Customer Reviews

Chesapeake Bay VA and MD Chartbook(8th Edition)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Since I began boating, I've purchased each edition of the ADC chartbook for the Chesapeake Bay. Its size is convenient versus full-size NOAA charts, it covers the whole bay with insets for major ports, the planning map is a more than decent road map, and its other features are well thought-out. The Maptech Chesapeake chartbook is even more thorough and gives the same scale as the NOAA charts (1:80,000 rather than 1:40,000 for ADC) and will be more useful for some sailors, but it is twice the size and more than twice the cost. I use both: the ADC for general voyaging and the Maptech for areas which are critical (shallow water, narrow channels, submerged hazards).

The charts are very informative & detailed. Unfortunately, some of the writing is so small, even with my reading glasses on I had to get out my magnifying glass. Have not taken my trip yet, but upon evalutating all my choices to compliment my electronics, this seemed to be the best; even after receiving it & going through it planning, I have found it helpful complimenting the Gunkholer's Crusing Guide & glad I bought both of them.

The content is comprehensive. This chartbook will get you from the bottom of the Conawego dam to the Atlantic, but take a hard look at the dimensions. It is small, and while there are a handful of useful insets those that are of places you'd actually want to take your boat are minute. The whole western shore in the region of Anapolis gets essentially 1 page. along with a tiny inset of anapolis harbor itself. But great gunkhole anchorages like the West river only have about 10 cm^2 of chart space.

The waterproofing is handy, so you will have it forever, but you might think hard about shelling out an extra 60 dollars for something bigger from another vendor.

Good for general planning, but you need real charts. The criticism about it being too small is true. But the biggest problem I have with the book is that a small section of the chart is missing at the center of each chart. Where you have to turn a page to get to the next chart, there is an overlap as there should be. But down the center, where the fold would be if it was not spiral bound, you are missing a small slice of chart. What are the odds that there is something really significant in that 1/4" inch or so? It doesn't really matter, it's a pretty big mistake by the publishers that should have been caught in my opinion.

My feelings are the same as the other writers, but I will add one thing that bugs me the most. There is no distance scale on the charts. In order to see the distance measurement you must turn to the early pages of the book and find it on the one page that has it. I like having the distance scale on each chart. (Granted all charts except insets are the same scale, but when I am making a quick assessment of distance I want to see a scale not work from memory).

I now buy the cruising chart collections from a different company which come in two parts, one for Maryland, one for Virginia. Not waterproof but come with a plastic cover. (In 30+ yrs of sailing I find waterproof charts unnecessary anyway.)

I bought the newest edition to be current with nav info etc. The format is the same but the quality of the binding is just OK. The charts are folded in half and binding is very important to allow it to lay flat. This new type binding does not seem as good and only time will tell the tale.

This chartbook is ok, but hasn't been updated since 2005. As there are hundreds of changes to marks, shorelines, marinas, etc. yearly, this 8th edition chartbook is out of date.

I don't like the spiral binding, as information is lost in the creases. The plastic pages will stick together if the book sits out in the sun, causing the print to transfer. The colors are hard on the eyes and the print is difficult to read. You need a grease pencil to write on the pages and sometimes important notations get smeared off. Any red ink disappears under red-lights at night. The markers are all in black so you can't differentiate between red and green markers.

A much better choice is the Maryland Cruising Guide 2010-2011 and the Virginia Cruising Guide 2010-2011, because they're the most up-to-date books on the Chesapeake Bay. They're revised and reprinted every two years (since 1961!) using the Notice to Mariners, and they're based on NOAA's NAD-83 charts. The pages have overlap and nothing is lost in the seams. They use a special wet-strength paper that doesn't fall apart when wet and you can write on it with anything. Maryland Cruising Guide 2010-2011 and Virginia Cruising Guide 2010-2011 also use a special red-light readable ink so it's visible under navigation lights at night.

The Maryland Cruising Guide 2010-2011 is purchased by the case by the local coast guard and several sailing schools. That says it all.

Maryland Cruising Guide 2010-2011
Virginia Cruising Guide 2010-2011

This book is an awesome asset offshore, hopefully there will soon be an updated version. The waterproof pages keep it protected and all the fishing spots that are mentioned in fishing reports are marked or can be looked up. Having this book out in the bay will keep boating safe.

Great chart book for the Bay. Only down side, it does not show anything on the Eastern Shore.

This is a must-have book if you boat in the
CHesapeake and/or its feeder links. Sometimes
we are too close to the forest to see the trees.

This book puts everthing in prospective and
is easy to use to plan an outing for the day
or a trip to anywhere on the bay.