I will be sailing out from the Texas and hanging a left - need coastal nav.

[polecat]

Down to a half page on the 'have to list' and 4 items on my 'want to do' list.  On schedule for a September departure to points east. ---It just dawned on me---after sailing for 30+ years - I don't know diddly bout finding  my way along the coast.  I now live in the center of Texas and traveling for pro courses isn't  to handy.  I've been on the internet looking over a ton of stuff - and sure would appreciate some suggestions.  Planned on having a GPS - chartkit etc. but what else is really needed?

H23 is going to be set up for 5 days comfortable/10 days & still make out length of trip legs.  All single handed.

Also need to find a place on the Texas coast where I can have the boat lifted off the trailer and put in a slip -  keep it there for a couple weeks getting used to the boat, finishing the needed equipment list and trying out my newly won nav skills.

Been waiting for this trip 40+ years
jim

[Captain Smollett]

Hey, Jim, if you don't already have it, I suggest you get your hands on a copy of Chapman's Piloting and Small Boat Handling.

It costs a few bucks (maybe you can find a used one), but it's a goldmine of info on navigation and pilotage.  An awful lot of boaters carry theirs on board for quick reference.

[AdriftAtSea]

A Reed's Almanac for the area would probably be wise as well. :)

[Lynx]

Get one of the newer Garmins with charts will help.

As far as the lift - Where are you putting in at?
How big of boat? weight? Mast?
Can you get the trailer wet? How much water do you need?

How much do you want to spend? Where I am at now they charge $ 15 per foot!

[polecat]

I keep looking but so far haven't jumped, the 76s is just $249 now. What you think?

I can put in anywhere between Port Lavaca and Port Arthur.  I'd like to have a lift so I don't have to dunk my trailer & somewhere close to get boat stuff.  The boat is a Hunter 23, around 2600 lbs - mast is down & on a crutch - will put it up when afloat.
Boat floats in 3' no wind.

Need a slip for a couple weeks - pay what I have to. Soon as I am satisfied with the operation of the Boat etc. will take the van & trailer home, get on the boat and head out.  Weather good - I'm going out/weather bad I'm heading up the ICW/hurricane come I'll call for the van & trailer.
Thanks
jim

[Lynx]

I used the garmin 76sx for almost a year before I got my 440x. Nice unit. Mine allowed water into hte unit where the card was slotted. Try to keep it dry. A dry bag works good.

Good luck with funding an lift. I am sure you can find one at a good price.

I have not lived in the area for years.

[polecat]

Lynx - what confuses me on the GPS 76 ($249) is that do you have to buy $399 in chart software to cover the gulf from brownsville to Key Largo?  Why wouldn't it be smarter to buy a 440 ($599)and have all the US coastal marine charts?  Do you even need all those charts?
Can you just download the NOAA charts you want to your PC - I think they are free - use them for planning -- enter waypoints into the 76 or some other cheaper gps and follow along on a chart kit?
As you can see - am having trouble coming up with an image on how I want to go about it.
jim

[CharlieJ]

Palacios Texas. Yard with a travel lift, 300 yards away from a marina (Serendipity). RIGHT outside the marina is sailing water- 11 or 12 miles to the gulf jetties across Matagorda Bay, or left turn into the ICW heading east.

But also a very good ramp there.

I BELIEVE slips go for $3 a foot a month. I KNOW Port Lavaca does. But the new docks haven't been opened yet- City won't accept due to crappy work by the contractor.

Did you email me about sailing down here? Someone did, I lost it and now can't reply.

Call me 361-237-9990 and I'll give you the phone number for the yard with the lift.

One point- if you intend to sail east from the Texas coast, offshore, would be a better idea to leave from Port Aransas, than Matagorda. MUCH better slant on the wind and far shorter sail to the 100 fathom line. As you move eastward, it gets tougher to go east from the Texas coast.

[Lynx]

Hello polecat - I bought my hand held backups first. The 440x is a fixed mounted unit. I do need all of those charts cruising South FL to ICW North to NY. With all of the charts it became a deal for me. I also paid for the MX weather. Not knowing where to go in bad weather it also helps a good deal. It depends on how far you are going to cruise. At $ 100 per chart package, it can get expensive.

I recommend the garmin 76 as a backup. I keep mine close at hand.

Using the free NOAA charts and your computer with a GPS antenna is OK for a short cruise as you are dependant on your computer that can drain your batteries and you have to go below to get data. A little hard in close quarters and bad weather. I have these as well for a backup. I do not find these charts as good as the Garmin charts.

Note: The Garmin 440X is not waterproof. You will need to seal the GPS antenna connector on the back of the unit (i used tape and liquid electrical tape, I found this out in my first 2 weeks cruising). If gotton wet it will ground out and you will have no GPS.

[CharlieJ]

If you are speaking of the non mapping Garmin as the 76, then the Garmin 72 is a better deal. The ONLY differences are that the 72 has slightly less screen resolution and costs $50 more.

We have both the 72 and the 76 - they are interchangeable.

[Leroy - Gulf 29]

Just got an e-mail from Jamestown Distributing - 72's are on sale at $106 + shipping.  FWIW

[Captain Smollett]

We've got a Garmin 72 also.  Nice unit.  I think we paid $115 or $120 for it...something like that.

On the philosophy side, you might want to consider not getting a mapping GPS...I've been aboard with boaters with those kinds of units who have their attention focused INSIDE the boat (on the GPS chart screen) rather than OUTSIDE the boat where it probably should be.  I think it is an easy trap to fall into.

Just my observation, and of course, it comes down to personal preference.

The Garmin 72 or similar unit would serve more than adequately for working your way along the Gulf Coast.

[CharlieJ]

I agree and we have no plans for a mapping unit. By the way, both the 72 and 76 contain mapping for the buoys in major channels, from Brownsville around to who knows where- they show on the map screen with markers that indicate the colors, etc.

We saw the Matagorda Channel, Galveston, Mobile, and many crossing Mississippi Sound. Also Pensacola, so I'm sure the east coast is on there also. Correlate that with your charts and you should be good to go most anywhere stateside.

We DO have all the gulf coast ( free NOAA) charts down loaded to our laptop ( and burned to a CD) and can interface both GPS units with the laptop to set up routes, and waypoints which can then be down loaded to the GPS units. We seldom turn that laptop on at sea however. Works quite well as a pre planning device

[Captain Smollett]

I agree and we have no plans for a mapping unit. By the way, both the 72 and 76 contain mapping for the buoys in major channels, from Brownsville around to who knows where- they show on the map screen with markers that indicate the colors, etc.

We saw the Matagorda Channel, Galveston, Mobile, and many crossing Mississippi Sound. Also Pensacola, so I'm sure the east coast is on there also. Correlate that with your charts and you should be good to go most anywhere stateside.

Yep, the Atlantic ICW is there as well as major inlet channels and sea buoys.  I should have mentioned that.  That has come in quite handy on the ICW at night for getting eyeballs on the daymarks that can be hard to see.

But there is not really a "chart" on the screen.
   

We DO have all the gulf coast ( free NOAA) charts down loaded to our laptop ( and burned to a CD) and can interface both GPS units with the laptop to set up routes, and waypoints which can then be down loaded to the GPS units. We seldom turn that laptop on at sea however. Works quite well as a pre planning device

That's what I do as well.  NOAA charts on the computer for planning, route finding, etc.  Paper charts in the boat (some printed here at home, some bought POD from Ocean Grafix or MapMasters), maybe a few waypoints in the GPS.

For us, the GPS does not generally stay on, anyway, so having a mapping kind wouldn't be of much use.

[Godot]

I'm a gadget guy.  I like playing with the GPS.  In fact, I've been looking to get another GPS (my Magellan Meridian is getting old and only has the very basic nautical information, not even buoys).  However, it is hardly necessary.  And if you look at the cost of Bluemap/Bluecharts, well, it becomes hard to justify the cost for a mere gimmick. 

I guess sailing is Nerd Rehab (no email? no web?  Oh.  My.  God!).  Funny how I always feel better after a week or so of it.

[Lynx]

It really depends on how well you can remember those charts. The ICW is no longer a well marked canal. Some of the markers are well into very shallow water, 100 - 200 feet off. You also get marinas and tides and currents with the GPS Map.

I found it to be well worth it for coastal cruising in places never been before.

[polecat]

Thanks everyone for the input - I'll use it. Now at least I got the beginnings of a plan.  Think I'll do without that $399 map software for now and go with my laptop & NOAA for planning & Capt Smollets (Treasure Island?) Idea for charts from Mapmasters & Ocean grafix and print my own where possible.

Adriftatsea - Still looking for my Chapmans - it's here somewhere......

Charliej - Palacios sounds & looks like it's what I'm looking for.  Good place to get the wrinkles out - sure is a good rate for monthly slip.  We were paying $245 a month for a 30'r on grapevine lake & could only sail about 5 miles without coming about.  I'll have to tough it out going east as I have to stop in N.O., Pensacola and Cedar Key. It doesn't matter much to me whether I make 5 or 50 miles long as I get to keep going. Sharon & I will be taking a trip down there to check it out in a couple weeks - we'd like to stop by & say hello.

Leroy - Thanks for the heads up on the 72 -- I bought one - they even had free shipping for $106.  I'll get a 76cs or a lowrance H20csx before I take off

Thanks everyone for the great response--grog for all
jim

[CharlieJ]

Actually the GULF ICW is very well marked and has deep water all the way from Brownsville to past Pensacola Florida. The reason being that the GICW has huge amounts of commercial traffic, perhaps 5 to 6 times as much as anywhere the Atlantic ICW, if not more.

We've run the GICW twice both ways in the last several years, including the year after Katrina and Rita. By the time we were there ALL channel markers had been replaced, although some had new numbering.

I do understand there have been problems on the Atlantic ICW from shoaling but those spots are well known. Boats the size we sail on this site should have no problems as long as you watch the magenta line;D

But he's talking about the GICW if he's turning left form Matagorda Bay. Boring, but no navigational challenge.

Polecat- give me a call - my business cell phone is 361-237-9990 and I work weekends. This is MY weekend now. When you come down DO plan to stop by- we can show you places to anchor and or stay over in the ICW from here all the way to past Pensacola.

[Captain Smollett]

Capt Smollets (Treasure Island?)

YES!!!  Grog to you, Good Sir.

charts from Mapmasters & Ocean grafix and print my own where possible.

Couple of comments on this just in case it might be helpful to someone:

(1) Mapmasters sells waterproof charts.  I really like them.  Not too pricey.

(2) For printing my own charts, I use Maptech's free version of Chart Navigator.  I print them on standard paper on an HP deskjet printer. 

This means you have to glue/tape the pieces together to make a chart, or you CAN use them as 8.5x11 in. pieces.  It's not as bad as it sounds, though; the pieces fit together pretty good and results in a good chart.

Also, this approach is very NOT waterproof, even less so than ordinary paper charts.  The deskjet ink is water soluble, so spray, rain or a heavy dew can be your enemy.  I've thought about laminating mine, or spray coating them to protect them, but never have.

One could argue that with deskjet cartridges being 40-50 bucks, this is not really all that cost effective (especially with the time factor of putting the pieces together), and that's likely true.  I've never run the numbers, but I do it to avoid buying bunches of charts I'll only use once.  I find it hard to drop $16-20 on a piece of paper to be used one weekend.

Another alternative to buying charts is photocopying someone else's.  That can get expensive, too.

For areas I visit (or even plan to visit) more regularly, I go with real charts of better quality and durability.

We need to start a SailFar Chart Exchange.    ;D

Finally,

It really depends on how well you can remember those charts.

?? Remember the charts?  I've tried that, and the results have not been good.  Learned my lesson - chart stays either with me in the cockpit (on a clipboard) or just inside within arm's reach.

The downloadable NOAA charts are the most up-to-date that one can get.  It's but another free download to check for updates, too.  I've gotten some charts from the NOAA site that were as young as one month old.

The other 'solution' to the changing ICW is, of course, the Local Notice to Mariners.  That's a valuable monthly booklet that is freely downloadable as well.

[CharlieJ]

On waterproofing charts-

Laura bought some stuff called "Map Seal" used by surveyors to water proof papers for use in the field. Google Map Seal and you'll find it.

We JUST did 5 days in a very wet open boat with those charts- the only one that gave us trouble was one she rushed on and didn't let the map seal dry enough- it stuck together.

ALL of our local paper charts are sealed with it. She uses a foam roller and rolls the stuff on both sides.