Thursday, June 18, 2009
STAY CURRENT AUTOMATICALLY
"It's not the sea that kills you, it's the hard bits at the edges"
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
It's the Pencil, Stupid!
Link to the full article here -- we guarantee it to be insightful! And go here for more information on good old fashioned (but 100% up to date when printed on demand) NOAA nautical charts.
"New Season? Get a New Chart" by Capt. Daniello
Don't Start the Season With Out-of-Date Charts
By Capt. Vincent Daniello
Here's the beginning of an interesting article that ran recently in Motorboating Magazine...
Paper charts tend to show their age. After a ChartKit, a rolled-up chart or any chart book has been kicking around a boat for a while it takes on a telltale, dog-eared appearance that proclaims, "I may not be all I once was." This is accurate — in more ways than one. The chart itself is not what it once was, nor is what it depicts. Savvy boat owners, especially at the start of a new season, make sure their charts are up-to-date, which usually means springing for a new copy — the latest version. These boaters' charts depict only a moment in time, and waterways constantly change.
You can link to the full article here, and link to more information (a good FAQs page) on "up-to-date NOAA charts" here.
Monday, February 16, 2009
USPS Survey: Low Awareness, Usage, of Chart Updates
NOAA nautical charts are widely used by recreational mariners either as a primary navigational aid or to complement or back up electronic systems. To sail safe, paper nautical charts must be kept up to date and it’s the mariner’s responsibility to do so.
The survey, conducted by the United States Power Squadrons (USPS), in cooperation with NOAA print-on-demand chart manufacturer OceanGrafix, reveals that although 78% of the 238 respondents say they use NOAA paper charts in some capacity, they do not generally keep those charts updated by means of the two most common federally-provided methods: the Local Notice to Mariners (LNMs), and new chart Editions.
The vast majority of mariners in the survey are aware of LNMs, but most mariners (54.9%) do not update their charts using the LNMs. With Editions, both awareness of and usage of Editions is very low: 46.7% were not aware or only somewhat aware of Editions, with an additional 41.0% “I am aware but I do not normally get new Editions when issued.”
Various sailing, safety and charting organizations – from USPS and sailing clubs to manufacturers of chart kits and cruising guides – as well as NOAA itself, stress the importance of keeping paper charts up to date for optimum safety at sea.
“Safety at sea is our mission,” says Richard Sillcox, Chief of NOAA’s Chart Update Service. “We continually stress the importance of sailing with updated charts and we provide update data daily. I was surprised at the findings.”
LNMs are issued weekly by the U.S. Coast Guard and provide dozens of updates per week for NOAA charts including sunken vessels, buoy changes, obstructions, changes in channel markers, navigation aids that are missing and more. Such changes should be annotated as “changes” on a mariner’s nautical chart(s) to ensure safe sailing.
Editions are issued by NOAA as deemed necessary, and are all-new NOAA charts which include all of the LNMs since that chart’s last Edition, plus other changes.
Dave DeGree, president of OceanGrafix, stated, “A low level of chart update activity combined with a pretty wide usage of paper charts could mean that the majority of U.S. recreational mariners who use NOAA paper charts are using ones that are not up to date. We will make it a goal for 2009 to increase awareness of sailing with an updated chart.”
A complete summary of the findings plus methodology and background information can be found at http://www.oceangrafix.com/o.g/USPS-Survey.html
St. Paul, Minnesota-based OceanGrafix is the first company to offer print-on-demand nautical charts for recreational and commercial boaters. Working in partnership with NOAA the company ensures the most accurate information available is reflected on its charts.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Lots More Resources!
Recent additions to the resources page have included:
CHART UPDATES
DINGHY CHOICES
FOR WOMEN
FOUL WEATHER GEAR
GREEN BOATING
SAFETY
USED BOAT VALUES
Visit the page here
2-sided NOAA chart?
Mariners have expressed that while NOAA paper charts are great, both as a navigational aid and as backup to electronic systems, they are indeed large!
The new product would give mariners a more manageable format.
OceanGrafix says that an online survey may be available soon for you to vote on the new product's viability. We'll let you know here...
USPS Survey Results Available Soon
Despite the fact that a majority of mariners do use NOAA full-size paper charts in some form (alone or as backup to electronic systems), the awareness of and use of available, critical, chart update data (which provides for safer sailing) is low.
The survey included 238 responses. More in just a few days!
OG Club Membership Growing
You can learn more about OG Club from OceanGrafix here.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
14x20 size / smaller charts for framing
A.
Since OceanGrafix charts are intended for navigational purposes, and bound by strict regulations from NOAA, they are sold in either 36” or 42” widths, and varying lengths. We are able to print the most up-to-date charts, but unfortunately can't accommodate a special size with mounting.
You may browse our charts at www.oceangrafix.com to see what our charts look like, they can be printed and shipped within one business day, and have often been used for decorative purposes.
Small craft charts / NY canal system / New York state
A.
You probably need Small-Craft Book Charts of the New York State Canal System. One of our Chart Agents can assist you in finding these charts. OceanGrafix does not sell the Small-Craft folio charts “On-Demand™”, but there are most certainly NOAA charts available. Many of our agents have websites and 800-numbers for your convenience. Here's the link to our agent list:
www.oceangrafix.com/o.g/NOAA-Nautical-Chart-Agents.html
Non-US Regions such as 7, 9
A.
NOAA, and therefore OceanGrafix, only produce nautical charts of USA waters. Try British Admiralty http://www.ukho.gov.uk/