bluechart advice

[Storyline]

I have just ordered a Garmin 4010 plotter which takes the new Vision G2 charts. Having used various C-Map cartridges which each covers a small area, I am unsure how the bluechart system works.

I have a choice of buying the whole of the UK or a smaller area of just NW Scotland which is all we need at the moment. Apart from the price difference is there any disadvantage in getting the whole of the UK? Does this contain all the charts that are on the larger scale NW Scotland chart? Is there likely to be any speed difference in using the whole of the UK as opposed to just NW Scotland?
TIA
Paul

 

[savageseadog]

Sort of going through all this myself and it's as clear as mud. The one definite conclusion I've come to is that the bigger the coverage area the better the value. Speed is difficult to define and I haven't seen any comparisons, I think it's a case of going to a stockist and having a play. One very important feature which is rarely shown on specs is current (or power) consumption of chartplotters, a very important parameter. The varying costs of upgrades is another difficult one too.

 

[Storyline]

I agree seadog - there is a shortage of info. I have not found a good analysis of the various chart types. Since getting our plotter some years ago we have become lazy in correcting our paper charts which we use as our primary nav source. Quite often a new buoy appears which causes some head scratching! The bluechart system has an update service but I am not sure what it costs. At least we are starting off with a new set of corrected charts with the new UK bluechart.

Most of the plotter manufacturers sites have current draw - with the exception of Garmin where you have to download the manual to find out. I am sceptical of the quoted figures - some do not make sense. I agree that this is a significant issue. We are keeping our tiny old plotter which I plan to use for each trip and only use the new large Garmin when we are motorsailing or need the radar. It has a quoted draw of 40W for the plotter and 33W for the radar. This is 6A, so I don't think we will use it much unless we have to. I can see a wind generator appearing soon.