Electronic Charts

[winethief]

I am looking for feedback on electronic charts before making the investment. My plan is to have the charts PC based. The question is what software do I go to. Everything I have read says to wait since the government is converting many charts over to vector files. I am looking to have as much flexibility as possible. Going with BlueChart, Nobeltec, Navionics, etc. may not be the answer.

I look for all input into this matter.

Many thanks,
George

"Wind Thief"
Passport 40

[btrayfors]

George,

There are as many opinions on this as there are sailors. Here's mine.

I have a similar boat to yours...a Perry-designed 42' sloop. I, too, wanted chart navigation on a PC, both for planning purposes and for an additional navigation aid underway.

Being a navigation nut (practiced it, taught it including celestial, wrote programs for it, etc.), and having some direct experience with high-end GIS systems in the government, I was very wary of certain technologies, including early vector charts. Why? Vector charts are digitized, often by hand, often by humans who are fallible and who'd rather be doing something else. By contrast, raster charts are "photographs" of actual charts...they look exactly like them and they contain the exact same information. Vector charts don't look like real charts, and they often don't contain some of the useful information contained on real charts.

This is not a rail against vector charts. They've improved a lot, they are ubiquitous these days, and they have some distinct advantages like layering.

However, for me the choice was simple: I wanted electronic charts which were exact copies of the paper charts onboard. Ergo, raster charts.

Happily, all raster charts of the United States are now downloadable for free. Another advantage. And, the latest versions can be downloaded just prior to needing them, in part offsetting the decided advantage of keeping vector charts current by downloading "change" files.

The software I've used successfully for several years now....and many thousands of offshore and inland miles....is Maptech's Offshore Navigator. I find it easy to use, it interfaces well with my Furuno GPS units, and Maptech is very good about providing updates to, e.g., tide and current data. This program lacks some features which the higher-end Maptech product now includes, like seamless transition between charts. But, I've found it more than adequate.

I used it for about a year before I interfaced the GPS to the laptop, preferring to take positions off the GPS and plot them on the electronic chart by hand. However, I found during a trip up the ICW in very narrow channels that the GPS was bang-on....I could tell if I was in the middle of the channel, or off to one side slightly. So, I broke down and interfaced the two a couple of years ago, and am very happy with the result.

My solution works for me, but not everyone is as finiky about navigation as I, or as willing to forego certain features that other programs provide, and that can be had with vector graphics.

Bill

[tenuki]

I use macenc.com which supports a wide range of different chart formats including both raster and vector. I use NOAH's ENC format freely downloadable and up to date charts (ie notice to mariners are included as soon as they are available) from:

Office of Coast Survey - NOAA Electronic Navigational Charts

[JeffreySiegel]

I'm a developer of this type of software and have previously developed three products sold by Maptech. I believe that the best products for a PC on the market are Coastal Explorer (Rosepoint Navigation) and the various Nobeltec products. I have every major application and have tried all of the minor ones. The only one that I really use at my helm is Coastal Explorer. It is well priced and has exceptional stability and functionality. I have no affiliation with them.

Maptech re-brands a version of Coastal Explorer that they call Offshore Navigator Pro. I believe that it is better and less expensive to get the product directly from Rosepoint though. They have a free trial on the Rosepoint web site. It works with both raster and vector charts so you can use either/both depending on your particular likes. All of the charts for the US are freely available on the NOAA web site - a huge benefit. Coastal Explorer also works with Vista if you are so inclined.

During my close affiliation with Maptech, I had and used their regular Offshore Navigator product. I found so many bugs and problems with that software that I no longer use it for any reason. It doesn't do the most very basic of 1998 chart functions such as quilting (a very important function that you take advantage of immediately). There are also a variety of bugs that I've encountered with it - ringing bells, strange route creation functionality, etc. It's pretty obvious that Maptech themselves have thrown in the towel with creating their own product as they're now licensing Coastal Explorer.

[JimsCAL]

Note that all the NOAA charts have been digitized and are in the public domain. Several vendors sell a DVD with all the NOAA charts for under $100 which will save you a lot of downloading. Also, if you buy a new Maptech chartbooK, it now comes with a CD with all the same charts as in the book in digital form plus Offshore Navigator Lite software for planning and real-time positioning with a GPS interfaced to the PC. A good way to get started without dropping a bundle.

[JeffreySiegel]

If you're happy and satisfied with Offshore Navigator, great. Stay with it. It probably does everything you need. You most certainly haven't used other products so you don't know what you're missing. There's nothing wrong with that - keep using it. You're very lucky that you're not encountering problems - I honestly hope it stays that way.

And you're right, there always were faster guns in the West. But once the new shiny gun was seen, most people wanted it, especially if the old one kept shooting you in your own foot (or head).

[Freesail99]

Cockpits and laptops don't mix. Electronic charts should be used for planning. Maybe even as a reference. I often singlehand. It be down right dangerous for me to go below to check my laptop. This is the laptop that has to be bungie corded to the navigation table. So it doesn't fall and break while underway. A chartplotter in the cockpit, for navigation is a better way to go.

[sailingdog]

Unless you are using a fully-ruggedized notebook computer, it has no real place for navigation use IMHO. Most notebook computers can't be read in daylight, and can't survive even mild spray.

While it might make sense to use a notebook computer for navigation planning, and for doing research—it really would make far more sense to use a dedicated marine chartplotter in the cockpit for day-to-day navigation use.

[JeffreySiegel]

Originally Posted by sailingdog

Unless you are using a fully-ruggedized notebook computer, it has no real place for navigation use IMHO. Most notebook computers can't be read in daylight, and can't survive even mild spray.

I agree. The products I'm building work on mobile phones. For coastal cruising, you often want your cell phone with you (for safety if for no other reason). Mobile phone displays are often very visible in sunlight.

You can see some screen shots at: ActiveMap

For spray environments, there are many watertight cases but frankly, a ziplock bag works pretty well...

[trantor12020]

I started off using Oziexplorer for PC/notebook. Its a great program, easy to use. I scan all my paper chart to jpg format and use it straight on the Oziexplorer. Notebook is cumbersome to use in cockpit so I converted to using OziexplorerCE on an iPaq PDA. Just clip the PDA to the steering pedestial hand-hold. Works wonderfully well. All I need do is get hold of a chart, scan it to jpg (large chart scan can be stitch together), convert to ozf format, calibrate using the PC version and use on iPaq. The Official OziExplorer Web Site - GPS Mapping Software for Magellan, Garmin, Lowrance, Eagle, MLR Receivers