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Used Charts?

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Justin
Admiral

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502 Posts

Initially Posted - 01/19/2006 : 08:42:44

Hi everyone. I have another question, have many since I'm new to sailing and you all have been very helpful on this site. I needed charts and last night I did a search online, including ebay. I came across an auction which included ADC Laminated Chesapeake Bay Charts Chartbook 6th Edition (2000) and 2001 Edition Of The Guide To Cruising The Chesapeake Bay, http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem& item=4604291556& rd=1& sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT& rd=1. It looked like a good deal and just what I needed, so I won the auction for $30 shipped. My question is with the charts being 5-6 years old, are they still considered current? I didn't think about it that much last night, but now I'm wondering if there may be changes and if more current charts are that much better. Do many of you have charts that are 5-6 or more years old?

Again, thanks for all the help.

Justin
Previous Owner of Sapphire Breeze - 1982 Catalina 25 SK/SR
My sail blog site: https://reveriesailing.com/

Edited by - on

Champipple
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
6855 Posts

Response Posted - 01/19/2006 : 09:04:41

Justin,

You’ll need to talk to someone in that area – especially the locals. Some charts are good for longer than others. For example, here in Lake Erie the water can fluctuate dramatically from year to year based on how much snow the guys who eat ham for breakfast and call it bacon get. If I’m going to the Western part of Lake Erie where it is shallow, new charts is always of great benefit. If I stay here at home I only have to make it out of the marina and I know where to avoid.

I also don’t have tide here, however your going to feel the effects of both tidal current, plus high and low tide. You can get those tables anywhere, but having them in your charts is always a benefit. Old charts of course are not going to be up do date with that info.

That’s the long answer. The short answer is they will have some benefit, but the greater the detail you require, the more the date might effect you.

Duane

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Brooke Willson
Admiral

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USA
983 Posts

Response Posted - 01/19/2006 : 12:00:21

Tidal range in the Chesapeake is only about two feet, and unless the polar ice caps melt more quickly than we expect, there won't be significant variation in depths from what's on those charts (and then, it would only be deeper

). There haven't been significant changes in buoyage in the last six years that I know of. My hundred dollar Chesapeake chart book is six or seven years old and suffices just fine. You're more likely to find changes in the Cruising the Chesapeake book in the last six years, since marinas and restaurants come and go.

Brooke

Edited by - Brooke Willson on 01/19/2006 12:00:49

OLarryR
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3468 Posts

Response Posted - 01/19/2006 : 12:22:37

Justin,

Possibly one way to check is to look for a past posting in this forum (maybe do a search on charts)that had a website address for obtaining free charts. I used that to download the free software and the free charts. Apparently , a contractor that does service for NOAA has a responsiblity to offer the charts for free. They offer the basic charts for free as downloads but also offer various options which you can buy (ie. laminated charts).

You could review the charts you have in question against the free ones - check the dates of when the chart was last revised against your chart. The changes that happen over several years is not so much depths but if there was construction anywhere that the chart covers. for example, in my area, they are building a new bridge to replace the old Wilson bridge that spans between VA and MD in the upper Potomac river region. Old charts would not show the construction warnings but the new charts would.

It is also possible that some charts just have not been updated in many years. I am not sure how often they do chart revisions.

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Justin
Admiral

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502 Posts

Response Posted - 01/19/2006 : 13:13:23

Thanks for the tips and glad to hear the bay hasn't changed much.
Larry, actually I've been playing around with some free chart software I found and downloaded lots of free charts of the bay and Potomac. Here is the link: http://www.freeboatingcharts.com/
I'll compare what I bought to these. I've thought about bringing my laptop on my boat with this software, I probably will sometime, but I wanted to have some paper/book charts as well. With that software, I already charted my course to move my boat from St. Michael's across the bay to Mayo. I've learned quite a bit using that software and reading articles on how to use charts online.

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tinob
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1883 Posts

Response Posted - 01/19/2006 : 13:52:49

Justin.

The Local Notice to Mariners is a free update from the Coast Guard and comes to you monthly. You'll have to contact them and request it.

I bought a new chart a while ago and the buoys were numbered differently the next season. The LNM listed the change.

Val

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RickStevens
1st Mate

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USA
62 Posts

Response Posted - 01/19/2006 : 16:52:16

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by tinob</i>
The Local Notice to Mariners is a free update from the Coast Guard and comes to you monthly. You'll have to contact them and request it.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">

This is a great idea. You can go to this web site and subscribe: http://www.navcen.uscg.gov/lnm/listserver.htm. You can get a good overview of each Coast Guard District at http://www.uscg.mil/units.shtm.

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Justin
Admiral

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502 Posts

Response Posted - 01/20/2006 : 09:23:03

Thanks for the info. I just subscribed to the LNM on the CG site.

Edited by - on

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The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.