Wayne.B wrote:

In Maine, except for the Portland Harbor channels, I use charts just as much
in waters I'm familiar with as in new areas. It's pretty much mandatory in
our complex geography.

If I had a powerboat or a larger sailboat with a pilothouse, dedicated nav
station, and crew to do a lot of the other tasks, I would certainly have a
full electronic set up with electronic charts, chart plotters, etc. Setting
up and using something like that was a primary reason for thinking about
getting a powerboat when we first decided to get back into boating. On the
sailboat however, it's a different dynamic, a different mindset, keeping it
simple is part of the charm.

I actually find that I prefer the chartbooks more in unfamiliar areas.
Maybe it's just being old enough to have run fog clock and compass back in
the days when only a few boats had Loran and they had cathode ray displays
where you had to turn knobs to match pulse rates. Budgets and the physical
realities of small sailboat life dictate a small GPS. I use the chartbook
for overall situational awareness and the GPS for the close in view and
position. It's a nice compromise that doesn't make me feel I'm getting too
far from my roots.

If I were cruising in a boat like yours, I'm sure I would have and greatly
enjoy using pretty much the same set up you have.

You ought to open up those chart books though. It's a lot more enjoyable
anticipating and planning the next day's cruising with those nice paper
graphics in your hand than looking at a LCD display.

--
Roger Long