Just out of curiosity, whats appalling about vector charts? You can layer on as much information as you need and they are more accurate than Raster charts. I use both
My biggest beef is that vector charts don't have anywhere near as much data. I know that sounds contrary to popular belief, but let me offer just a couple of examples.
Place names: Raster (or paper) charts come in all different scales. Each chart has lots of place names on them. My observation is that two things happen when all this data is digitized into one vector file.
(1) Many, if not most, place names are lost. They simply aren't there on any layer of the vector charts.
(2) Many, if not most, place names are not located in the right place. I suspect it's because, when laying out a paper chart of a specific scale, the person drawing the chart picks a logical spot NEAR the place to put the name, based on the layout of the chart and where there's a blank area.
That spot may not be very logical at different scales, or with different data layers displayed. Presumably, the place name is entered (if at all) with specific coordinates when the raster chart is digitized. So you end up with the name of, say one island being next to a totally different island, or spilling over across several islands.
Place names are critical when navigating unfamiliar waters.
Other markings: Old paper charts actually showed shoreside structure (buildings, etc.) Granted, chimneys and other key piloting landmarks are usually digitized to the vector charts, but much of the other shoreside data isn't.
Also, the original cartographers would include, for example, the "swamp" symbol (tuft of grass) where they observed swampy areas. I notice that these are very poorly digitized. Whole swaths of the chart are flagged as swamp, even if there were just a few "tufts" with dry ground between.
Overall, the quality of the digitization is just poor for anything but buoys, channels and soundings.
I would have no beef with vector charts IF they contained all the data on a paper chart. They just don't.