Dated Charts?

[Jim]

Finishing up prepping our "new" '80 O'Day 30 which came with a fairly comprehenive set of East Coast Charts dating from '79-'80. Are these worth keeping and using or are charts updated enough over a twenty year period to make these obsolete and unsafe?Thanks, Jim

 

[hp]

I would still keep them....

but view but use them with a bit of caution. Certain things will not change such as jetties, rocks, etc. Other things I would be careful about are areas where shoaling may have built up in shallower areas or bouys that may have appeared or disappeared. However, keep in mind that the old addage ' A prudent mariner will not rely on any single aid etc, etc. Additionally, new charts can be just as or more inaccurate as older ones. Case in point is Maptechs chart kit of the bahamas. See this months article in Cruising World for the details....

 

[Steve Dion]

Check out the new charts

Before you toss these old charts check out the new ones. The charts have the last date that they were updated. Many of these charts have NOT been updated in 20 years.

 

[Ron Doescher]

Old Charts

Just go to your local dealer in nautical charts & check the index for the region in question. The index lists each chart by number & issue date, and shows its coverage on a small-scale map.The USCG District HQ can provide you with a "Local Notice to Mariners (LNM)" database dump of all changes, by chart number, if you ask them nicely....Good luck. --Ron

 

[Jim]

Thanks For Your Helpful Responses

Thanks All For Your Helpful Responses regarding these older charts. Will probably try getting the updates from the USCG and see if we are missing major updates. We get launched tomorrow afternoon out in Huntington Long Island and, after some rigging work, a couple of sea trials and weather permitting, we sail with full crew to New Rochelle, NY on Saturday.Thanks All & Fair Winds... Jim (Sojourn)