Best Electronic Chart?

[robo]

Would like input from cruisers about which electronic charts are best for the Bahamas for Raymarine E80 chartplotter. Thanks:

[The Judge]

We have 3 boats here and we use both C-Map and Navionics. Although we are happy with both programs, We like C-Map service and updates, however for fishing we like Navionics. Don't think you can go wrong with either.

[conchubine]

I have the Raymarine E 120 series --proabably similar to the 80 I bet. It will only run the Navionics charts as they have exclusive agreement with Raymarine. I even called C-map to verify as I was a C Map user until this new boat came along. Anyway, Navionics sells a Bahamas Special edition card #926P that is updated with lots of new info and from what I can tell, emulates the C Map and Explorer paper charts. It is very good.

[Toucan Dream]

We got new electronics three years ago due to a lightening strike. Prior to that, we used a laptop with The Captn'. Great detail and loved it, but it was time to move on to a plotter and get the laptop out of the weather in the cockpit. We had Raymarine equipment so we installed a Raymarine plotter with the Navionics charts (only one available for the Raymarine). When we looked at the charts for the Bahamas, we were very disappointed with the detail in a lot of places:(. So, we also added a Garmin plotter and use the Garmin for plotting and the Raymarine for the radar and fishfinder. Every now and then, in a few areas, the Raymarine will show more detail than the Garmin and it's good to have a backup. In general, the Garmin is better and easier to use.:)

[tmccaffery]

I would have to second the opinion on the Garmin charts. Earlier this year I chartered a boat with a Raytheon plotter and brought along my Garmin handheld. While going through the channel into White Sound at Green Turtle, the Raytheon plotter showed the boat's position in the mangroves about 100 yards to the right while the Garmin chart had us right in the middle of the channel, exactly where we actually were.

[Raptor]

I also second the Garmin. I use my Rino 530 with BlueChart America V8.5 in a rental boat and it has been essentially perfect from Guana to Pete's Pub, inshore and off. Accuracy is even better in Abaco than in Maine.

For the heck of it, I've compared it to my new Furuno Navnet 3D system up here in both the Navnet's Vector and Raster Charts and it is also perfect, as is the Navnet which is really incredible by the way.

[boatbum]

We have both of these and have found them to be relatively accurate. Given we are considering the Don't Rock passage, we are still concerned. There are too many published reports about not being able to do this. We only pull 3.5 so considering a full moon tide this weekend we are wondering why we should remain concerned. Navionics shows 6 ft mlw most of the way.

[Toucan Dream]

I have also seen my Raymarine with Navionics chart chip showing me anchored on an island or even on the ocean side of the island while at the same time the Garmin would show my boat in the place we knew we were anchored. I would not even attempt to move around at night or trust the Raymarine in bad weather near an island, reefs, or shallow water. Scary thing thinking about those very fast Searays, etc., running around at night with only Raymarine plotters.

Last summer up at Allans-Pensacola, when the wind shifted around to the west, a large ~60' Ocean Alexander picked up anchor right at dark and was in the process of leading three other boats around to the ocean side of Allans to anchor for the night, bragging that his "brand new Raymarine plotter" would be able to lead them safely around Umbrella and to another anchorage. After a short discussion with a couple of boats in our group, we were able to convince them that it was not a good idea to do that, better to go down to Cooperstown for the night on hunker down where they were. They later gave us a bottle of wine after thinking about what they almost did that night.

[Silver Lining]

I have used a C80 with Navionics charts several times in the Bahamas. For general navigation they work fine but any time we are in an area where I am concerned about depths or reefs, I double check carefully with my paper charts. I think its nuts to rely only on electronic charts for accurate depth info. If it is that close or you are in an area with reefs, you have to have the Explorer paper charts and the cruising guide as well. It has a lot of very useful up to date local info and I have found the GPS coordinates to be very accurate. Both of the paper resources seem to be more up to date.