOCUMENTS AND PUBLICATIONS

7. The master of a ship shall ensure that the charts, documents and publications required by these Regulations are, before being used for navigation, correct and up-to-date, based on information that is contained in the Notices to Mariners, Notices to Shipping or radio navigational warnings.

Charts and Nautical Publications Regulations, 1995

I have not seen any of this enforced, but I know that sailing schools and instructors are in the process of having to meet the regulations from Transport Canada for Recreational Boating Schools. (http://www.sailing.ca/files/TP_15136...une_2012_1.pdf). We are required to meet those standards.

[hpeer]

Mt 2 cents! Navionics are not the best choice for charts. I find c-map better. Or raster conversions of paper charts better yet.

[bobofthenorth]

I'm not going to get into this other than to point out that most of Jack's quotes are from CHS, which is in the business of selling charts. Always consider the source when referring to quoted information.

The act says "sufficient knowledge".

[jackdale]

Originally Posted by bobofthenorth

I'm not going to get into this other than to point out that most of Jack's quotes are from CHS, which is in the business of selling charts. Always consider the source when referring to quoted information.

The act says "sufficient knowledge".

Bob - only the first quote is from CHS FAQ, the rest are from the Charts and Nautical Publications Regulations which are part of the Canada Shipping Act.

The Regulations say "sufficient knowledge" of:

(a) the location and character of charted

(i) shipping routes,

(ii) lights, buoys and marks, and

(iii) navigational hazards; and

(b) the prevailing navigational conditions, taking into account such factors as tides, currents, ice and weather patterns.

I have sailed the PNW for 30 years; I still rely heavily on charts and publications, rather than memory.

The only "chartplotter" permitted under the regulation is an ECDIS with ENC (vector) charts and back up, or RNCs (raster) with paper charts as back up.

Again, I have never seen it enforced.

[bcn]

Originally Posted by jackdale

The only "chartplotter" permitted under the regulation is an ECDIS with ENC (vector) charts and back up, or RNCs (raster) with paper charts as back up.

Again, I have never seen it enforced.

In the context of the S-63 plug-in we are maintaining discussions with several HOs.

Electronic charts for the leisure/non-comercial/non-SOLAS sailor as sole media of navigation are a concern for them.

As far as I'm aware there is no system homologated for the leisure market, there are no standards in place to do so neither.
Just having official charts like the S-57 in the US or the S-63 sets does not imply that this is an equipment that is compliant in the eyes of officials.

And this is as well the reason that you get those disclaimers when opening your nav program or starting your plotter.

Still a long way to go...

Hubert