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On-line nautical NOAA charts


gyork

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The EarthNC viewer hasn't been supported for a couple of years now.

For a full free open-source chart viewer try OpenCPN.  It's a full function chart plotter, and allows printing. Works for NOAA raster (RNC) and vector (ENC) charts, as well as charts from New Zealand, many European countries, lots more... 

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  • 6 months later...

I am inteested in printing my own charts and subsets to support paddling trips, As I have seen many of you do.

1. See on web

2. download

3. select and crop

4. Print (Fedex, Staples?

5. Laminate. ?

I would  appreciate a recipe/cheat sheet/instructions on how to do this start to finish.

Technically savvvy but not familiar with this process.

Regards

Pablo

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Pablo, you must be spying on me.  This is what I've been working on this rainy day.

Get .pdf raster chart from NOAA at address Ed gives above.
Open in an image editor...I'm using Pixelmator on a Mac.
Select the area of the chart you want (rectangular selection; can rotate for a NE/SW section of coast, for example), and duplicate this selection onto a new layer.
Select the scale, duplicate it onto a new layer, and drag it to an uninteresting area on the chart selection.
Repeat for a compass rose if you like.
Repeat for lat/long borders, but shift/drag them so they stay aligned.
Add notes if you like.
(might want to save your Pixelmator file here)
Crop to remove excess canvas area around the chart selection.
Save as .pdf
Print and laminate, or send .pdf to Staples or wherever and let them do it.

I'd welcome being told there's a better way.

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I often spray paper printouts with Krylon clear varnish and hang to dry for several hours. Result will not cause running ink when wet (but I still use a chart case since the paper would flop around otherwise).

I'm looking into laminating by Aquasealing the edge of two pieces of clear plastic film. Staples charges a bunch and on my last trip, two different people complained that Staples did a terrible job of laminating either by faulty cropping of the printout or by not completely sealing the edge.

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18 minutes ago, Joseph Berkovitz said:

... Staples did a terrible job of laminating either by faulty cropping of the printout or by not completely sealing the edge.

I've used FedEx and been pleased with results.  Patrons can laminate their own work at a workstation at my local store.

g

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  • 2 months later...
On 8/12/2018 at 2:57 PM, detorres said:

 

I would  appreciate a recipe/cheat sheet/instructions on how to do this start to finish.

Regards

Pablo

I’m having a “cat day”, so I have composed detailed instructions for personalized chart building, with no claims as to a better way to cut the tail off a dog.  Whatever your chart source, instructions from “screen shot” paragraph and beyond will likely work, if you want the added detail. A hiking partner only recently turned me on to “CalTopo” as a chart source, which I’m having fun with.

 

Go to caltopo.com

@ homescreen, note small box on top right screen titled MapBuilder Topo  Drag mouse cursor over this area. A drop-down box appears. In the box next to “Base Layer”, click on down-pointing arrow on right, and select “marine charts”. Zoom in to area of interest. Let’s choose a chart for our annual Jewell trip on Casco Bay, with PsOI to include Bug Light launch, Jewell, and appropriate magnification. 

Take a “screen shot” (on my Mac: command/shift/4), with attention to correct proportions for final chart to be 8.5”x11”. (For this, I use a blank piece of printer paper, that, when placed over the area to screen print, ~equal borders are seen on all edges.) Now double-click on the screen shot you’ve created, then choose file/export as PDF. Rename “JewellTrip.pdf” , and export to desktop.

Now you have a map of area of interest. I like to add magnetic north (MN) lines, and a few Lat/Long lines.

MN grid lines: Open JewellTrip.pdf. From top header choose Tools/annotate/line. A line with 3 colored dots appears (2 blue at ends, and one green at center). [At the same time a new menu appears at the near-top that includes choices of font/doodle/text/etc to further edit your pdf as desired]. Click/hold/drag one of the blue dots to the bottom center of the chart. Line up a protractor at the bottom edge of pdf, with the blue dot at the zero or start position. Now click/hold/drag the second blue dot to the top of the screen, and release when the line corresponds to variation of chart (16degrees W works for most of ME). Next copy and paste line X8, and 8 additional lines will appear to the left of your original line.

Because there is no reference of distance on your newly-created PDF, you must go back to the CalTopo screen (which you have minimized). At top, choose config/corrdinates/units and select Nautical. Now, choose at top measure/line/measure distance.  For my chart, spacing of 1M seem appropriate, so I place cursor on intersection of lat/long lines east of Peaks I, click once and extend line to recognizable landmark that coincides with distance of 1M (read distance top right screen), in this case between the “e” and “a” of the label “Peaks”.

This is a constant and I can use this info on my PDF. With PDF now open I extend my dividers (you can use ruler) between lat/long intersection and between “e” and “a” of “Peaks”. Now drag each line such that they are equally spaced (points of divider) over your chart. Be careful to stay away from the center green dot on lines, as grabbing this dot will bend your line.

Lat/Long lines: The lat/long intersection noted above, is, from CalTopo,  43.40.000, -70.09.000. This format can be changed under “Config”. For this PDF, 1 additional lat and long line is enough for extrapolations, so I choose long of -70.04.000, which lines up nicely with top of “B” in “Broad Sound”, and lat of 43.44.000, which corresponds to R N”16”, W of Great Chebeague. Now I can add these 2 additional lines, as I have for the MN lines, being careful that lines are parallel to top/bottom or left/right edges for lat and long, respectively.

This PDF (and 1 other; don’t waste money for just 1 chart) can now be printed and laminated at your neighborhood FedEx for ~ $0.65/page and $2.49/laminate. 

The complete PDF can be visualized below.

JewellTrip.pdf

Edited by gyork
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