Deep Zoom and Nav charts for Canada

Hayden Watson

Hayden Watson

.
Apr 5, 2009
3,288
Catalina '88 C30 tr/bs Oak Harbor, WA
I really love the Deep Zoom app for tracking currents and tides in the Salish Sea, but it stops cold at the CA border. Is there a way to get it to work for Canadian waters or is there a similar app for up there.

I also have a Garmin plotter that has US waters only. What charts are you all using for Garmin?
 
B

BCsailor-skier

.
Aug 6, 2025
31
Sceptre 41 Vancouver
Deep Zoom website shows currents in British Columbia.

Whether it is correct is another issue. (Quick check of 1st Narrows today: correct, according to CHS pub). According to Deep Zoom website, tides/currents come from xtides, which is not always correct.

One can get similar display for offline use in OpenCPN.

See also OceanConnect: uses HRDPS weather model, best for BC waters

OceanConnect

OceanConnect offers free marine forecasts, nautical charts, and current ocean conditions for ocean activities and research in BC, Washington, and Alaska. OceanConnect provides access to wind, clouds, precipitation, waves, currents, temperatures, tides, buoys, weather stations, and webcams...
oceanconnect.ca

Deep Zoom app doesn't seem available for Android (and OpenCPN is not, and will not be, available for iOS).
 
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Hayden Watson

Hayden Watson

.
Apr 5, 2009
3,288
Catalina '88 C30 tr/bs Oak Harbor, WA
BCsailor-skier said:
Deep Zoom website shows currents in British Columbia.

Whether it is correct is another issue. (Quick check of 1st Narrows today: correct, according to CHS pub). According to Deep Zoom website, tides/currents come from xtides, which is not always correct.

One can get similar display for offline use in OpenCPN.

See also OceanConnect: uses HRDPS weather model, best for BC waters

OceanConnect

OceanConnect offers free marine forecasts, nautical charts, and current ocean conditions for ocean activities and research in BC, Washington, and Alaska. OceanConnect provides access to wind, clouds, precipitation, waves, currents, temperatures, tides, buoys, weather stations, and webcams...
oceanconnect.ca

Deep Zoom app doesn't seem available for Android (and OpenCPN is not, and will not be, available for iOS).
Click to expand
Well, look at that. The last time I was up that way, it died at the boarder. FYI, the Deep Zoom app works fine on my android phone.
 
Stu Jackson

Stu Jackson

.
Feb 26, 2004
23,308
Catalina 34 224 Maple Bay, BC, Canada
BCsailor-skier said:
Deep Zoom website shows currents in British Columbia.
Click to expand
Just to be clear, Deep Zoom is great but the best part of it are the arrows used on the charts for current. These are limited on the Canadian side. Once you get further north, even as far as Vancouver itself, it is limited to only certain spots that only show the current on the sidebar graph with the arrows on the chart, many fewer than the US chart coverage. Limited usefulness once off the US charts, perhaps limited by the number of points of input or less extrapolation arrows compared say to around Roche Harbor and the San Juans.
 
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jssailem

jssailem

SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
Oct 22, 2014
24,454
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
Here is OpenCPN on a MacBook OS system.
The orange dots and arrows show the current direction and tidal location. The chart stops because the FREE NOAA charts stop (this is a NOAA raster chart "RNC" - soon, all that will be available are Vector charts "ENC"). One must pay for the Canadian charts to continue coverage further north.

Screenshot 2026-05-11 at 9.33.43 AM.png


You can find current tidal data from the folks at the Waggoner Cruising Guide website in their Posts and Passes books. These are updated annually.
waggonerbooks.com

Our Products

To see our products visit the Waggoner Books online bookstore.
waggonerbooks.com waggonerbooks.com

1778517661273.png



DEEPZOOM is online-dependent. The need for access to such data and weather forecasting, when you adventure north of populated waters, supports the expenditure of boat bucks for tools like Starlink. :biggrin:
Screenshot 2026-05-11 at 9.42.43 AM.png


Or you can go like explorers of old and just adapt to whatever Mother Nature gives you.:yikes:
 
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B

BCsailor-skier

.
Aug 6, 2025
31
Sceptre 41 Vancouver
DEEP ZOOM: Where (and which model) do they get their weather from? Not much use if not HRDPS and/or human forecast based.

Interesting they seem to be providing CHS charts at no cost.... Still, not a good idea to depend on charting that requires internet access. Timezero also provides online Canadian charts. TIMEZERO Cloud

CHARTS (not requiring continual internet access):
Neither NOAA nor CHS raster charts are available (from NOAA or CHS) due to their discontinued status.

NOAA ENC (vector) charts ARE available for USA and are free.

Chart Locator

charts.noaa.gov charts.noaa.gov

CHS ENC (vector) are available via CHS, BUT are very pricey(!!). However, o-charts (charts for OpenCPN) only charges 10€ for the whole Canada Pacific coast and these are identical to official CHS charts (and the charts do not expire... updating after 1 year requires 10€ renewal). Other chart sources are also available for CHS charting, such as Navionics, C-MAP etc. All cost. Updating of these are not simultaneous with official chart updates.

O-Charts at large scale (on OpenCPN for Android):
SmartSelect_20260511_130739_OpenCPN.jpg
l

TIDES:
Official CHS tide books are available in pdf format for free:

Canadian Tide and Current Tables

Canadian Tide and Current Tables
charts.gc.ca charts.gc.ca

Minute-by-minute official CHS tides (not currents) are available online in official excellent web app: Water Level System Mobile Application
 
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