Need Britsh Columbia Nav. Charts

[kiata]

Our boat is in Washington. We are heading for Alaska in June. I hear that Canada requires paper charts for their waters.

Does anyone have any or all the charts we would need?

kiata

[ArgleBargle]

Hi

Of course its a great idea to take paper charts, however, although it would be ill advised to go without them, i dont believe they are actually required (someone correct me if i'm wrong). The Canadian safe boating guide (avaiable free from Transport Canada at:

Transport Canada Publications

)

lists items required when operating pleasurecraft of various sizes in Canada, which is a little different than in the US. Charts are not required according to it.

You will of course want paper charts. There are several good chart compendia of which i'm sure you're aware covering the inside passage - eg charlie's (Charlie's Charts - Bookstore) but if you want to find suppliers of the official canadian paper charts, see the Canadian Hydrographic Service website:

CHS: FAQs

and follow the link to authorized suppliers.

have a fun trip. dont forget to stop in BC and spend some of your money.

[ArgleBargle]

Sorry, i think that second (CHS charts FAQ) link came out weird - it is actually:

CHS: FAQs

[Plumper]

I believe that as long as your vessel is under 66 feet, is not a commercial vessel and does not carry paying passengers then you don't have to have paper charts, digital will be fine. Those other vessels need to be certified to carry just digital charts.
Remember though, paper charts are made by hydrographers, digital charts are made by computer geeks. Sometimes they don't bear much resemblance to one another. Ever notice the disclaimer when you flash up your digital nav system?

[ScuzzMonkey]

Hmmmm... my understanding was that Canada does require paper charts to be carried on board, regardless of size or commercial status. You folks made me curious to know if I'd simply gotten and been spreading misinformation, though, so I went and looked up what I believe is the relevant legal regulation:

Ch**** and Nautical Publication Regulations, 1995

EDIT: Sailnet is so desperate to sell you charts themselves that they override the hyperlink with their own if you have the word "chart" in the description... thus the asterisks above.

Now, maybe that has been amended somewhere that I didn't find, but the way I read it, you are required to have the most recent version of the relevant charts aboard, unless you have previous local knowledge. That probably does exempt most Canadian pleasure boaters, but not folks such as Kiata and myself headed north for the first time.

It does not, however, specify that the charts be paper. Go figure. There actually isn't any difference between the paper and electronic versions anymore, Plumper--if you're buying a recent paper chart, they printed it from the same electronic version you might buy directly... says so right in ArgleBargle's CHS FAQ.

Getting back to the original request--Kiata, I overstocked a bit myself and wound up with duplicates of CHS charts 3548 and 3595, which you are welcome to for what they cost me, which was $10 each. I think you're late to the used-chart market in Seattle, though, I scrambled against stiff competition last month to get everything I needed and I doubt many summer-voyagers are looking to sell at this point right as they are setting out!

For that matter, I'm leaving for Vegas in the morning and then setting out on the boat as soon as we get back Monday, so I won't be around to get you the charts, but if you are interested PM me and I can leave them with our housesitter or someone in Seattle you could get them from.

[ArgleBargle]

thanks for the clarification! also disregard the requred equipment comment i made, that apparently does not apply to americans visiting canadian waters.

[Plumper]

Originally Posted by ScuzzMonkey

It does not, however, specify that the charts be paper. Go figure. There actually isn't any difference between the paper and electronic versions anymore, Plumper--if you're buying a recent paper chart, they printed it from the same electronic version you might buy directly... says so right in ArgleBargle's CHS FAQ.

I think you have this a little backwards. The CHS raster charts are scans of the paper charts. Yes they use them to print out new paper charts but they are originally just high quality scans. If you look closely it is obvious because the margin info is still there on many of them.

Most chart plotters that are used in the yacht world don't use CHS raster charts, they use proprietary vector charts which are completely different and frequently not produced by national hydrographic agencies. Big difference!

Wikipedia has a good short lesson:
Chartplotter - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The link you posted refers to ships not pleasure craft. If you identify your boat as a ship (larger than 66 feet or carrying paying passengers or used for commercial purposes) then you must adhere to the regulations linked. If you are a pleasure craft those rules don't apply.

[sailingdog]

Regardless of whether they are REQUIRED, carrying paper charts of any area you will be sailing in is generally a prudent and basic precaution to take. Electronic chart systems are battery dependent and can fail for many reasons on a small sailboat. Paper charts are relatively less prone to failure.

[kiprichard]

I sail on the Canadian west coast often on boats up to 50'. There are no requierments for paper charts. Having said that I suggest you pay close attention to SD's reply. The west coast waters of both Canada and the U.S. can be dangerous.

[Plumper]

For that matter, being prudent would dictate having a backup system no matter what. I have paper charts and a laptop with the CHS scans on it. Last summer I went north from Victoria to the Great Bear Rainforest and had paper charts and two laptops with identical software and charts. I had two identical GPS units to feed the laptops. I was completely redundant except for the wire that connected the GPS to the laptop. What do you think broke? I spent hours rebuilding the little serial plug on the wire to get it working again.

Paper charts are very pricey but CHS has come out with several chart booklets that cover most of the inside passage. They are a deal. Charts are available all the way up the coast at every little chandlery (but the booklets aren't). The charts cost the same, regardless of where you are, because they are Gov. Pubs.