Posted by Ron on 3/10/2009, 7:27:51

I am purchasing a small, 20 ft. sailboat. I would be interested in opinions concerning the types of charts to use for navigation. As there are several different types including books and individual charts I am a bit confused as to what is best. I understand in theory and practice chart navigation but haven't actually navigated a boat. I will probably get a hand-held GPS but, my experience in climbing and backbacking has shown me there is no substitute for a map (chart) and compass. Should I buy individual charts, folios, books, or what? Any opinions would be appreciated.

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Posted by Fred Gilbert on 3/10/2009, 10:16:05, in reply to "Charts"

Same here, nothing beats a good map. It is a good idea to have a nautical chart of the area you will be sailing in, it will show you depths of the water and large objects that go bump in the night hidden below the surface. A tide chart is very handy and a safe thing to have if you will be doing salt water as well as current charts can be a real life saver. Areas between islands and where they are close to shores can sometimes have very strong currents when the tides change. Going offshore means having a GPS and a VHF, hand held or mounted, if just for the peace of mind. There are books available to show you how to read a nautical chart and sometimes courses show up at local JC's. Read the chart of your area before venturing out, shipping lanes, trafic patterns and large immoveable objects can be hazardous to your health.

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Posted by Dave Laux on 3/10/2009, 13:41:22, in reply to "Re: Charts"

I use chart books whenever they are available for the water you are on. Individual charts always seem to end just as I get to the interesting part over there. Also the general charts included are nice for planning a voyage that covers several indivdual ones. Dave

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Posted by Carl on 3/10/2009, 22:12:02, in reply to "Re: Charts"

I believe you can have charts printed on waterproof paper with info gathered THAT DAY from satelites. They are around $25 each and contain the most up to date info on currents, tides, depths, and buoy locations. Some preprinted charts may be using info that is several years old. Shoals move after storms and buoys drift. They may be more $, but they are much more accurate.

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Posted by Ol Bill on 3/11/2009, 10:09:56, in reply to "Re: Charts"

A comment on aving the GPS as a back-up. Be sure to have high quality extra batteries in a seperate pouch but yet kept with the GPS, also a little piece of wet/dry very, very fine black auto sand paper in case the battery contacts glaze over. I was caught on a "pea soup" Fog Sunday, visability maybe 30-ish to 70-ish feet. Couldn't even be sure where the rising sun was. No horizon line, dark branches floating in the water looked like they could be floating in mid air. Trusty old GPS wouldn't fire up (first time ever). Accidentally must have sailed in a big circle, while we hunted the compass to bring up on decks. After we got our bearings, got back to the dock. Once home the GPS fired up just fine :-) after I rolled the batteries one turn in the GPS. OB

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Posted by Ron on 3/12/2009, 9:51:43, in reply to "Charts"

I have been leaning toward the books but I wonder about plotting on them using dividers, etc. Has anyone tried plotting on them? Can they be erased? With paper charts you can mark on them and erase but they deteriorate. I'm looking for some hints from people who have done chart plotting. For land navigation the USGS topos are cheap enough to plot with pencil and erase - when the chart wears out you buy a new one. Any opinions would be very helpful. Thanks

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Posted by Fred Gilbert on 3/12/2009, 11:53:35, in reply to "Re: Charts"

One choice is to buy one of the chart CD's and print up your own charts. I did that for my land hikes. One other thing I discovered is there are a lot of nautical charts used for fishing that already have the lines and headings printed on the chart. Also they are usually printed on plastic coated paper that erases easily. I carry small charts for each local harbor and a couple of larger charts for the coast line out to off shore islands. Check out places like West Marine or Defender and don't overlook the fishing stores.

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Posted by BBQ Jerry on 3/19/2009, 17:06:36, in reply to "Re: Charts"

You can get free booklet charts now from:www.nauticalcharts.noaa.gov. You choose the chart you want and print it on your printer. You have to peice the pages together, but they are numbered. They have a disclaimer on the booklet charts, saying they are not for navigation, but when I put them together and laminate them...I can't tell them apart from the regular charts. I have printed over 60 charts and then I laminate them. If nothing else, they help you understand chart navigation. For the ICW, I use Chart Books, a GPS, and handheld VHF. BBQ Jerry

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