PDFs make the boating world go round

[F/V First Team]

While not electronics per say, one does need electronics to make these work.

PDF copies of NOAA charts. I just downloaded them all, there are 1028 of them which is 4.53 GB worth.

Good back up for those times when you need it.

NOAA Charts PDF Format

 

[fortier256]

PDF Charts

So any print shop should be able to print a full size (or any size) usable version on quality paper? Which would greatly simplify things.

 

[F/V First Team]

Or any pdf document reader, laptop, smart phone, etc.

 

[fortier256]

PDF charts

GPS is great However I enjoy having a full size chart to look at while underway. The Fortier doesn't have a chart table so I thought that having a chart that fit nicely on the engine box would be perfect. I might just build some sort of board to accommodate the charts on the box. A random sized chart probably wouldn't be to scale however I am not walking off distances.

 

[osprey47]

I downloaded a few and the problem is that you need a large format printer to produce something larger than a placemat-sized print and that's not large enough to do usable plotting. As NOAA says, a good planning tool. The Maptech chart books, while pricy, give you a workable physical chart and are a good companion to a PC-based charting package.

 

[Keelboater]

GPS is great However I enjoy having a full size chart to look at while underway. The Fortier doesn't have a chart table so I thought that having a chart that fit nicely on the engine box would be perfect. I might just build some sort of board to accommodate the charts on the box. A random sized chart probably wouldn't be to scale however I am not walking off distances.

Any random plot size is to scale, you just have to determine what it is. You can do that just by measuring the distance of the lat lines. 1 degree of lat = 60 nautical miles or 1 minute = 1 nautical mile. If 1 minute of latitude measures 1/8" for instance, just write the scale on the side border of the chart and you're good to go. (1 nm = 1/8") Easy Peasy as a wise man once said.