pete wrote:
I haven't been on a boat in a while but, to celebrate his safe return
from Iraq, my son and I will take a week-long charter (C&C30) this
summer from Boston to the Vineyard. So I naturally went to Bliss
Marine for charts. But there are no charts, not the familiar kind that
get smudgy and wet, and tear at the folds, and become raggedy and
illegible.

How have navigation aids evolved in ten years, and what do you guys
use for charts nowadays? I see that there are downloadable charts, but
I haven't yet been able to dowload them; and besides they'd print as
8-1/2x11 in B&W.

Thanks!

-- Pete


I use Maptech ChartKit region 2 (RI-Maine) (not to be confused with the smaller
ChartBooks). I find the spiral-bound 17x22 format easier to use than a pile of
full-size charts. A small illuminated magnifying glass is handy for seeing
fine details when your glasses are wet or smudged. I also use the companion
Embassy Guide for additional info about anchorages & marinas.

I just used this combo in a 35' sloop for a 5-day trip around Cape Cod and a
10-day trip from Boston to Nantucket, the Vineyard and the Elizabeth Islands.
No problems navigating tricky spots like Woods Hole or Pollock Rip, nor with
small harbors like Hadley or Oak Bluffs (gotta love that 5' draft). I'm an
old-school dividers, parallel rule & hand-bearing compass navigator, so I
really gave the charts a workout. For longer passages without landmarks, I do
succumb to using GPS for minimizing drift and I find the pre-defined waypoints
handy for that purpose. I used to use full-sized charts, but I'm quite happy
with the ChartKit and will not be buying full-sized charts any more.

--
Chuck Cox
SynchroSystems - embedded computer design - http://synchro.com

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