Chart brands - what are people using?

[SimonGH]

Navionics

C-Map

Garmin?

Raymarine Lighthouse

open source (like openCPN)

What are people using?  I have traditionally used Navionics on my B&G hardware, but B&G seems to have a relationship with C-MAP (At least here in the US) and their Android App is pretty nice (using C-MAP). 

Wondering what people are using, and if there are advantages of one vs the other?  Ideally i'd like to use the same brand on my iPad, Android Nav computer, and Vulcan chart plotter.

 

[jdazey]

I'm running C-Map on the Zeus, NOAA and C-Map on a laptop. Which is better, Navionics or C-Map, depends on where you're sailing. Our C-Map was fine in the Bahamas but not to be trusted on the Pacific side of Central America.

 

[slug zitski]

Transas marine 

transas invented the digital chart 

transas was bought by 

https://www.wartsila.com/transas/tx-97

Don’t choose the profession grade for commercial shipping but the yachtsman grade 

http://www.isailor.us/ipad/index.htm

complete global coverage , highest quality 

 

[DDW]

I have Navionics, C-Map, Raychart (old and new), and raster (NOAA and CHS) for the PNW. A lot comes down to personal preference and the specific area, you can get from A to B with any of them. The C-Map has considerably less detail and is more out of date than Navionics (in the PNW) so I don't use those. The Raychart (both old and new) is just the NOAA vector charts with somewhat improved presentation. Navionics has the most detail (real or imagined?) and also has the benefit of the crowd sourced bathymetric, quite good at least in well travelled areas. The raster charts are still the most aesthetic, and more quickly informative as you might expect - but lack the detail of the Navionics in many areas. I switch between Navionics and raster, and will have them side by side in some critical channels. 

So it is a mixed bag, and will vary in different areas. 

I did try Transas for awhile, and was underwhelmed. 

 

[Mid]

 

[George Dewey]

Navionics on B&G plotters. Not impressed, the channel markers to Charleston Harbor are not plotted where they actually are. When they are used as marks for offshore races, the crew sometimes asks me where the hell I'm going as they sit on their rail, looking at cell phones. 

 

[Sailabout]

Transas marine 

transas invented the digital chart 

transas was bought by 

https://www.wartsila.com/transas/tx-97

Don’t choose the profession grade for commercial shipping but the yachtsman grade 

http://www.isailor.us/ipad/index.htm

complete global coverage , highest quality 

Back in transas days they sold basically the commercial chart package (ECDIS )for your laptop with updates for pleasure boats, was far infornt of everyone but upfront over a $1K

 

[Sailabout]

Chart plotters, keen on the B&G gear now.
Since its changed hands lots of reasons to have on a pleasure boat thats not a race boat like the old ( painful days)
Sailing in Asia charts are just Captain Cooks drawings unless your in a port.

 

[slug zitski]

Back in transas days they sold basically the commercial chart package (ECDIS )for your laptop with updates for pleasure boats, was far infornt of everyone but upfront over a $1K

Since they were the first charts I grew up using them 

Russian technology 

one problem is that they are data rich and overwhelm the screen with data on small screen plotters 

when navigating in  a region were you prefer to navigate with the big picture  view you are forced to zoom in when using a small screen 

 

[Slick470]

I use Navionics and it seems fine for the Chesapeake when I've needed it. It wasn't mentioned in the OP, but if you are using Expedition, it isn't compatible with Navionics so C-Map is probably the way to go unless you want to use RNCs or ENCs. 

 

[George Hackett]

While I do have C-Map and Navionics.  I find the C-Map is doing a much better job of updating all the nav bouys here in the Philippines.  May not mean much to State Side sailor, but to us, it means a lot.