updated lake charts

[rgilfert]

I just ordered a couple (with $2/map discount) from their web site...thanks for the "heads up"!

[Rich]

Yes, I thought for the price, it's good to have another chart. I had one of their older charts, in addition to the Bizer, but the old one has well worn out.

At the discount, the shipping, although reasonable, is almost as much as the chart.

[Rich]

I just received my new chart today. Since I started this thread, I thought I would give a mini review of my thoughts on it. This is labeled "Duncan Press Incorporated Fourth Edition Navigation Chart and Fishing Map of LAKE WINNIPESAUKEE, NH"

The scale is 1.6 inches to one mile. In checking with my own ruler, the scale on the chart looks closer to be about 1 mile is 1 7/16 inches (just shy of 1.5 inches per mile), or about 1 inch per kilometer. So maybe their printer's scale was off a little? My first reaction is that it's too bad it wasn't 1 inch to 1 mile, but that may be too small to view and navigate easily, and I can't remember the last time I needed to figure out the distance between two points on the lake. But if it's important to some, there is a scale on the chart to make it easy for you.

First, of course I checked my 'home port' to see if there was anything notable or new.

It looks fine!

But, I did notice a few buoys showing their location as being ON LAND (see the entry to Smith Cove, between where it says "Varney Point" and "Gilford Town Dock")! I know the buoys are not really on land there!

Upon review, I know that area is very narrow, and there would be no reason to miss these buoys, and no matter what, you always go by the buoys, not by what a chart is telling you. My guess is that this was probably due to the size of the buoys used on the chart and due to the scale being used, there wasn't enough room for the buoys to be in the water. Also, I think there is a red lateral buoy missing, but the orange 'no wake' buoy is in its place (on second look at this, they do have lighted buoy #55 located there, and their fine print states that the color of the lighted buoy shows a companion cardinal spar buoy. But this lighted buoy is also on land per this chart).

So I decided to check the 'fine print', for boaters this may be important, their first disclaimer on the chart:

This chart is not intended for navigation; rather it is for orientation and reference

Hmm.... but it's title has "Navigation Chart" clearly stated.

Ok, I can understand that and accept the limitations. Plus, I would never rely on only ONE chart, I do use more than one, and I always follow the markers, not the chart.

Here's another interesting point made on the chart in Red print:

Use Extreme Caution! This is a DANGEROUS lake.

Yes, I agree!

My Summary, I'm glad I got this updated chart. It was printed on a foldable, water-resistant looking paper. There is nothing on the back of the chart, so I may consider getting a second one and mounting it on wall in my office.

There are other nice things about the chart, some fishing notes (where different species can be found). I'm not big into fishing so I don't know if this is valid info, but it maybe a start for some one that wants a clue as where to start.

I DO definitely like the yellow areas that clearly demark the 'no wake zones'. To me this is easy to see and won't be missed when cruising around the lake. Previously you had to look closely at a chart so as not to miss the no-wake zones. And if you missed a buoy, it could mean a ticket by the MP!

I DO like the rocks and shoals areas highlighted in an 'orange' looking pattern. Let me check.... yes The Witches are marked with this pattern!

The 'no rafting' areas are also marked on the chart, using a symbol that first to me looked like a pair of red SCUBA tanks, but on second look, it's an image of two boats together with a red circle with a slash through it.

There are seven different insets expanding on areas of the lake that are cluttered with buoys and would be hard to see on the regular scale of the chart.

There also is a nice listing of the numbered buoys, including their lat/long as well as a map index to help you to locate it. This can be helpful for a number of reasons, especially if you don't know all of them, if you get lost, or hear someone on the radio talking about a particular lighted buoy.

I also DO like the fact that the NH Marine Patrol's dispatch telephone number is clearly printed and highlighted on the chart.

One thing I'm not personally fond of? The 'buoy numbers', not the lighted buoys, but all the others! On this chart, many (but not all) of the other buoys on the chart are numbered. According to their website, these numbers coincide with waypoint numbers in someone's personal way points for each buoy. Well that is fine, but it's useless to the rest of us as we don't have these waypoints loaded into the GPS on board our boats. Now if they offered a listing of these waypoints, either online, or with something that we could load into our various different brands and models of GPS, then it would be useful information. Or, if each of the MP boat's GPS had these waypoints loaded into them, then it maybe helpful to know the buoy number, but I think these numbers simply add some clutter to the chart, and could cause some confusion during a radio call for help. Do you know where " Buoy #736" is? Could you find it on your chart in a hurry? Even with this chart in my hand, I don't think I could easily find this buoy! But on the other hand, I suppose it does tell you which buoys were checked by GPS and which ones may not have been. But this may be a bad assumption.

Oh, and my favorite feature of the chart? It's good to see that they didn't try to change or hide the name of my favorite rock on the lake! Yes, light number 46 is still shown as "Nipple Rock"! I've been trying to tell everyone that comes for a ride by Nipple Rock about the "Legend of Nipple Rock". Hopefully one day, everyone will know about it. But few will believe me if I can't point out on a official chart that it's name is truely "Nipple Rock".

I did a quick compare to the list of newest lake updates that was posted in another thread to see if this chart has these corrections already applied, and it appears that they have been made, but I haven't checked each and every one in detail, so please check these yourself.


Here's a link to the chart right off the home page of the Duncan Press website:
http://www.duncanpressinc.com/map_im...inni2014-7.jpg

Sorry that the following looks so big here (on my monitor the scale is almost 1 mile per 2 inches), this is referenced directly from their website, so if it is no longer displayed, they changed their website:

[NoBozo]

YES: The ROCKS don't move from year to year. What ALSO doesn't move from year to year is the GPS Coordinates of the Rocks. SO: If you have a GPS with the Coordinates Plugged IN from previous years....you are STILL GOOD to go. Floating markers have always been secondary....They can move around. NB

[TiltonBB]

So..................If the Duncan Press Chart says "Not for Navigation" you may not want to use it as a road map either!

Route 11B which is Weirs Road and turns into Endicott Street East is labeled on the chart as "Winnipesaukee Shore Road".

Route 11 which is Lake Shore Road is labeled on the chart as "Winnipesaukee Road".

[jrc]

Look at the close up of Locke's, Varney and Rock Island. The suggested route around red buoy #200 is over land.

The chart is nice for a general overview and I still feel nostalgia the original green chart, but really the Bizer chart is the most accurate.

[Just Sold]

Not a fan of Duncan except for the color!

I have the Bizer chart on board and for my Garmin GPS/Fishfinder I have the Garmin's downloadable chart of Winnipesauke that was only $10 but it has been discontinued. So now to get a Winnipesaukee chart from Garmin you must buy either U.S. LakeVü™ HD $149.99 or Garmin LakeVü™ HD Ultra $199.99.

Garmin sent me this response when I inquired about the new charts.
Yes, we did some detailed surveying on Lake Winnipesaukee last year. This information has been integrated into two of our inland lake products – LakeVu HD and LakeVu HD Ultra. There will be 1’ contours for the lake in both maps. The HD Ultra map includes a few features that are not included in the standard HD map like sonar imagery, surface and side scan photos, auto guidance, etc. They are only compatible with certain device models.

They told me my 521S was compatable but I should buy their SD Card version of the maps as it is a very long and large download otherwise.

At this point I would still get the Bizer GPS over the Garmin.

[Rich]

Originally Posted by jrc

Look at the close up of Locke's, Varney and Rock Island. The suggested route around red buoy #200 is over land.

What, you don't have the four wheel drive option on your boat?

[NoBozo]

Originally Posted by jrc

Look at the close up of Locke's, Varney and Rock Island. The suggested route around red buoy #200 is over land.

I'm havin a problem with this statement..in that there are ONLY 84 "Numbered Buoys". on the lake on the Bizer chart. ??? Please explain.. NB

PS: For those looking for these locations: Those locations are over by Glendale.

PPS: There is no "Close Up" of this area on the Bizer chart.

[Rich]

Originally Posted by NoBozo

I'm havin a problem with this statement..in that there are ONLY 84 "Numbered Buoys". on the lake on the Bizer chart. ??? Please explain.. NB

Did you read my review:

One thing I'm not personally fond of? The 'buoy numbers', not the lighted buoys, but all the others! On this chart, many (but not all) of the other buoys on the chart are numbered. According to their website, these numbers coincide with waypoint numbers in someone's personal way points for each buoy. Well that is fine, but it's useless to the rest of us as we don't have these waypoints loaded into the GPS on board our boats. Now if they offered a listing of these waypoints, either online, or with something that we could load into our various different brands and models of GPS, then it would be useful information. Or, if each of the MP boat's GPS had these waypoints loaded into them, then it maybe helpful to know the buoy number, but I think these numebers simply add some clutter to the chart, and could cause some confusion during a radio call for help. Do you know where " Buoy #736" is? Could you find it on your chart in a hurry? Even with this chart in my hand, I don't think I could easily find this buoy! But on the other hand, I suppose it does tell you which buoys were checked by GPS and which ones may not have been. But this may be a bad assumption.

Summary: I'm not fond of the extra 'numbers' on this chart.
If you read their website, it mentions that the extra numbered buoys are from the GPS waypoints of someone in the MP that checked the locations of the buoys and supplied the list to Duncan Press.

[ishoot308]

For the life of me, I just don't understand why Duncan simply didn't revise and update their "old green map" over the years and kept the exact same format. Why mess with perfection! That is the map by which all maps have been judged over the years and the one boaters miss the most!

Sometimes "New and Improved" is not!

Dan

[Dave R]

Originally Posted by ishoot308

For the life of me, I just don't understand why Duncan simply didn't revise and update their "old green map" over the years and kept the exact same format. Why mess with perfection! That is the map by which all maps have been judged over the years and the one boaters miss the most!

Sometimes "New and Improved" is not!

Dan

I still use my old laminated folding Duncan. The islands and rocks have not moved much over the years, so it still works. I find it the easiest paper chart to read quickly.

[NoBozo]

Originally Posted by Rich

Did you read my review:

I see where the discrepancy lies. I'm looking at my 5th edition (Undated) BIZER chart..NOT the NEW Duncan chart. My OLD Duncan chart is dated 1997-1998. I have 34 way-points in my old Magellan 6000 GPS Plotter..some are "My Own"..not associated with buoys or marks, but most are the numbered lighted buoys.

Back in the Old days, in Salt water, before Loran or GPS, I ALWAYS steered toward buoys that Make Noise (Bells, whistles or horns)....If the buoy had a light, all the better. A noise maker can usually be found in the FOG, night or day if you're close.. Back in those days it was called Dead Reckoning. NB

Before GPS and Loran, our electronic navigation was done with an RDF. (Radio Direction Finder) .....we've come a long way baby.

[Rich]

Things have changed! I used work for the company that made the LORAN Transmitters (I wrote software and designed some hardware for them), now LORAN is gone.

I remember seeing my first GPS receiver, it literally was the size of a microwave oven an cost around $50,000.00.

Now they are built into our cell phones and other products that cost $100 or less that almost everyone can own. Who could have predicted this?