What Value?

[Jammer Six]

Lately, I've noticed folks here selling charts, both paper and electronic. From 2008.

Now, speaking as someone who works fairly hard to keep a dozen paper charts right up to date, I don't believe charts from 2008 are up to date. I'm hard pressed to keep 12 charts up to date on waters I know well, and a chart book that covers thousands of miles and dozens of charts, well, unless you have a staff, I don't believe it. Don't even try to tell me the electronic charts are up to date.

So my question is this: who buys charts that are out of date? What value to chart books that old have?

And if you really believe that, would you like to buy my old charts? I have one that shows lighthouses that aren't there anymore. Make me an offer.

[StuM]

In this part of the world, charts are updated rarely if ever. Heck, a lot of the data is from the 1800s

[Jammer Six]

So how are they selling charts of the coast of Virginia?

[FSMike]

Originally Posted by Jammer Six

So how are they selling charts of the coast of Virginia?

Why are you asking a person in New Guinea about charts of Virginia? That must deserve a non sequitur award lol
Anyway, the land doesn't change. In places like the Bahamas, where the nav aids usually don't work, old charts still have a value as long as the lat/long grids are accurate.

[Cheechako]

I've always used charts out of date. I take all tools with a grain of salt and use my eyes and brain. I've had new charts and like you tried to keep them up to date. Most corrections I made meant nothing anway, but of course there are always the possible big ones. Heck, many used mexico charts that are a mile off in places until GPS no one worried about it. The land doesnt change much. Paper charts give me the perspective to land I need. Whether the bouyage system has changed doesnt matter a lot ot me. I consider them all incorrect outside the USA and Canada anyway. And often they are!

[FSMike]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

---- many used mexico charts that are a mile off in places until GPS no one worried about it. The land doesnt change much. ----

True. I'd forgotten that it was only relatively recently that charts with accurate lat/long grids were available for the Bahamas. (Thanks Explorer)

[Jammer Six]

Originally Posted by FSMike

Why are you asking a person in New Guinea about charts of Virginia?

The same reason you answered.

The questions stand, there hasn't been an answer I recognize, yet.

As far as I can see, the only answer is because there's a sucker born every minute, and there's someone will buy anything.

[rgscpat]

Is this possibly related somewhat to the marketplace for 25-year-old flares?

[delmarrey]

Paper charts are a real PITA on a sailboat up to 40'. They get wet, blown around and usually damaged beyond use in a cockpit. If you keep them on the chart table down below, again they are useless. You can't see them. One would be running in and out of the cabin every 5 minutes or so to make sure they didn't miss some thing.

It didn't keep from hitting a submerged rock, which was on the chart. But who keeps a chart in one hand while steering with the other. And you can't plot a course when your looking for a gunk hole along a shore. Or scrolling thru the charts.

Very seldom does a up to date chart have a depth or shoreline change. It's mostly a buoy change or nav aid that's been added.

As for elect'c charts, they are becoming more and more accurate each year. If some thing is off on the chart one can email in the discrepancy and they'll change it on the next series along with the updates. And some producers have uploads of the update online.

Yearly up to date charts for the recreational sailor is an extravagance that could bankrupt ones budget.

[Jammer Six]

Huh. I'm new, but somehow, my charts are up to date and I don't have any problem using them. Must be because I didn't realize it couldn't be done.

The question still stands, I'm not sure what the anti-paper rant has to do with it. In fact, it seems like you're saying that old paper charts have no value at all.

Which is what I think, too.

The 25 year old flares and the 8 year old charts are probably on the same boat.

[Delancey]

When the 25 year old flares fizzle you just light up those out of date charts and start waving them around!

[delmarrey]

I have a friend that uses old charts for wrapping paper. So yeah, they do have some value.

[nigel1]

Dont think correcting paper charts is too much of a work up.
I have about 100 UK Admiralty Charts, which I keep updated from corrections listed on their website.
No need to apply all corrections, only the applicable ones.
Around UK at the moment, lots of windfarms going up, and everytime I'm out on the boat, I hear guard boats chasing pleasure craft out of the work area, which if they had corrected their charts, they would have known about.

[Scott Berg]

Wow...

It depends upon the definition of 'Old.' I have about 200 charts of most of the world. Some are quite old (40 years) but perfectly fine as they are ocean and/or coastal charts of well known areas and land hasn't moved. NONE of the Nav Aid's are probably correct but any prudent captain knows that. It doesn't mean the charts aren't useful, just not useful for Nav Aids. They still show the ocean and the land masses. When making landfall it is obviously necessary to have currently corrected chart. It may be new or old, paper or electronic, but it must be up to date with latest corrections (which lights are where, which aren't lit, etc). When heading south last year I bought new offshore charts from Norfolk to Miami with Just In Time updating from a chart vender. They were handy but exactly the same as my 20 yr old ones save some Nav Aids that we could probably pick up visually. Remember, this is for sailing off soundings, not coastal boating.

As for charts on a 40' boat, my Hughes 38 had a great chart table just fwd of the port quarter berth. It was easy to plot a course and make updates from fixes every few hours.

Coastal boaters have different needs; for offshore cruising we often use plotting sheets for DR and fixes and move fixes to the "big ocean chart" every watch change... It's all blue anyway <grin>.

Charts in the cockpit are for making landfall and cruising on soundings; there the latest chartbooks (corrected) or up to date (corrected) electronic charts are critical. Oh, of course, a GPS or chart plotter is always handy, but they surely aren't necessary.

And, for what it's worth, I'd take an OLD chart with a current Pilot Book over a newly printed chart and an OLD pilot book making landfall.

YMMV

[boating2go]

I have paper charts and electronic charts both being up to date as I can get them. Electronic is wonderful as long as you have power or your electronic device does not crash. Paper charts do depend on power or the availably of an electronic device. Good luck.