Edgar wrote:
Capt. American's reply does raise another interesting issue.
Like I implied in my last post, I do have paper charts for everywhere I go
but I also have a chart plotter aboard and the memory chip for this cost me
the equivalent of $330. Now where I sail in Oslo fjord this remains useful
because there are hundreds, if not thousands, of islands and small rocks
which do not change and there are hardly any navigational buoys and no
sandbanks at all so the chip on the plotter is still a useful guide and I
only bought it last year anyway. But how often is someone who has bought
one of these expensive chips going to get an updated one?

About every 10 years or so, according to Jeff

Paper charts are not cheap but you can afford to update/replace them as
necessary, so IMO they are not outdated technology until chart plotter chips
come down to reasonable figures

Is a hammer outdated? No tool is ever obsolete in the hands of a man
who has the skill to use it.

The chips *should* be cheaper than paper chart books, given the
realities of electronic manufacturing. I would like to try using raster
charts with the ability to add my own updates & annotations.

One thing to bear in mind, time spent poring over a paper chart,
updating it by hand, it time invested in learning the area & the nav
aids & local hazards. That is something that no electronic gizmo can
give you.

On another note, I have recently downloaded a lot of charts navigation
free-ware. After a few hours looking them over, I have found Maptech's
"Chart Navigator" to be pretty good (haven't tried plugging it into a
GPS) and another program called "Global Mapper" to be handy for
overlaying charts to cover large areas. I have used "Sea Clear" too but
have not gotten the knack of it as quickly.

-signed- Injun Ear (formerly known as Eagle Eye)