Charts in the cockpit

Thanks everyone. Agree you can't get too particular about not getting things wet, one is a on boat on the sea after all..

This has probably focused the mind to realise that it is the singlehanded bit that makes it tricky. I may go all in a update to a new tiller pilot so I get down to the chart table without having to worry that the boat is wandering off course! My one is rather temperamental,

There just seems to be so much chat about the use of chartplotters (which is fine) but little about the practicalities of using charts, taking bearings while underway etc.. i'm sure most of it is common sense anyway but this has been really helpful.
 
tmtracey said:
This has probably focused the mind to realise that it is the singlehanded bit that makes it tricky. I may go all in a update to a new tiller pilot so I get down to the chart table without having to worry that the boat is wandering off course! My one is rather temperamental,

There just seems to be so much chat about the use of chartplotters (which is fine) but little about the practicalities of using charts, taking bearings while underway etc.. i'm sure most of it is common sense anyway but this has been really helpful.
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Hand steering is fine for short passages, but yes, if you're aiming to go at all further afield, then reliable steering is a must. Before you invest in a new tillerpilot though, do check that the problem isn't the electrical connection - a slightly loose wire in the socket can make the pilot reset itself, losing course.

While you're stuck in the cockpit, many of the answers above will work. When I started with my wet 18 footer, I colour-photocopied sections of the charts of interest, and laminated the copies. I marked up passage information with OHP permanent marker (it wipes off with meths).

Once you're free of the tiller, you might choose to keep the main nav chart below and only bring up what you need for pilotage to enter a strange port. You might also be able to put out fenders, reef sails, or make a cup of tea!
 
I know it's been mentioned upthread, but I'm a proponent of having a notebook in one's pocket. Do the passage plan beforehand of course, then copy out routes, vis. reference points and bearings, clearing bearings etc. Ideally it'd include sketches/plans but I'm terrible at art so I don't bother as it'd me more confusing not less. Reinforces the 'mental map', as well as acting as a ready-reckoner.
 
Nothing improved my sailing experience as much getting a chart plotter at the helm.

Its electronic charts were out of date, but no more rocks and islands built so all fine and no worse than my paper charts. Beat trying to look at flapping paper things in wet and windy conditions and folding paper chart to fit waterproof pouch always simply degraded the chart.

My charts stay safely in the cabin layed out on the table as required.
 
Most of my navigation is done by setting routes on the plotter and displaying the parameters on a Graphic Repeater in the cockpit, but there are some pilotage situations when a chart in the hand is needed, though I have been known to use an iPad/plotter instead. The Swedish West Coast archipelago is a bit of a minefield of rocks and we always used charts to hand. My usual routine was to check the route before setting off and highlight the two or three hazards that might catch us on the way, everything else being either visible or non-hazardous.

We have an assortment of Swedish, German, UK, and Dutch folios and cases and use them sometimes, though I am not averse to using unprotected charts in fine weather. There is nothing quite as good as a well-printed chart for showing complicated bits of water, but I have no need for one to hand offshore.
 
Poignard said:
With the powerful currents in the Golfe you can be moving very fast and need to know where you are at any moment before you get swept past your objective.

I use a Chinagraph pencil to tick off where we are as buoys and marks fly past at high speed.
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I have long wanted to visit Morbihan, and you have quite put me off!
 
KompetentKrew said:
I have long wanted to visit Morbihan, and you have quite put me off!
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Don’t be put off - first time we went in it was a 108 coefficient Spring tide - fast in the main channel but fine.
We checked the pilotage on the paper charts, but like any tricky place definitely somewhere I would want the chart plotter in the cockpit to know exactly where you are.
Vannes was great.
 
dunedin said:
Don’t be put off - first time we went in it was a 108 coefficient Spring tide - fast in the main channel but fine.
We checked the pilotage on the paper charts, but like any tricky place definitely somewhere I would want the chart plotter in the cockpit to know exactly where you are.
Vannes was great.
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I concur, the narrow channels and fierce tides demand attention to tidal flow, but navigation is sometimes simple. I love the Morbihan
 
I used to use small craft charts folded and kept in a rigid clear plastic holder. It was about A4 in size and you could spring apart the two sides and slide in your chart, folded to show your current location. While in theory water could get to the exposed sides of the chart, it never did. The weight of the acrylic/ Perspex prevented the chart from blowing away.
These days I use a chart plotter in the cockpit.
 
DFL1010 said:
I know it's been mentioned upthread, but I'm a proponent of having a notebook in one's pocket. Do the passage plan beforehand of course, then copy out routes, vis. reference points and bearings, clearing bearings etc. Ideally it'd include sketches/plans but I'm terrible at art so I don't bother as it'd me more confusing not less. Reinforces the 'mental map', as well as acting as a ready-reckoner.
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That's a good idea, but rather than using a notebook, I sometimes simply wrote significant bearings, lighthouse characteristics, etc. for a particular trip using an ordinary pencil on the GRP bulkhead at the front of the cockpit.

We have the technology! :D
 
Buy an inexpensive laminator with A4 and A2 pouches.
For local anchorages and areas of interest I have cut up older Admiralty charts into A4 sections laminated them and put them in an A4 pocket folder which I keep in a rainproofed pocket on the back of the cockpit dodgers. These are good enough for pilotage. If I need a close up of a new area I run a chart plotter on my PC, screen grab the area I want, print, and laminate. I also have a tablet chart plotter in the cockpit. I sail singlehanded and I find trying to handle anything bigger than A4 size in the cockpit is a pain. If using Admiralty folio charts I clip them to an A2 clipboard. For notes and sketches I use a pad of waterproof paper (drawing film)and ordinary 2B pencil.
 
tmtracey said:
Hi everyone,
I’d really like to navigate just using the charts, though do have a small chart plotter for back up. I do a fair bit of singlehanded sailing.

What are the techniques people use for keeping charts in the cockpit? For instance how do you keep them waterproof? Can anyone recommend a good case?
Where do you store them so they can be readily at hand if you want to take a bearing?
I am using the Admiralty leisure folios at present, fully updated with the latest NMs.
Thanks
Toby
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I bought a couple of plastized chart place mats at the Seattle boat show. seriously I actually did. They are waterproof and come in quite handy,:)
I also have a couple of commercially produced chart atlas which have Not to Be Used for Navigation stamps all over them. again they are quite handy:)
The official atlas from the Canadian Hydrographic office are to expensive and to nice to take out into the cockpit and get them wet or spill beer or coffee on.
I also have, actual charts which have been folded into handy shapes, have stains, even some mouldy bits. Which are my cockpit charts.
I personally don’t have a plotter, yet. It’s not so much I’m to old fashioned. More I just feel I get on fine without and spend my sailing budget on other options. One of these days I may get one.
Much to my annoyance, the world progresses more than I do. The Canadian hydrographic office has stopped printing thier excellent tide tables. It’s available on line, which I don’t find particularly handy so I by a Secondary publishers book,

Truthfully. A lot of my sailing consists of, wandering down the dock, taking a rough guess at what the tides doing based on how steep the ramp is, buggering off with a half assed plan in my head, to a familiar location. I do keep the charts somewhere JIK I feel like double checking something.

If for some strange reason, I am venturing out beyond the edge of the known world.
I take things a wee bit more seriously.

A notebook can be very handy, I am quite dyslexic, so mine is often unintelligible even to me.
I find quick sketches much more helpful than detailed notes.
Other people use very detailed notes. But they can probably read and write

I like to get a rough plan from the chart then read the relevant sections pilot book or sailing directions and update
Good plan to write times of high, low water, HWS LWS, max rate for any significant locations.

So I sketch out the passage in a pocket note book. I sketch major features, rough locations of hazards preferably with some form of transit as a Clearance line, If I can’t find a transit, what will I be abeam of or needs to pass to clear. Distances of, distance of required. Points to steer on ect.

If you make good notes or sketch, I find the process of creating the sketch helps recalling the plan. A small notebook is easier to carry and refer to in the cockpit. The better your notes the less time you need spend going referring to the chart.
If you need to bring the chart out bring it out.
 
tmtracey said:
………….
I am using the Admiralty leisure folios at present, fully updated with the latest NMs.
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Worth being aware that UKHO has recently withdrawn their excellent Small Craft Folios, so you will need to change from these in the near future. Depending on where you sail you may be able to get an Imray or NV folder (though this neans a change of appearance to get used to).
 
dunedin said:
Worth being aware that UKHO has recently withdrawn their excellent Small Craft Folios, so you will need to change from these in the near future. Depending on where you sail you may be able to get an Imray or NV folder (though this neans a change of appearance to get used to).
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That's not actually what UKHO said, although they are often misquoted as such. What has actually happened is that they just released new versions of many of the leisure folios which will continue to get updates for years while the new service is ramped up which will allow individual sheets to be printed to make your own folios. The paper used will continue to be high wet strength, so I believe the answer to OP's question is to just use the chart in the cockpit carefully and let it get a bit wet occasionally.

UKHO to refresh the ADMIRALTY Leisure Chart Folio service from September 2021 | News | ADMIRALTY
 
lustyd said:
That's not actually what UKHO said, although they are often misquoted as such. What has actually happened is that they just released new versions of many of the leisure folios which will continue to get updates for years while the new service is ramped up which will allow individual sheets to be printed to make your own folios. The paper used will continue to be high wet strength, so I believe the answer to OP's question is to just use the chart in the cockpit carefully and let it get a bit wet occasionally.

UKHO to refresh the ADMIRALTY Leisure Chart Folio service from September 2021 | News | ADMIRALTY
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They HAVE withdrawn the Small Craft Folios, which used to be sold from chandleries in a neat folder with 15-30 charts for around £45.

The replacement Small Craft Charts have to be purchased as single sheets, starting at £15 a sheet. So your £45 now gets you just 3 charts as opposed to 15-30 charts. Bulk discounts start to kick in for multiple sheets, but still at least twice the old price.
Also, I believe that no UK chandlery has the expensive printers needed for the PoD service. So cannot now buy over the counter when needed. Needs to be mail order from a major chart distributer - few of which are near yachting harbours.
 
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