Boaters! Get free NOAA nautical products for fun and safety…

Coast Survey’s mandate is to provide nautical products that help make maritime transportation safe. As we develop and improve navigational products for commercial mariners, we also look for opportunities to serve the recreational boating community. All of the products listed below are available as free downloads.
BookletCharts™ are nautical charts in booklet form, downloadable for printing from home computers. People like to put each page into a sheet protector, and keep the updated notebooks on their boats.

BookletCharts

For the tons (and tons) of useful information that can’t be put on the nautical charts, check out the United States Coast Pilot®, nine volumes of supplemental information important to safe and enjoyable navigation.

CP5FrontCover2013

What’s happening on the water? nowCOAST is a web mapping portal to real-time coastal observations and NOAA forecasts, helping boaters stay aware of the ever-changing marine environment.
nowCOAST2
U.S. Chart No. 1 is the guide for understanding the symbols, abbreviations, and terms used on nautical charts.

SymbolGlobe

It’s fun to learn the history of where you’re sailing, and studying old charts sometimes reveal histories you never suspected. Our Historical Map & Chart Collection has over 35,000 images, covering offshore and onshore sites. They include some of the nation’s earliest nautical charts, bathymetric maps, city plans, and even a special collection of Civil War maps, charts and sketches.
Historical Maps & Charts emblem
If you’ve got an Android tablet, don’t forget our beta test of a new app. MyNOAACharts allows users to download free NOAA nautical charts and editions of the U.S. Coast Pilot for easy use in trip planning and while sailing.

MyNOAACharts

Do you want to teach kids about nautical charting? Explore these educational activities and videos, including the animated primer on nautical charts, Travel the Seas.
Travel the Seas
Finally, this reminder: Coast Survey is the nation’s nautical chartmaker, responsible for charting 3.4 million square nautical miles of U.S. coastal waters and the Great Lakes. We need your help. While we use four NOAA survey ships, six 28-survey boats, a 57-foot research vessel, and private contractors to acquire hydrographic data to update charts, it isn’t nearly enough to keep up on changes of the seafloor and coasts. We need you to report discrepancies between what’s on your chart and what’s in the water. Report charting discrepancies online or call 888-990-6622.
And have a fun (and safe) time on the water!

2 Replies to “Boaters! Get free NOAA nautical products for fun and safety…”

    1. We have a couple of ways that you can subscribe. For the blog, please see the sign up box on the left column. If you’d like to subscribe to our newsletters, go to our website at nauticalcharts.noaa.gov. The sign up box is on the left bottom corner.

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