Charting and Plotting

[Tumororlater]

I AGREE WITH THE GUYS THAT ALSO USE PAPER CHARTS.

Remember the rule from your USCG captain's course that, "The prudent navigator will not rely on only one form of navigation."

I do however find that using a spiraled chart book like Maptech a bit cumbersome at times. You may have to remove it from the protective cover & flip to the chart you need & sometimes in a windy cockpit.

I cut out all the charts for the coasts of Florida both coastal & some offshore charts. I took them to a printer & had them sealed in a thicker plastic. I keep only the ones necessary for most of my sailing. If planning a trip, I add the extra charts I need. I keep the other charts & book at home.

The plastic covered charts stow very nicely under my cushion near the nav station & make for a quicker reference. You can also use an erasable marker if hand charting on the plastic cover instead of marking up your paper charts.

CR

The money you spent on those charts could've bought you the app on your phone that made them all obsolete. Short of being in an EMP blast no satellite is falling from the sky. (Ironic saying as all satellites do is fall) windy cockpit, dark cockpit, rainy cockpit and a number of any other conditions all spell bad news for paper (which you solved except for the dark, flashlight) but a phone in a case can literally weather the storm and it will decrease your night vision (why I keep the display on low brighness at night, which is plenty) it will instantly tell you if your windage is pushing you off course or if you are in a current so severe that you are not actually moving. Paper falls short in a number of ways it's a great back up if WW 3 happens and everyone takes out everyone else's satellites. Otherwise my iPhone garmin Bluechart app is just fine. How many people still have road atlases in their cars?? No one that I know and I used to have one. I really am not trying to attack your choices on how you chart but present som scenarios in which it is hard to combat on a paper chart. The current one is especially hard I though myself that the GPS was wrong in Bimini when it happened to us. It's always an unfamiliar waterway in which something like that happens. It occurred again in the Marquesas.

 

[Tumororlater]

True- that's true, but you have to remember for most people it's always a choice--do I buy this, or that, for the boat? A $100 chart book and a good pair of binoculars that effectively never wear out, or ....... n generations of the latest gadetry plus service contracts, just to find one's way 17 - 24 n. mi. across the channel to an island you can usually see from the starting side!! So many fine boats out there never properly cared for--money spend elsewhere?

The app is only $50. Why would I spend more for less? I don't even have a chart plotter with GPS anymore. It's just an out of date map system the GPS antenna has been broken for a while now and it's not something I feel like I should fix as I know I won't use it. I also have waterway guides on board that I have never opened came with the boat. And if my phone were to go in the water sure my case might not make a difference but I do keep a floaty on it. We still have my wife's phone as a backup. If $50 is not much for an extra navigational tool I really implore you to try the Garmin BlueChart app for the iPhone.

 

[Kings Gambit]

The app is only $50. Why would I spend more for less? I don't even have a chart plotter with GPS anymore. It's just an out of date map system the GPS antenna has been broken for a while now and it's not something I feel like I should fix as I know I won't use it. I also have waterway guides on board that I have never opened came with the boat. And if my phone were to go in the water sure my case might not make a difference but I do keep a floaty on it. We still have my wife's phone as a backup. If $50 is not much for an extra navigational tool I really implore you to try the Garmin BlueChart app for the iPhone.

Hey, thanks, but-- big surprise-- I don't have an iPhone; a flip (Trac) phone that I bought >5 years ago for $14; & no plan, etc., and neither does my wife.How much for the (two) iPhones, and the plan, and the app?

 

[BarryBershad]

I've lost my GPS signal on multiple devices at the same time in storms. I am not worried about the satellites falling.

 

[Franklin]

In bad enough weather one loses GPS signal. So it won't matter how many redundant electronic devices one has they could all fail by a simple cause.

The GPS signal can go out but I still got the charts on the devices.

 

[Franklin]

....Scientists believe we are in store for the next big solar blast then what?
CR

So what. I still got the charts on my devices and, I have a compass bearing on where I'm going. When I get there, I use the charts on the device, my depth sounder and my binocs to find where I am and where I need to go.

 

[Franklin]

I've lost my GPS signal on multiple devices at the same time in storms. I am not worried about the satellites falling.

Ok...so you don't have GPS working due to the storm so your position on the charts is not there, but you still got your charts and no, a Sextant isn't going to help you in a storm.

 

[AlanRothenbush]

I'm a belt and suspenders kinda guy.

I use OpenCPN to plan a (significant) trip at home, feeding the resulting route and waypoints into the chartplotter. I then print off each leg of the trip as a separate 8.5x11 page, with a bit of overlap (pre upcoming turn, post next turn), often at varying zoom levels.

The printed pages then go into plastic sleeves and into a 3 ring binder. For really significant trips .. like races a day or more in duration .. I'll spring to have the pages laminated.

I'll often mark up the page with notes, arrows to key markers or hazards, etc. This is a major point with me; while my chartplotter is fine for navigating most routes, there are times when some additional information is useful, and it's hard to draw a circle around a rock on the chart in the plotter. <g>

I do run the route in the chartplotter as well though, as it's reassuring to have the chartplotter beep near a waypoint, confirming my DR position.

Should a trip take a departure from the expected (weather or whimsy) , I do much the same. At anchor, I plan the trip on the computer, upload it to the chartplotter, then manually replot it on a paper chart. The paper chart stays in the cockpit by the tiller in a big ziplock bag.

 

[Franklin]

How much for the (two) iPhones, and the plan, and the app?

You don't need a data plan...you can download the charts and app using WIFI. Sure, the phone is going to cost you more than a paper chart of your local area, but who really needs one of your local area after looking at it a few times? Now, how much is paper charts going to cost you for serious cruising? Sure, the Bahamas and Eastern Caribbean is fairly cheap but beyond that it starts adding up. Last time I checked the whole world on paper was well over $5,000.

 

[Franklin]

....
I use OpenCPN to plan a (significant) trip at home, feeding the resulting route and waypoints into the chartplotter. I then print off each leg of the trip as a separate 8.5x11 page, with a bit of overlap (pre upcoming turn, post next turn), often at varying zoom levels.

The printed pages then go into plastic sleeves and into a 3 ring binder. For really significant trips .. like races a day or more in duration .. I'll spring to have the pages laminated.

Very good point. If you are just sailing in US waters, there are free apps and free charts you can download and print them yourself for free. Back when all I did was sail in the US I used NOAA's charts with seaclear II and printed them. They were the most accurate of any chart plotter around but unfortunately, that is not an option outside the US.

 

[Kings Gambit]

You don't need a data plan...you can download the charts and app using WIFI. Sure, the phone is going to cost you more than a paper chart of your local area, but who really needs one of your local area after looking at it a few times? Now, how much is paper charts going to cost you for serious cruising? Sure, the Bahamas and Eastern Caribbean is fairly cheap but beyond that it starts adding up. Last time I checked the whole world on paper was well over $5,000.

If I decided to cruise the world, then I'm sure I'd be properly outfitted, as you are!

 

[Bristol35-5sailboat]

Always have paper on board, even though they are old - the rocks don't move. The large charts or chartbooks are the best for planning, and helping others plan to see the overall area. Many years from now I will paper the walls near by chair or bed, and recall all the wonderful sailing and destinations. The times and the distances, the notes of soft holding and the anchor dragging, entries into uncharted waters, passage through breakwaters in fog so dense you could only hear the foghorn - and not even see the bow of your boat, ETA and actual arrival times, best restaurants and delis along the way. The memories are priceless.

 

[Roland5048]

Sailing in my area where I have local knowledge only use the GPS unless I am instructing then I break out the paper. Outside my local area always plot on paper for the big picture but use the GPS in the cockpit for immediate feedback.

 

[Sunday Sailor]

Electronics all the way. You can plan a trip on the computer. Put it in the chart plotter and you are all set. Some are worried about power failure but any chart plotter will run off a solar panel or even flashlight batteries. Even phone apps can get you back to dock. A spiral chart book is okay...

 

[Roland5048]

In the days before all the electronics, there was this feeling of excitement, personal accomplishment, whatever you want to call it of plotting a course and, days later, actually reaching your destination. Even though I do use GPS, I just love the feel of a tangible paper chart. You get this connected feeling you don't with hard, cold electronics. Probably why I read actual paper books instead of ebooks and why I still get my morning paper delivered each day.

 

[Johnniegee]

If I lost my eyes and landfall was east I would go west. Odds are nothing to hit in open water.

 

[kenackerman]

When making a crossing from Marco Island, Fl. to the Dry Tortugas we encountered a heavy storm. The crew had mal de mare and it was midnight. This was when Loran was the best electronics available to civilians.

In full sail making 7 knots, the seas were running to 10' or more. We ran into contrary seas and I decided to put on the iron genny for the power to plow through them when needed.

Come morning, closing on what was supposed to be Garden Key, the first mate relieved me at the helm so I could study the chart and take sightings to confirm our position. It didn’t take long to discover that we weren’t where the Loran said we were. I adjusted course to head instead to Key West (about 70 miles east).

To those who smirk at paper charts as archaic and say they can get wet, I say: First, don’t bring paper charts on deck. Use them in protected space only. Second, all electronic devices can and do malfunction, including on US Navy ships. Navy navigators train on paper first, as it may be the last resort when electronics fail.

The choice obviously is up to the recreational boater as they see fit. I’m merely saying that the professionals who do it for a living have them and understand quite well they are the back up at sea.

 

[rbringle]

We used paper charts cruising the Great Lakes for 10 years. A sailing friend kept harping on the added benefits to safety that come with a chart plotter (you know exactly where you are). When we added a chart plotter, it did increase confidence and safety (e.g., we know exactly how close we are to a submerged rock--rather than estimating where we are), and increased efficiency to sailing and motoring (e.g., much less wandering because of the chart plotter). However, I always have charts in a plastic chart case in the cockpit and refer to them for longer range planning (I don't like the chart plotter as much when it is zoomed way out--lose too much detail) and to check other details that aren't always clear on the plotter (which probably depends on what chart system is in the plotter). The plotter has become our primary device when traveling because of exact location, speed estimates to way points, and depths; the charts have become secondary, but still important.

 

[Jackdaw]

OK Here's a bit of a rant.

And it might sound strange coming from the guy that ran Magellan's Marine Product Planning during their hayday.

I'm simply astounded at some peoples blind reliance on electronic nav. Oh I have two of them sure, but they are at the bottom of my list in terms of how I get around.

In general they work very well. Except when they don't. And everything from bad maps to bid fixes to SW bugs to HW failures can make that all go south. But here's what really bugs and worries me. How often to you see THAT GUY driving for long periods of time with his face buried in some helm-mounted 12 inch plotter? Its like he's playing a video game. I can tell you that he has absolutely none of that most important attribute while helming, Situational Awareness. Awareness of what's around you. Conditions. Things not on the chart. Things the chart shows wrong.Where you are now and where you will be in two minutes.

Using paper and your eyes first forces you to look hard at everything. You learn to trust your instincts. You timing. Your binoculars, compass and depthfinder. You become a better sailor.

 

[Sailm8]

Interesting discussion. I've been around long enough to remember the hank on vs roller furling debates, or the current debate on furling mains. This one sounds the same. I use an Ipad that my wife plays games on and reads. When I need a fix, she calls up the course (Navionics) and I check my course on the compass. My old Garmin died of old age and I just couldn't justify the $$$ on a single use device. I have the paper charts on board as a backup but have 2 other GPS devices as back up. Now if I could just fix my old autopilot.