How to use Free USGS maps with SeaClear..

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Sumner

Sumner

.
Jan 31, 2009
5,254
Macgregor & Endeavour 26S and 37 Utah's Canyon Country


I finally got around to posting instructions on my web site on how to download the free USGS Topo Maps and covert them to use with SeaClear.

If you are in coastal waters you can download the free NOAA nautical maps and they also have some for inland waterways. If you sail on other inland lakes you can buy maps to use on commercial chartplotters, but for some lakes those aren't available.

You can download the free SeaClear navigation program and use it on a laptop and some other devices either on the boat real time hooked up to a GPS puck you can buy for under $40 or you can plan your trip at home and download important waypoints to something like a handheld gps.

You can download free USGS Maps here....

http://store.usgs.gov/b2c_usgs/usgs...8&uiarea=2&ctype=areaDetails&carea=$ROOT)/.do

...for any place in the U.S., so if you sail a lke in the U.S. you can download a map and use your fee SeaClear to plot a course or plot your location real-time on your favorite lake.

I'm hoping someone will try my instructions and see if they work for them or if they need clarification and give me some feedback. I tried to be very detailed in them, so they look long, but once you have gone through the process a couple times you can download and convert a map for SeaClear in about 10 minutes and the longest part of that is the download.

Map Download and Conversion Instructions

c ya,

Sum

Our Trips to Lake Powell, UT - Kootenay Lake, Canada - Priest Lake, ID

Our Mac Pages

Mac-Venture Links
 
oreana123

oreana123

.
Jun 5, 2004
997
Macgregor 26D Boise
Hey Sum

I can see the advantages of using this program. I started the process, but I only got to the part where I opened MS paint, and on my computer program there is no "select" on the header. There is probably another obvious item to select, but I could not find it.

Running Windows XP. Seaclear II downloaded and installed. Thanks John S
 
oreana123

oreana123

.
Jun 5, 2004
997
Macgregor 26D Boise
Thanks, and that is the map I am converting! Tonight I have been sewing, I am cutting down a Melges main to fit a Hunter 21. Looks good so far... I'll get back to your tutorial tomorrow John S
 
Sumner

Sumner

.
Jan 31, 2009
5,254
Macgregor & Endeavour 26S and 37 Utah's Canyon Country
oreana123 said:
Thanks, and that is the map I am converting! Tonight I have been sewing, I am cutting down a Melges main to fit a Hunter 21. Looks good so far... I'll get back to your tutorial tomorrow John S
Click to expand
If you don't make it I could probably send it to you as an attachment. It is about 6 megs the way I have it saved and has both lakes on it. I did the 30 X 60 one as it has plenty of detail.

I did Yellowstone Lake (it is on two 30 X 60 maps and I might do the 7.5 X 7.5 ones also). I also plan on doing Priest, Coeur d'Alene and Lake Pend Oreille also along with Jackson. I have the upper 1/3 of Lake Powell done on a number of 7.5 X 7.5's and one 30X 60 and will also do the rest of the lake.

You can get the NOAA nautical maps for coastal waters, but the USGS Topo maps are great to supplement them and with SeaClear you could look at either for the same area and learn from both.

Here is a screen shot of.....



....SeaClear with a NOAA map of SE Florida (Barnes Sound)....and



SeaClear with the USGS Topo of the same area. Not too dramatic since there isn't much elevation change in that area, but if you were looking at say the Northeast or Northwest coast the NOAA map would be good to look at for navigation and the USGS map might provide better shoreline data if you wanted to say put ashore some place for a walk or whatever.

We are still trying to make it to your lakes John, but probably won't know until about this time next month.

c ya,

Sum

Our Trips to Lake Powell, UT - Kootenay Lake, Canada - Priest Lake, ID

Our Mac Pages

Mac-Venture Links
 
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