Help please! UKHO Leisure Charts Improvements?

[john_morris_uk]

What improvements can you suggest to the UKHO Leisure chart folios? Anything considered. More areas? Cheaper prices? More data on the back? How about popular areas in other parts of the world? Subject to the various treaties and memoranda of understanding not being breached, you can ask for anything in the way of charting.

One of the outcomes of spending two days helping host at T200 last week was that I had a lot of time talking to some of the people from UKHO Taunton. As some of you know I work directly for the Hydrographer to the Navy, and UKHO at Taunton is an independant for profit organisation. However I have been invited to go and discuss small craft needs with their small craft division. This is nothing more than an informal 'chat from someone who has their finger in the yachting world' and not a formal piece of market research. However now is your chance to give me some feedback.

I can tell you that they are very keen to respond to customer demand. You say what you want and I will pass it on.

At the moment we are talking about paper charts, but I have no doubt electronic charting can be included in the future. Don't say free charts - because they do have to make a profit! Having said that, the data and infrastructure is available to give the leisure user what they want so lets have some ideas?

 

[Phoenix of Hamble]

John,

How about a regional pack, covering a wider area, with a price savings.... perhaps as an example, The Wash to Isle of Wight?

I guess that many of us will own several packs of the leisure folios, and it would make sense to be able to refresh a larger area for a cost saving, and would also benefit UKHO in as much as more users would own more charts, and also more current charts?

 

[Talbot]

Whilst not about the Leisure charts, I was VERY disappointed by the latest version of the ocean passages of the world. It may have been updated, but the end result is nowhere near as useful as the previous edition. I was going to purchase a copy, but am now happier having the free download from http://pollux.nss.nima.mil/pubs/pubs_j_apc_list.html

 

[Twister_Ken]

Make amends to leisure folios more easily identifiable in NTMs.

How about extending the CI leisure folio to include east side of Contentin peninsular?

And extra folios for Seine bay, North Brittany, South Brittany?

 

[reginaldon]

Obviously price is an important factor still with of some us in the yachting fraternity. Could consideration be given to the Belgian/Dutch coast and navigable waters? Solent - Brittany seems always to receive massive coverage. Thanks for making the effort to get useful market research.

 

[rhinorhino]

Nothing radical to suggest, the series is already pretty good, but how about;
1. New areas - Brest, Dutch coast?
2. Large regional packs would be a very good idea, say equivalent to CMap's wide area folios.
3. Tidal data as stream charts?
4. More harbour plans as insets?
5. Easier tie in to NTM - web based support tied into indervidual charts in the lesuire series. I.E. on Chart xxx correct ....
6. Passage based charts to cover popular yacht passages on one chart.

 

[bobgosling]

Why do the electronic charts only last for one year ? If we want to use them beyond 1 year I accept that there may be amendments missing but isn't that down to us to monitor ? I wouldn't be overly worried about buoys missing but I'm fairly sure Nab Tower has been in the same position since the day it was erected.

 

[VicS]

Does the new corection service for leisure charts and folios not address the correction issue relating to these. Been in operation now for about a month.

 

[Mudhook]

Ask them if they can try harder to get the Leisure Folios out on time. Thames Estuary Essex & Suffolk Coasts (SC 5607) has been put back and put back, and is now promised for the end of July. Most suppliers I have spoken to are taking even that with a pinch of salt. Hard to avoid the suspicion that Solent users get preferential treatment.

However please pass on positive feedback about the fact that you can now update Leisure Folios from the UKHO website. A big stride forward!

Regards, Mudhook.

 

[tome]

[ QUOTE ]
Hard to avoid the suspicion that Solent users get preferential treatment

[/ QUOTE ]

Can't remember when I last used a chart in the Solent! I have them onboard, but only dig them out to show our passage to visitors

 

[Stemar]

Info on weather broadcasts from Coastguards and local radio - times and frequencies - would be handy - I can never remember them!

Perhaps some useful phone numbers - marinas, and so on

All this could go on the back of one of the relevant charts

 

[john_morris_uk]

Some of that data is on the inside front cover of the latest liesure folios - if not all - I haven't checked the details on a copy to be sure.

No votes for overseas coverage yet. How about the Carib or the Med areas - any particular ones wanted?

 

[peterb]

Include in the pack a CD with raster charts and simple chart plotter software. Already done on some foreign charts.

 

[sticky]

I downloaded the NTMs the other day and found that the block diagrams were not to the same scale as the actual chart. UKHO were very helpful, but I, as a computer Luddite failed to get all the blocks the correct size. It maybe a problem with me and my PC. Am I not correct in saying that there will be no more NTMs after September each year so that you may have to buy a new set of leisure charts each year? I hope this is not true but it falls in line with Taunton's policy on electronic charts. If this is true I think their policy should be changed.

 

[VicS]

The problem re size cropped up a week or two ago. If I remember rightly they are pdfs and you increase the magnification then print them are they are right. Surprised me but that's what I seem to remember.

 

[Joe_Cole]

I agree with Rhinorhino. Tidal stream data in the the form of charts, perhaps on the back of one of the existing charts in each folio would be really helpful.
The tidal diamond data is there, but properly drawn up charts are so much easier to use.

Easier chart correction, but I haven't looked at the latest information on their website.

FWIW I think the folios are excellent.

 

[LadyInBed]

I don’t use them myself but how about marking Wrecks on them.
This would make them more attractive to Divers and Fishermen.

 

[Guest]

Paper charts last indefinite regardless of being cancelled etc.

Electronic UKHO are date stamped to expire at year end - removing the choice of the user to update or not.

Can UKHO remove this time bomb and leave the chart useable such as Maptech / Cmap / Navionics etc. etc. do ?

As to being old or not - that is users choice.

Just a thought !!

A question to UKHO ... has any thought been given to Vector style rather than Raster ? surely would be easier to correct / alter etc. for them as its in data layers instead of being a 'scan' ?? maybe I'm wrong.....

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