SeaClear II is, as far as I can find, the only fully functioning free electronic navigation chart plotter. SeaClear is PC based, interfaces with GPS, and uses raster charts (such as the free NOAA raster charts) and user-scanned images of paper charts. It's available for download at no charge at http://www.sping.com/seaclear/.Many liveaboard sailors and world cruisers use SeaClear, favoring it for economic reasons. Though SeaClear cannot use ENC charts, the worldwide coverage by raster navigational charts is still superior. ENCs are better in many ways, but they still have a lot of catching up to do in the coverage department.
SeaClear is a PC based chart plotter for Windows 2000/XP/NT/95/98/ME. With a GPS connected it displays the current position, speed, heading and other data on the screen. The chart is repositioned and new charts are loaded automatically as needed. Tracks may be saved to file for later reviewing and log book entries can be manually and automatically entered. Unlimited number of routes and waypoints can be created and used to assist the navigation. The screen area for charts is maximized with most functions accessed with the right mouse button. Zooming is provided with support for IntelliMouse wheel. SeaClear is created for nautical navigation but can probably be used for other navigation needs.
SeaClear GPS Navigation Software
So how did this begin?
1995: Got a boat, needed navigation software, couldn't find any I liked with charts for my area, so the SeaClear project started. ... (lot's of work)
SeaClear GPS Navigation Software
SeaClear II is one very important component of the ultimate in electronic navigation economy for cruising on a shoestring.
technorati tags: electronic, raster, nautical, chart, GPS, navigation, SeaClear, plotter
7 comments:
this is a cool program for free with the GPS installed it works great. hats off to the programer
but does it work with the dreaded vista?
Before asking if it works with Vista, did you read the documentation and information on their website?
The program looks good but I can't get a Garmin GPS 18 usb to work with it. Any ideas?
Problem solved. A download from Garmin called Spanner_21 emulates a serial port.
I have downloaded seaclear and all seems to work. I then selected and downloaded charts. Unziped the file and copied them to the chart section of the program but can't get it to work. I must have done something wrong. Can somebody steer me straight?
Thanks
ART K
Just that you need to read the MapCal utility instructions very carefully. It might have to do with what type of charts you downloaded. I agree with Capt G.
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