Reeds Almanac - which version...

[sarabande]

... which version works best on a medium sized sailing (32ft) boat, please

The bound one, or the loose leaf one ?


And if you have time, why ?

 

[DipperToo]

I use loose leaf. First year is a bit more expensive to get the ring binder included, after that, just the refill pack (just bought this years refill pack for £28)

Reasons?

a) opens flat on chart table
b) easy to print and insert updates or other additional harbour/passage data you may wish to reference

I am sure that there are pros and cons for either approach.

 

[laika]

I did have loose leaf. Anything you have on the chart table will inevitably get launched onto the floor at some point. Mine only did that a couple of times before the metal rings parted company from the cover. I've bought the bound one since then. Of course I always buy the complete one because THIS WILL BE THE YEAR but I've only ever needed the channel almanac.

 

[Boo2]

I use loose leaf.
...
a) opens flat on chart table
b) easy to print and insert updates or other additional harbour/passage data you may wish to reference

Also c) easy to take pages out and scan / print onto projector film like tide graphs etc.

Boo2

 

[Poignard]

I now use the French Bloc Marine almanac but I have used both types of Reed's almanac. With the loose leaf version you can throw away the information for all the areas you won't be visiting. Also you can put a page showing a tricky pilotage inside a clear plastic sleeve and have it handy in the cockpit. The disadvantages are that the page holes easily get torn out and the holes in the pages don't line up very well with the binder rings.

 

[geoid96]

I purchase the loose-leaf version. For any particular trip, I can take out the relevant pages and put them, with passage plan etc, in one of those A4 display books with the clear pockets. This is far more practical to use at the chart table and can also be used safely in the cockpit.

 

[prv]

I only cruise the South Coast, Channel Islands, and northern France, so I buy the spiral-bound Channel version. This is more compact than the weighty book-bound tome or the ring-binder, lies flat on the chart table, and can be opened right round (front cover against back cover) to just show one page.

If I were going further afield I might still consider getting two cut-down versions (Channel and West Coast, say) as each one is easier to deal with and you only need one out at once.

Pete

 

[Lucky Duck]

I tried the spiral bound Channel Almanac for the first time this year and was a bit disappointed to see that some of the tidal diagrams had been omitted from the relevant passage planning sections which was a pain at times during our summer cruise to Brittany and the Channel Islands.

 

[prv]

I tried the spiral bound Channel Almanac for the first time this year and was a bit disappointed to see that some of the tidal diagrams had been omitted from the relevant passage planning sections which was a pain at times during our summer cruise to Brittany and the Channel Islands.

Oh - I haven't looked at the huge tome for years so I didn't realise there was a difference. That's disappointing. Can you remember what was missing?

I tend to use the actual Admiralty tidal atlases rather than the small reproductions in the almanac though, so it doesn't affect me directly.

Pete

 

[dunedin]

Reeds is a very impressive and comprehensive information source. And perhaps useful for a major voyage into new territories.

But I am not convinced it is a necessary annual purchase. A lot of the info overlaps with pilot guides and tidal atlases, which you may choose to buy from other sources.
And for tides it is very easy to source a printout of tides - I tend to print and laminate a page for each month, if in UK with Dover on one side and most useful standard port on the other. This laminated page also acts as page marker in the pilot guide.
So great book Reeds, but I think might buy every 5 years not annually

 

[Bobc]

I use mainly a Shell pilot for port information, and Reeve Foukes for tidal information.

I have a Reeds that's now about 4 years old, and can't remember the last time I opened it.

 

[RIBW]

... which version works best on a medium sized sailing (32ft) boat, please
The bound one, or the loose leaf one ? And if you have time, why ?

Loose Leaf. Lies flat, has full information compared to restricted area versions and is easy to make copies. Also, easy to extract pages and transport to and from the boat the ports/region needed. And the new insert pack costs less than £25 delivered if you shop around.

I fit selected pages in a thin three ring binder (i.e. the standard US ring binder) - much easier to carry. Regettably I have never found any means of holding the sheets tightly down as is possible with those wire devices common in 4 ring/A4 binders.

Cheers
Bob

 

[pmagowan]

I have always bought the book version and a hefty thing it is too. I buy it very infrequently and don't use it much. I get my tides from an app or the garmin or from marina offices. I get my pilot information from cruising guides, Clyde Cruising Club for my area (West Scotland). I have a tidal streams atlas also as it is easy to compare times etc. I might have a butchers at the Reeds every so often for a bit of info or for an unusual port but not much. It is probably as useful as my liferaft!

 

[Ruffles]

I use the loose leaf and and just bind the sections I need with cord. It's then thin enough to keep in the chart table. And stays at the right page.

The rest I leave at home.

 

[LadyInBed]

I have a now oldish loose leaf version.
If you go that way, also invest in a box of hole ring supports

 

[richardbrennan]

I am with prv; I use the Channel Almanac and Admiralty tidal atlases.

 

[michael_w]

I like the bound version. Seems to survive the rough and tumble on board better. Also I like to read about places I'd like to sail to; Ireland's west coast, the further reaches of Biscay etc.

 

[fergie_mac66]

I now use the French Bloc Marine almanac but I have used both types of Reed's almanac. With the loose leaf version you can throw away the information for all the areas you won't be visiting. Also you can put a page showing a tricky pilotage inside a clear plastic sleeve and have it handy in the cockpit. The disadvantages are that the page holes easily get torn out and the holes in the pages don't line up very well with the binder rings.

+1 I think bloc marine is superb,and such good value . Reeds is ok,and both types have there uses but preferred the old reeds or silk cut macmillans formats. The loose leaf type is so thin,the holes rip, the folder is always too big to fit anywhere

 

[NUTMEG]

Last summer I tried the e-version on my iPad. Convenient, but somehow it is just not the same. Navigating the pages and finding the info you really need is not intuitive, at least not to me it isn't. Not sure if I will bother to renew it this coming season.

 

[kacecar]

I buy a Reed's every three or four years. Having tried both types of binding I far prefer the bound version as it's smaller to stow and generally tough enough to survive several seasons on board without falling apart. The looseleaf ring-bound version certainly does sit flat on a chart table but, there again, I don't often need it too. More importantly, it requires more space to stow and the holes in the pages can become damaged quite easily (particularly those that tend to be referenced more often), thereby giving a new and unintended meaning to "loose-leaf". The longevity of either type depends on the amount of storage space you have for said item - on my particular 36 foot boat (i.e. not tiny) I can "lose" a bound Reed's quite easily while stashing the larger loose-leaf version somewhere secure is a challenge.