Personally think that if you are used to traditional charts you dont expect updates unless you do them youselves-I always use one of those little Lavers tide tables-one I keep at home and one on the boat.

Phil

The Chart Packs Cathy writes about in her article are pre-loaded with the tidal sets, drifts and heights for the year of purchase only.  These are then automatically incorporated in passage planning.  Unfortunately you then have to purchase a new set of charts for the following season because you cannot download/up-date this data.  I too use traditional charts Phil, however, I appreciate the value of electronic plotting but resent having to pay out £100 a season for the charts I need simply because Admiralty/RYA won't allow you to up-date tidal data.

Mike 

Hi Mike. I have read the small print on the label and it says: "Charts in the 2008 edition do not expire. To update, simply purchase the 2009 edition. New tidal data can be downloaded for the following year at www.admiraltyleisure.co.uk."

So it seems you'll be able to go on using the charts as long as you want to (unlike the original Admiralty/RYA plotters, which ceased to function at the end of the year). And you'll be able to download at least one more year of tidal data. With the hugely extended coverage in each pack, that seems to represent a reasonable bargain (£25 a year).

Then I will go back and have a look again Cathy.  I can't help feeling that chart plotting on a laptop is where the future lies.

Regards

Mike 

The aspect that is lacking in leisure electronic charting - is the update service. Commercial shipping has updates - what we called Chart Corrections ! on paper charts - provided as part of the ECDIS systems. So to complain IMHO about lack of updates is not so valid.

Nearly all other packages are more expensive, and tidal data if UK or similar Royalty based is time limited - unless you pay a lot more for the package ... ie Maxsea etc.

 The PC plotting market is IMHO over-run with glossy packages that promise all - but usually deliver a cluttered screen that many facilities are never used. The RYA / UKHO package is competing with Seapro Lite, Maptech Lite etc. along with free Software as Seasclear ... then of course there are many Shareware packages that along with Seaclear put many commercial packages to shame ...

 UKHO / RYA is IMHO basing all on the UKHO Copyright stance of their charts and tidal harmonics. Note that even the UKHO is bowing later to Vector Charting ... ARCS will be a thing of the past in the not too distant future. S57 is spreading .. ECDIS is taking over.

 But back to the Plotter .. when did you receive an update to your charting on the plotter ? So why argue about others ?

We used to get weekly update CDROM for our system - but that cost us around £250 a year subscription.

As an aside (playing devils advocat) - how many of you actually update your paper charts religiously?

W.

exactly ... if you want a cheap package - that's what you get ... if you pay more - you get more.

Many are sailing around with old charts and plotter data - and have no problems. If they venture outside their known areas - they'll often invest in a chart or two to increase their knowledge for the new location.

I find it sometimes amusing that people argue about charts and updates / corrections when their boat draft 3 ... 4 ... 5ft etc. is way inside the margins of greater detail of charts. Charts are not produced for yachts - regardless of source. They are produced for commercial shipping / Military Navy and concentrate more on deeper waters and obstructions. Shallow waters are even with later updated charts often glossed over as they do not require such deep detail. It's no good even trying to get better by buying other than UKHO for UK waters - as I don't know of any other source of chart data to any chart producer other than UKHO for UK waters .... so you are buying UKHO data whatever name on the title / chart card etc. Remember UKHO is still the largest Chart resource of all - having literally surveyed the world.

As an aside maybe the UK 'powers that be' could encourage us to use up to date charts in the same way that our friends across the pond can... free available to be downloaded or around £5 each from a chandlers.

But again their weather info is all free to as opposed to paying £1.50 a minute for a recorded service...

(Not that I miss being in the States of course!)

W.

For weather - I use Weather Underground .... gives me detailed weather for week ahead based on Post Code in literally any country. So far it's been most accurate I've found. No fees other than your ISP login time. Print if you want.

There are reasons for UK higher price on charts - compare the paper used for Adm. charts to US based ......... high quality cartridge paper for UK, lower quality pulp paper for US charts. UK charts are based on 2 standard sizes - meaning that plates and templates have to be sized from the various sources used. US based charts are all sizes and often untidy folded ! I know - I sailed on many Merch. Vessels and had to look after both UK and US charts ... US charts I really hated for their paper and folds.

Re weather - not heard of the site but if its based on postcodes  how accurate is it offshore?

Not used the US charts long term so can't comment, but the US aviation charts are republished every 6 months and the paper quality is as good as the UK ones but at a 1/6 of the price - you throw it away (or put on ebay for the flight sim people- had one set of approach plates, similar to pilotage notes, sell for more than it's face value!) and buy another.

As for folding charts or maps - well I m sure there is some magic spell for it! Oh and find me a chart table on a leisure craft that you can actually open a chart on properly and still have some where for the almanac, tide tables, parrallel rule, etc!

W.

Offshore - that's difficult to find really good service on weather. I mentioned Weather Underground as a general weather service. For my Baltic use - I will enter my Ventspils town name - sorry Postcode is only valid for USA - and then Gotland .. then Sweden East Coast. That gives me a good spread across the area I sail in.

Cannot comment on aviation charts - except I know the charts my father used to have were flimsy paper similar to USA Marine style. But never thick as UKHO Marine. For good reason really I would think. To fold an admiralty chart is not so easy and would be bulky.

Marine charts USA are very thin, there were times I had trouble correcting them with my normal Rotring Chart pens and had to resort to the awful Biro to prevent breaking through. Admiralty charts were very much thicker and far better print / paper quality. I go on ships still as part of my Marine Surveyor duties and try to take opportunity to look at latest ECDIS / Charting gear .. I see same situation today as all those years ago when I looked after world folios ...

I think the tidal info issue is a red herring.  For goodness sake, the packs are 50 quid, and you can update at least for the following year.  The bigger issue for me (and it is not a big issue at all) is that the charts are only available as raster charts.  If vector versions were available that would add even more value to what is already a great package.  I like them a lot