Questions about a voyage.

[Reid Crownover]

I hope this does not veer off from the topic of the forum to much, I am currently planning the first voyage on my boat which no doubt will be a long one. Don't worry, the boat will go through extensive sea trials in the lake near where I live before I actually put it into the ocean. I am wondering if anyone has a map of navigable waterways in Louisiana, or if someone can show me where to find them. I would like to take the GIWW or also known as the ICW from Texas to the Florida pan handle.

 

[PAR]

These maps are now downloadable at a few locations online. Navigable is a question in many areas, as things tend to move in the most shoal areas. If your draft is slight, no issues, if not, stick to the channels and even at this keep a watch for bars that have bought a new house father up or down from where they're supposed to be. Start at the NOAA site and move down the list from there.

 

[Lepke]

US charts are free to download.
http://www.charts.noaa.gov/RNCs/RNCs.shtml
Louisiana is in the 8th Naval District if you want to download all the area charts at once. There are also publications the describe areas to mariners not familar with them: Coast Pilots in the US or Sailing Directions for foreign waters. Also free to download.
If you want a computer navigation program, OpenCPN is free to download: OpenCPN Official Site https://opencpn.org/

 

[Ike]

If you have a space problem, most marine retailers sell booklets of charts for their area. Usually these a plastic coated so they wont get soggy when wet, and you can write on them with a grease pencil or some types of felt tip pens and then just wipe it off when you don't need it any more. Of course these are not free like NOAA charts but they are more convenient for smaal boats. You should be able to find a local marine retailer like West Marine or others by doing an internet search for your area.