There was an article last year in Sea Kayaker magazine about digital charts - Joel McNamara "Cheap Charts". United States charts are now free as digital downloads. I am a big fan of using these as a basis for custom kayak charts. I am supplementing the information provided by Joel McNamara in that article "Cheap Charts". It is a solution to accessing the .BSB format, which NOAA uses for their Raster Nautical Charts (RNC). Joel describes the free application, Chart Reprojector, which is able (awkwardly) to open the .BSB format and convert it to TIFF, but mentions that it is only available for Windows. One is left with the impression that Macintosh users are out in the cold. For the Macintosh user there is an excellent (much better) alternative, although it is not free. GraphicConverter is a long-time, well-established graphics program that many Mac users already own. It is a $40.00 program, available on line, that does a slew of things but one of them, as it's name suggests, is to convert graphics formats from one to another. It handles the NOAA RNC charts without any difficulty. They simply open with GraphicConverter and you can annotate, edit and crop the charts in that program if you like. GraphicConverter can save them in essentially any graphics format (including, of course, TIFF) that you might want. This allows you to edit the charts in any graphics program that you might prefer. GraphicConverter is shareware. This means you can test the product without obligation and free of charge. It is highly recommended. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Robert Livingston said: "United States charts are now free... available for Windows... GraphicConverter... For the Macintosh user" I can vouch for the fantastic resource of having the US charts available online. Not only did I not have to expend large amounts of cash for them (there were lots of other things to spend the $US on ;-) - but I could get them immediately (for planning purposes) on the far side of the globe. For the Alaskan trip, we edited the big chart (image) files down to a series of about 25 A4-sized (metric 8.5 by 11) 'chartlets', so that we could annotate and laminate them. I have always liked having about 25 km of distance on a page on deck - that seems to give me about the right combination of detail & 'big picture'. Creating my own sheets of this size also lets me insert a harbour detail into an unused corner of the page - or include some notes about tides or VHF channels, etc. Then putting two pages back-to-back (inside the lamination) is good - as you then have roughly a day's paddle in hand. I think the laminating machine and 100 sleeves cost me about what one or two real charts would have cost. I found the process of turning the BSB raster files into PNG (image) files pretty painless - and then edited them (cut & cropped) to suit myself. If you chose to do this sort of thing, I find that there is benefit in establishing a scale that pleases you and then sticking to it. That way, you can readily & quickly estimate true distances from your chartlets - without having to get out a ruler - or bother with embedding scales within each page. If you work on your cropping, each page can be standardised to be 'n' km or miles wide or tall - allowing easy eye-balling as 'half a page' or 'one sixth of a page' while paddling - easily good enough for kayak estimates of time & distance. Not sure if it's been mentioned, but the US charts are also available (certainly for Alaska & likely for much of the country) from NOAA in 'BookletChart' (all one word) form - which breaks the charts down into a multi-page PDF file with 'chartlets' similar to the ones I make for myself. Of course, you have to accept their choice of scale and their selection of what to fit on each page - but it may save you some work... These booklets also contain relevant passages from the local Pilot, relevant Emergency info, etc - which makes them worth a look (while trip planning) - even if you chose to roll your own. Best Regards Paul Hayward, Auckland, New Zealand *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Hi Paul In 2008 when I returned from New Zealand, I wrote my MP (Gary Lunn) lunng_at_parl.gc.ca about NZ providing freely downloadable marine charts. Now the USA is on board with this. It seems to me that if a free chart prevents a "free" rescue, then the net cost of "boaties" to the Federal Government is reduced. I expected Mr Lunn to be quite interested, since his constituency includes the Gulf Islands National Park. A place with current, reefs and many, many boaties. Here is my email to Mr Lunn: ================================================== Good afternoon Minister Lunn and thank you for reading my email. As my representative for Saanich and the Islands, I'm sure you understand how important it is to have accurate charts available for safe boating and other water sports. It has come to my attention that other jurisdictions offer free internet download of marine charts. For example, the New Zealand government provides access at this web site: http://www.linz.govt.nz/hydro/charts/digital-charts/chart-images/ Will you champion this low-cost initiative in Canada? ================================================== And here is the reply from the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans: ================================================== The Ho <<Initial request 2009-001-00411.TIF>> nourable Gary Lunn, P.C., M.P. Minister of State (Sport) Room 207, Confederation Building House of Commons Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A6 Dear Colleague: Thank you for your correspondence of January 30, 2009, on behalf of your constituent, Mr. Gary Jacek, concerning the Canadian Hydrographic Service's (CHS's) system for distributing marine charts. CHS is expected to generate revenues from the sale of charts and publications in order to partially offset the cost of publishing, maintaining and distributing its products. This revenue target represents less than 5 percent of the overall operating cost of CHS. The majority of hydrographic offices around the world generate some level of revenues from their nautical charts and publications. Canada's prices for paper charts are among the lowest in the world and are generally regarded as among the highest in quality. Our digital chart products are in the average price range. On March 31, 2007, CHS reduced the prices of its electronic charts by more than 50 percent. Thank your for taking the time to bring the concerns of your constituent to my attention. I trust the information I have provided will address Mr. Jacek's questions. Sincerely, Signed Original Attached Gail Shea, P.C., M.P. c.c.: Mr. Gary Jacek ____________________________________________ Ministerial Correspondence Control Unit Uniti de contrtle de la correspondance ministirielle Fisheries and Oceans Canada | Pjches et Ocians Canada 200 Kent St. Ottawa, ON K1A 0E6 | 200, rue Kent Ottawa, ON K1A 0E6 min_at_dfo-mpo.gc.ca Telephone | Tiliphone 613-992-3474 Facsimile | Tilicopieur 613-990-7292 Government of Canada | Gouvernement du Canada ================================================== Perhaps if more Canadian boaties wrote to the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, CC Mr Lunn and CC their own MP, we might get a more positive response. Gary -----Original Message----- From: owner-paddlewise_at_paddlewise.net [mailto:owner-paddlewise_at_paddlewise.net] On Behalf Of Paul Hayward Sent: January 17, 2011 2:46 AM To: 'Robert Livingston'; 'Paddlewise Paddlewise' Subject: RE: [Paddlewise] Charts for Macintosh users Robert Livingston said: "United States charts are now free... available for Windows... GraphicConverter... For the Macintosh user" <snip> Best Regards Paul Hayward, Auckland, New Zealand *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
I take the opportunity to point to my website for a few "free" British Columbia charts of a couple of locations. These are just places that I have been to recently. When I go to a new place I make up a new set of charts. They are vector based so they are entirely scalable. You can scan the entire area onto one 8.5 by 11 or get a very detailed look at a small area. I use them and like them and by the time I have finished them I have memorized the coast anyway. They have the data from the "real" chart but they are a little weird if you are used to the "look" (as I am) of the classical chart. But I was able to incorporate additional information when there is good arial photography as there is of the Washington coast. And the info from the little inset harbor charts can simply be incorporated into the main chart and you appreciate it if you magnify the area. Vector based charts are great in that regard. By the way, I thought the suggestion posted earlier to settle on a "standard" mileage to contain on a 8.5 by 11 sheet was a great idea and not one that I had stumbled across in my own thinking. Particularly for a long trip. I tend to create 8.5 by eleven charts in advance for the days distances that I intend to paddle with pre planning. I put the edges of the chart that fit the sensible " day trips" that I will be making. Getting from one safe haven to the next without having to change charts. Kayaking West Vancouver Island and the Washington Olympic Coast *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
http://web.mac.com/rlivingston/Site/Kayaking.html I somehow did not do the URL right on the original message *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Robert Livingston said: > a few "free" British Columbia charts of a couple of locations Thanks for these Robert. I have hopes of getting back to Vancouver Island to explore some of the outer coast one day - so I shall file them away. Your comments on the need for 'up to 12 charts' for some of the really dynamic areas on the Washington / BC coast made me think (always painful ;-) It got me wondering about using real-time date/time info from a GPS, to allow the combining of tidal flow/height info (from digital tide tables / pilots) with vector-based chart data. When someone gets around to making that work (and it's no more than a bit of moderately clever software), it'll give us a real-time picture of depths, obstacles (rocks), currents and shoreline ! For extra marks, put in real-time wind & swell info via 3G, with an option for correcting the display based on boat-speed & what-will-it-look-like-when-we-actually-get-there for a shoreline a hour or 3 away. Using current hardware, an iPad in an Aquapac on your spray-deck might work; but it'd be easily doable on a big screen in Craig's mutha-ship... Wouldn't it be pretty? Yes - I know what most of you curmudgeons are saying... about today's navigators needing to be spoon-fed ;-) That came into my mind, recently, while reading Cockleshell Heroes (WWII kayak commando) and wondering why early compass makers didn't bother to paint the North end of the needle red... On a night exercise, one of the cockles got swung 180 degrees in overfalls and spent the rest of the overcast night paddling South ! Think how they'd sneer at our deck compasses... Best Regards Paul Hayward, Auckland, New Zealand *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Robert Livingston said: > settle on a "standard" mileage to contain on a 8.5 by 11 sheet A by-product of this is, of course, that laying several sheets out on the floor (at home or tent) allows them to match up, as they are all essentially (or perhaps perfectly) at the same scale. On solo trips, I laminate the chartlets back-to-back, but offset in sequence - thusly for a set of 6: #4 on the back of #1, #5 on the back of #2, #6 on the back of #3 The downside is that I often need to carry two chartlets on deck - the upside is that I can always lay them out 1-2-3, or 2-3-4, or 3-4-5, etc for a session of head-scratching and what-ifs - which I find useful each evening. When we went to Alaska in the K2, we splurged on weight (an extra 300 gm or 10 oz) and took two complete sets, each laminated as above. Not only did we have the unaccustomed luxury of laying out the whole trip (using the double set), but there was no fighting over who got to navigate ;-) As Natasha's a more-than-competent navigator, it always seemed to be a case of two-heads-better-than-one, which was great. Best Regards Paul Hayward, Auckland, New Zealand *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Using a very historic contact in the world of Canadian federal politics, I may have started some action towards making the online charts in Canada available for free. (Following in the footsteps of NZ & the US - who have their charts free online.) It may still take a minor political miracle - but hey, it's worth a shot, eh? It has been suggested that an email to the MP in Victoria - Denise Savoie - at Savoie.D_at_parl.gc.ca might be timely by members of the Canadian kayaking world, to say it's a good idea and why. So get in there and make a case... Gary's 2008 correspondence with G. Lunn (MP) & G. Shea (MP) has already reached Denise - so she will be aware of the bones of the discussion. Note that Denise is Deputy Speaker of the House - and a kayak enthusiast - but doesn't know me from a bar of soap ;-) Best Regards Paul Hayward, Auckland, New Zealand *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
That's pretty much a "FU". No wonder they call him a "Ho.........nouroable". Someone might want to point out to him that if they were free to download then the production and distribution costs would be minimal. Craig On Mon, Jan 17, 2011 at 4:37 PM, Gary Jacek <Gary.Jacek_at_shaw.ca> wrote: <snip> > Perhaps if more Canadian boaties wrote to the Minister of Fisheries and > Oceans, CC Mr Lunn and CC their own MP, we might get a more positive > response. > > Gary *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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