Electronic chart for laptop recommendation please

cameronke

cameronke

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Greetings All!

I do apologise if this thread has been posted many times before but being a novice to this field I would be confused by jargon.

Would anyone please recommend a marine chart system for use on my laptop with a USB GPS mouse. I believe some may exist that can incorporate tide information such that flow and direction can be given for an area in real time (given up to date data).

Regards
Cameron
 
We've got Maptech marine - using Offshore Navigator Lite (~£50 for solent area now!!)
pretty good for a basic package, would consider the full Offshore Navigator too ...
 
Nigel Luther who frequents these pages runs a yahoo group - full of al the nav stuff you could ever want to ask about..

Nav group

I use Navmaster and C-Map93 both interface well with the USB gps but you obviously need to configure the com port it is on.
Navmaster

Ian
 
I also use cmap93 attached to a garmin72 gps, bit of a pain getting the usb to work ( I have a serial to usb converter) but like someone else says, once you have told the pc where the com port is it normally runs ok, I have to remember to plug the usb into the same port every time though.

Someone mentioned a program called seaclear a few days ago and they reckoned it was ok, i did a search on google and downloaded it but couldnt be bothered to set it up as i have the cmap.

Good Luck
 
if you think you may buy a dedicated chartplotter in the future, consider the differences between Raster charts (scanned paper charts), and Vector charts (completely computer-generated) such as C-MAP, Navionics etc.- dedicated plotters use only vector charts as far as I know.
see previous threads for info on same...
 
And there is the RYA / Admiralty electronic chart package. £40 for a years usage. Not sophisticated, but it's aimed at getting some experience of a plotter. Available via the RYA.
 
Like Ian, I use Navmaster which supports both C-Map and ARCS charts, as well as other formats. It also displays and employs tidal information, from Proudman, as I recall. This tidal info is vital if you want to use the passage planning functions for passages in the UK. Navmaster will provide a best time to take best advantage of the tidal stream for your passage.
 
I have a copy of CMAP commercial edition....cover's the whole world, wander down to Troon sometime and will get a copy for you if you wish,
Regards

Paul.
 
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