Chart updates

[Rob H 37]

How long is reasonable to use charts whether they be paper or electronic before updating?

Does everyone update every year? Or is 5, 5 or even 10 years acceptable?

When does it start getting dangerous?


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[PhilF]

when you hit a buoy that's been moved
IMHO

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[Deleted User YDKXO]

Well, since Notices to Mariners are issued by the Hydrographic Office on a weekly basis <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.hydro.gov.uk/weekly_nms.cfm>http://www.hydro.gov.uk/weekly_nms.cfm</A> then I guess the answer is 1 week
MBY/MBM used to publish extracts from the Notices to Mariners of interest to leisure boaters but they seem to have stopped recently. Not sure why they stopped but I used to flick thru them and make a note of any relevant to my cruising area
But now I would hazard a guess that nobody on this forum bothers to update their paper charts regularly and, like me, I think most peeps probably throw them away when they get manky and buy new ones from the swindlery when the fancy takes them

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[Talbot]

PBO still publish the extracts.
UKHO stopped doing the small craft editions of NM, which used to come out quarterly.
If you have the Admiralty small craft folios, the only way to check on the appropriate nm is by looking at each chart in the folio, and then listing the original Admiralty chart that the SC chart is derived from. You then need to check the nm for that original chart cause they dont list the changes to the small craft folios . Thus they either expect you to get new charts on a yearly basis, or when the coffee stains are too large /forums/images/icons/smile.gif


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[Sunnyseeker]

My old Cmap was correct when my new paper chart was wrong....so I'm confused now! Narrow inlet lots of rocks one says lighthouse on left the other....lighthouse on right....good job it wasn't dark!
The paper people said it was human error...and oooops sorry

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[hlb]

My Irish sea charts are 1979 vintage. othing looks to have changed much....

<hr width=100% size=1> Flags Solly MFBR</font color=red>
Haydn

 

[whisper]

Anorak Here !! I'm afraid I do mine atleast 3 times a year but they are all Imray ones so it's easy to get the info from their website. As said earlier it becomes unsafe not to correct them as soon as something important changes in the area you're about to visit - whoops, where's that come from /forums/images/icons/shocked.gif
Tend not to bother on passage planning charts though, as there's not much detail on those anyway.

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[Deleted User YDKXO]

The other thing to be aware of is that charts often sit in a chandler's stock for many months and will not be corrected to the date that you buy it anyway

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[Talbot]

For C-Map, that should not be a problem. You can check the latest change for each chart at their web site, and if you go to one of the dealers who are also the authorities for burning updates, they normally only burn a chip to order, so you are assured of the latest update. Furthermore C-Map are introducing an email up-date service for the CD owners and are trying to solve the problem of email updates for ctg owners.

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[spynappels]

If you get your charts from a good supplier, they will ensure that they are up to date when you buy them. Todds Charts in Bangor, NI will stamp the back of your chart with the number of the last NM that was applied to it. Then its just a case of checking the UKHO website every few weeks or so.
It is also a good idea to keep a chart update log with the numbers of the charts, last NM applied and dates.

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[Robin]

We use mostly Imray with a few UKHO and SHOM on paper and C-Map for the plotters. We sail in areas of rocks rather than sandbanks which shift, so there is a health warning in any comments! I look at the notices monthly in PBO for areas we are interested in, then select any that are important enough to bother updating, usually few if any. Additionally however I download and print out the corrections for each chart from Imray, these are kept on board but unless of real interest are not updated on the chart. As far as C-Map electronic charts are concerned I have not paid for regular updates but have put significant updates (like buoy moves, the new TSS position off Ushant) into the PLOTTERS (the C-Map cartridge cannot be user changed) using the 'mark' function. This allows you to put an 'X' through an existing buoy say and put another buoy symbol in the new place, not perfect but better than nothing. In addition we carry the latest Almanacs (especially the French Votre Livre De Bord one) which list all the current light characteristics etc, and if we have a special need to check a light out, can check it's latest spec from there.

As I say, we sail where the solid bits don't move around, update where important but ignore where not, but stay aware of possible changes and check if required with the printed Imray updates and Lights Lists.

IMO the UKHO update service is very complex and time consuming, not user friendly and this is one reason I prefer to use the Imray charts which are based on the UKHO ones anyway.

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[duncan]

Once you have a chart plotter those damm navigation buoys become a hazard rather than a friend rather quickly!

I do as Robin and plot them as marks on the plotters but wish I could actually move them around on the chart itself and do the job properly. C-maps developments will hopefully lead to a significant change in the approach to funding electronic charting. The older models (50% cost of original chart - probably still a year out of date anyway etc) are at such odds to the newer developments that we can only hope we end up with a situation where you can reasonably expect to be able to run an update to the chart as part of the services associated with the purchase of the product.

<hr width=100% size=1>madesco madidum ..../forums/images/icons/smile.gif

 

[markdj]

What you talk about is already available. The UKHO have ARCS which are digital raster charts that can be updated for only £60+vat no matter how many charts you have. We have charts covering Scotland, the whole coast of Ireland, Irish Sea, English Channel, and Biscay which amounts to 139 charts. All charts are updated yearly for £60+vat which is unbeatable value. This was one of the reasons we went for the raster charts with a laptop over the vector charts and the fact that there is no redraw time. There are many chartplotting software that can use ARCS, the one we use is Meridian Seatrak <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.rcds.co.uk>http://www.rcds.co.uk</A> Well worth a look and there's a free download on their website.

Good cruising


MarkDJ

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