Death to PAPER ! More Nails in the Paper Chart Coffin . . .

[ActiveCaptain]

I personally feel that at the end of 2010 there was a shift away from the usefulness of paper charts on boats. Perhaps if you're cruising across oceans, paper might still be useful. But for the large bulk of cruisers who stay along and near coastlines, I believe that using paper charts adds more risk and danger than throwing them off the boat. I reached this conclusion after visiting 20 boats in a row who had paper charts that were more than 5 years old. The electronic charts on most of my devices are weeks-to-months old.

Yes, I understand the issues (I'm a software and hardware developer). Yes, I know about lightening and the need for redundancy.

I also know that my 4 smartphones, 2 pads (soon to be 3), and 4 laptops will all show my position on charts if there is GPS available. If every GPS satellite falls out of the sky, I'll still be able to view all charts on my electronics and perform DR. It just won't show me where I am by itself. In other words, I'll be in the exact situation I am with paper charts even when every GPS satellite is working perfectly. Of course, many of the buoys and shoaling features on my paper charts would have been out-of-date.

Power backups provide enough reserve power for me to pilot with my iPhone for 1,000 nm (probably more) assuming I lose all engine provided power which is quite unlikely. New Trent makes some fantastic iOS power devices.

I know some people will feel this is crazy. I'm not advocating it for everyone or telling anyone to stop using paper. You'll come to that realization on your own much as most cruisers stopped carrying sextants a decade ago.

Since January, the few passages I've made have been sans-paper. And I'm loving it.