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storing paper charts on board - whats your method?


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What's the approved method for storing paper charts - rolled and in a cardboard cylinder?  Folded, and in a clear case?  Liberally soaked in coffee and then shoved in the nearest open locker?

We have Auckland Approaches and a couple of other gulf charts on board, but they have got dog-earred and creased, and they developed holes remarkably quickly.  I want them on board for those times of technology failure, so how best to store them?

Additional question for 20 extra points - recommended charts for Auckland to BOI?

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I keep my charts with 1 fold in plastic portfolio envelopes, mine came from Perth years ago, you might find them in an art supply shop.

As for charts, assuming you have all the Gulf Charts (532 etc), I suggest

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you could add NZ 52 for the big picture and NZ 5214 Marsden Pt if you were likely to stop inside the heads.

The catalogue is here https://www.linz.govt.nz/sea/charts/nz-chart-catalogue-list-view

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I keep them in their original plastic envelopes in my chart plastic bag in my chart drawer, was surprised how often I referred to them this summer, but was cruising a bit of the Coromandel that I am not that familiar with, prices still on some $3.55  that gives you a clue how long I have been using them, and as i have explained to various crew over the years it takes ages to grow a new rock. Still like Navionics on the phone for quick reference.

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2 hours ago, Black Panther said:

Can't remember the last time I used a paper chart for anything. I have a handful on board as a get me home, but wonder why sometimes. 

For me, its a bit of Bill Bryson-ism:

"What is it about maps? I could look at them all day, earnestly studying the names of towns and villages I have never heard of and will never visit...”

Replace towns and villages with coves and bays and its pretty close.

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There were 4 folios of Charts published by the Hyro Office in the early 2000's, A3 size laminated.

They covered

1. Auckland Harbour, Waiheke 

2. Kawau and Mahurangi

3. Gt Barrier & Mercs

4. BOI

They appear on Trademe from time to time, obviously you would not rely on them for a night entry to a new port but are very handy to have in the cockpit for general orientation, not too many recent new rock discoveries to worry about and it seems boats/ships have no problem finding those that are already well known. 

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Paper charts maybe dinosaurus things but are nessacary.More detail on paper than navionics will ever give you.Had a play with the latest fandangle thing and no detail,can zoom in/out but unlike paper.If cant use a paper chart to navigate your Screwed.  Gps etc are great until satelites turn unexpectedly or a millatery operation takes over control.

As far as I am concerned,a chart parrel rules pencil rubber hand bearing compass is all you need ,Electronics are a guide only.

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26 minutes ago, harrytom said:

What you going to do if the electronic toys pack up

What are you going to do when the sky falls down? The average boat these days has 4 cell phones (nearly all of which are waterproof), a chart plotter or two, separate house and start banks so two power supplies, three if you count the solar..  I think there is enough redundancy in that.. I have spare fuses, chargers, a cell phone power bank as a backup.  Work laptop is on board (incase of a snap lockdown)  which has opencpn.. 

Perhaps years ago when there was only GPS, no Galileo or GLONASS etc. The yanks have removed selective availability as a feature set from their birds, and modern recievers are multi GNSS capable 

 

The electronic toys are not going to pack up...

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You're a bit flash Winter!  

Yes, we had 3 laptops and 2 GPS capable cellphones on board last week (and a third that acts as our internet connection and wifi access point and router once its in its drybag and hoisted up the mast).  Their accuracy varies, but the major drawback is screen size and my myopia.

So at the chart table we have a 22-inch HDMI screen attached to the RPi running OpenCPN etc, ENC charts, and that gives plotting, routes, waypoints tracking, anchor alarms, depth alarms, position, speed, course etc all without me needing to really know whats happening and how.

Which is the rub for me.  I have no first principles to work from and understand and query what the system is telling me.  A bit of wanting charts is about redundancy, but moreso for me its about trying the ancient ways so I understand how today's gear is doing what it does.

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1 hour ago, harrytom said:

Paper charts maybe dinosaurus things but are nessacary.More detail on paper than navionics will ever give you.Had a play with the latest fandangle thing and no detail,can zoom in/out but unlike paper.If cant use a paper chart to navigate your Screwed.  Gps etc are great until satelites turn unexpectedly or a millatery operation takes over control.

As far as I am concerned,a chart parrel rules pencil rubber hand bearing compass is all you need ,Electronics are a guide only.

Interesting, I find the opposite -- the detail available when you zoom in electronically mostly far exceeds what you can get on paper.

I agree though that you need to be able to fall back to paper when the electronics give up. But that's more about replacing the gps than the chart itself. 

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15 minutes ago, aardvarkash10 said:

You're a bit flash Winter!  

Yes, we had 3 laptops and 2 GPS capable cellphones on board last week (and a third that acts as our internet connection and wifi access point and router once its in its drybag and hoisted up the mast).  Their accuracy varies, but the major drawback is screen size and my myopia.

So at the chart table we have a 22-inch HDMI screen attached to the RPi running OpenCPN etc, ENC charts, and that gives plotting, routes, waypoints tracking, anchor alarms, depth alarms, position, speed, course etc all without me needing to really know whats happening and how.

Which is the rub for me.  I have no first principles to work from and understand and query what the system is telling me.  A bit of wanting charts is about redundancy, but moreso for me its about trying the ancient ways so I understand how today's gear is doing what it does.

My sailing is pretty much Gulf cruising point and shoot, as in I want to get to that place over there by nightfall. Charts are referred to for hazards, channels etc but i don't plot courses etc as one should. I relax by reading Coastal Navigation by Mike Scanlan, it informs me about how much I dont know!

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1 hour ago, khayyam said:

Interesting, I find the opposite -- the detail available when you zoom in electronically mostly far exceeds what you can get on paper.

 

agree - the ENC charts even project the colours and sectors of lights when you hover over them (see the Maria Island light in the attached image) - I love how that happens!  However, I find a paper chart gives wider perspective for some reason.  Bloody unwieldy though, and where to put the damn thing when you are not referring to it??  At the moment, they live under a quarter-berth squab...

Screenshot from 2022-01-12 21-18-32.png

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