where to order Coast Pilot?

[glowplug]

Where do folks recommend ordering the latest Coast Pilot? Here is the list of of choices, of course:

https://nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/publ...ml#coast-pilot

...but are the bound books all identical? There is some variation in pricing, so is it just a matter of finding the best deal?

[Orion Jim]

Yes. Best deal and closest to you. Some are geared toward the shipping industry not neophytes.

[ranger58sb]

FWIW, we don't keep hardcopy of anything, including U.S. Coats Pilot books, on board if we can avoid it. Softcopy available here:

https://nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/publ...lot/index.html

-Chris

[belizesailor]

Especially for a reference work that big, I find it much easier to deal with it in electronic format, but if you must have a printed version then Bluewater Books & Charts is a great source. But they want $32 for a Coast Pilot! Another reason to go digital, Coast Pilots are free to download!

Note that there is not just one Coast Pilot, but a multi-volume set...that could get expensive fast if you want broader coverage.

Bluewater Books & Charts - NOAA Coast Pilot 7 Pacific Coast Hawaii 2019

[Auspicious]

One more who uses electronic versions. One copy on my laptop and one on my phone.

[Benz]

What I love about the paper coast pilots is sitting at the helm, steering lazily with one foot, and reading up on all the coast that's passing by just then. I probably wouldn't get sucked in to reading it as much if it was on a screen.

[tkeithlu]

There's a third alternative. Download the PDF for your zone, and print out the specific pages you want to read at the helm. A cheap printer (it used to be the HP 1000 for less than the cost of two ink cartridges) does that job and prints chart sections for your back-up nav. Another reason to use a laptop and OpenCPN....