[71Seafer34]

Here with another question as we get into the detailed planning stage of our voyage. We have been looking at our charting options and I'm wondering if anyone has any input in terms of keeping it inexpensive. It seems the most bang for your buck would come with the purchase of a chartplotter as they seem to come loaded for the most part with all U.S. coastal and Caribbean charts. Personally though I am pretty insistent on us having paper as a backup or primary because I just don't trust electronics for the most part and should our vessel lose power or should the plotter stop working I think it is prudent to have paper charts. I've really only ever used paper charts with hourly plots. They are not cheap as I am sure everyone knows, and then there are the revisions and updates so its an ongoing expense. Does anyone have a good way to source them, print them, etc...? Our trip starts in the Albany NY area and proceeds down the Hudson, ICW/coast, and into the Caribbean and eventually the BVI's. So far I am seeing about 25$ on average and it looks like we are going to need at least 10-15 of them to cover the range, maybe more. Just trying to be budget minded, any input is appreciated.

 

[71Seafer34]

Wow, a lot of information here, thank you all very much! Its surprising that there isn't more of a "standard" with these charts, one is better here and another there - its good to hear from people who've actually used them. We are not sure at the moment whether we will exclusively stay in the ditch on the way down, we are hoping to have the luxury of picking each days travel as we go based on weather and how we feel. We like the idea of a handheld but are still not sold on the clarity or battery power, does anyone have any complaints on their scope? We will look into used charts as we approach mid summer, there may some added benefit in those as the backup we intend them to be. As has been said, things can change rapidly, especially after hurricane season so charts in general can only be relied upon so much, knowing your water depth and leaning on the conservative side is prudent. I guess it can't hurt to ask; if anyone reading this has run the course we've outlined and find they want to shed some 50 odd charts that aren't needed anymore and aren't too outdated we would like to hear from you. Thanks gang, good luck to everyone this season!