where is the best place to buy a large satellite image that is waterproof? Or just a good chart to sail by so I know where hazards etc are

I tried to get a good chart of the area you are looking for last year and couldn't find anything in the price range I was looking for.

I ended up finding a very old chart my dad had from fishing down there.

gree2056, I check your email, I just emailed you back

Perhaps?
http://freemarinecharts.com/
or
http://destinsharks.com/google-earth-marine-maps/

of heard that cutting paper charts into a4 sized bits and then laminating them works well

but i'm very comfortable with my small garmins now and would load them with the appropriate marine charts, keep one inside my wetsuit as backup, and the other tied to the boom

eric e

Here's where I got my charts(free): http://nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/mcd/Raster/Index.htm
I dl them to my pc and print them out. Dl & install a viewer too. You could then section & laminate. Charts are a better nav aid than sat image because most of them show depth readings and obstructions. Sat image has it's place & time, though. You can also get printed charts for about $20 ea. at West Marine stores.

Here is how I prepare charts for distance racing:

I buy regular paper charts from west marine, and then cut them up into a strip along the coast - with a couple of miles on shore and as far off shore as you plan on sailing. I then scan the strip using a regular letter sized scanner, overlaping each scan by around 1/4 to 1/3. Then I stitch the scans together in Adobe photoshop elements and crop them down into sections based on each days sailing and print each section onto a letter sized piece of paper and then laminate it.

This gives small, easy to handle water proof charts that you can actually use while sailing a beach cat. I sometimes tape them around the boom so you can swing in off the trap and have a quick look - I found trying to juggle a chart and sail/crew at racing speed pretty much impossible.

Chris Green.

That's some good ideas Chris! Now that you can download all the NOAA charts for free...makes it cheaper.

David found the entire east coast charts for free at the local library, made paper copies, and laminated them with clear shelf liner paper on both sides. They've survived two W1000's and two T500's. We also did the same for the T300, and numerous Steeplechases.

W.W.D.L.D.

If you have a computer file of the map, you can print it on waterproof paper. This only works for laser printers.

The waterproof paper is not as good as a laminated map but it's relativly cheap.

Layline sells the paper or you can go to. http://www.riteintherain.com/