How to store paper charts on board

[Seaslug Caravan]

Sorry forgot to add the Rules always get caught on the folds, in fact the more I think about it the more highly skilled the folding navigators must be.

[meirriba]

Originally Posted by Cuttyhunk

History lesson: GPS started as a military thing and the U.S. Military would degrade the signal on purpose just to remind everyone they could. During the first Gulf War, they did it from time to time. I happened to be doing a night crossing of the Mona Passage in 1992 when the GPS went down. Minor issue compared to the failure of the transmission oil cooler and running out of diesel just outside of Mayaguez as a squall line came through. What a night! There was no such thing as a chartplotter. Your big hunk of a GPS gave you a lat lon which you marked on your paper chart. Yes, I, too, carry and use paper charts in addition to the chartplotter. To each his own.

I agree heartily that "to each his own". But, and a big but, there is no need to frighten people unnecessarily.
A. Even when degraded, the GPS location is accurate enough to navigate, and certainly more accurate than sextant work.
B. The SA was cancelled by Clinton long ago. The degradation in the future is highly improbable as today, as opposed to 1991, (and we live today, not in 1991) most of the western economy depends on GPS on proper functioning. Even the USA would not cause its train and aviation to stop for the sake of the next Gulf war.
C. Your smartphone locates you using Russian Glonass system.
D. Galileo system is in process. The Chinese are putting up a system.
D. Proper sextant cost is similar to several GPS units (pc antenna costs about $30-50). If you are afraid of pirates, hide a handheld unit in the same place where you hide your passport or emergency cash.

Given the above - it is more likely that your sextant will malfunction or will be lost at sea or there will be an overcast sky for a week than that you will not be able to use satellite system for location.

However, it is a nice pastime to use paper charts, sextant and almanac (there are electronic star almanacs though...). As you said, to each his own! Its just the fearsome prophecies that are not in place.

[Bulawayo]

Oh come on, people. The concensus is that paper charts do have a place aboard, albeit in second position. The GPS system was shut down previously leaving many boats vulnerable. Today there are more boats than ever out in the blue. There is also the very real risk of electrical failure including lightning strikes. Yes, you can have six hand held GPS's aboard - fat lot of good they shall be when their batteries die. Even the most basisc sailor SHOULD be able to undertake some dead reckoning altho' I'm not so sure of this. The basic skill of using a sextant and reducing the sight is not that difficult - I have taught several people how and it really is not difficult (nothing is difficult if you understand it). However, I now understand that the British Admiralty is planning to cease printing paper charts!!

[Bulawayo]

Mark,
Do you really think GPS is more accurate than a sextant? Where do you think paper charts come from? Electronic is my opwn preferred method close to shore, but at sea I use British Admiralty charts, mostly second hand, to see the overall picture. Zoom out on an electronic chart and the detail also goes, as do minor things like that reef! I want to know at a glance what is around me.
Not withstanding any of this, storing paper charts under a berth is generally not a good idea due to moisture. However, if the mattress is raised via slats that enable ventilation this becomes viable. A few pieces of meranti and a mattress timber slatted support (we bought ours from Ikea) enables good ventilation. Ours charts are grouped by region (East and West Med, East Indian ocean, West Indian Ocean, Red Sea etc) and each pile is several inches hign. The bad side is the sheer weight.