Wanted: Paper charts for Long Island Sound

Looking for any fairly recent paper charts covering as much of Long Island sound as possible- will be coming up thru Hells Gate and going to Newport RI.

West Marine sells Long Island Sound charts very inexpensive. Around $30 each for east and west sound charts. Relatively up to date as far as sounding, depths and some mooring fields.

You can custom print your own in booklet format I have done it back a few years when I was delivering boats to new areas.

https://charts.noaa.gov/InteractiveCatalog/nrnc.shtml#mapTabs-1

Not to sound dumb, but do the combined east and west portions cover the entire Long Island Sound or is the a “middle” portion as well?

If you are asking me..... I don't know...would have to look it up.

I would just download the raster charts of the area to my laptop and use OpenCPN software like I have for the last 10 years instead of paper charts.

West marine has the NOAA charts that cover the whole sound in 2 charts plus additional charts that cover smaller more popular recreational areas

https://www.westmarine.com/noaa-map...island-sound-eastern-part-12354-16638025.html

Time Zero

Time Zero I boat Raster (Govt) charts on your iPad. You will get the whole USA for $50 bucks? Plus Tides / Currents, Weather, and a bunch of other stuff.
https://mytimezero.com/tz-iboat

OpenCPN has currents/tides (plus more I never used) is free software and you can load the entire US Rasters and Vectors for free off the NOAA website I linked above.

Buy a "Chart Kit" for that region at WM. Will have everything you need.

To the OP, are you just passing through that area? Or are you planning to cruise there long term and in future years spend time there?

I cruise almost exclusively in LIS. A chart kit should give you what you need at roughly $50. If you are not familiar with the area and need any tip, lmk.

https://www.amazon.com/Island-MAPTE...mzn1.fos.18ed3cb5-28d5-4975-8bc7-93deae8f9840

West Marine carries a LI Sound chart that has the entire sound on one chart.
It also has course lines on it. I bought one several years ago at the West in Saybrook, CT. If you are not local to that area you may have to order it.

chart for L.I.

Get a used chart kit. That way you have all of L.I.S, it's harbor.
Its easy to go from Execution Rock Lighthouse to The Race, and then to Newport.
Just head east. Keep CT to port and L.Island to starboard and you will be just fine.

joezzz said:

Get a used chart kit. That way you have all of L.I.S, it's harbor.
Its easy to go from Execution Rock Lighthouse to The Race, and then to Newport.
Just head east. Keep CT to port and L.Island to starboard and you will be just fine.

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Except for something called middleground in the center.

psneeld said:

OpenCPN has currents/tides (plus more I never used) is free software and you can load the entire US Rasters and Vectors for free off the NOAA website I linked above.

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Agreed. One way or another I have used most of the commercial chart plotters and I find OpenCPN to be superior to any of them.


If you want paper charts -- and I do, even though I run both a Furuno Black Box on 12VDC and OpenCPN on 120VAC for excellent redundancy -- buy one of the chart books .



Jim

Paper charts

Lshulan said:

Looking for any fairly recent paper charts

covering as much of Long Island sound as possible- will be coming up thru Hells Gate and going to Newport RI.

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I always like having paper charts aboard, even with a good chartlotter.

You can download pdfs from NOAA free and get Staples to print them for a few bucks.

https://www.boatersland.com/maptech...MIxszyutz6_AIViBJMCh2nnw85EAQYBSABEgLI8_D_BwE


These books are great, and available in stores as well as online.

Not understanding all the debate. A chart kit or book for LIS can be had new for ~$50 giving you lots of charts of different scales but also info on harbors, marinas, etc. In boat dollars, $50 is esentially free.

Thanks to all for thoughtful replies. I bought the eastern chart from west marine to see what it looks like and will now buy the western one since I had a chance to see the detail and believe it will be great for planning purposes. Only problem is that the chart is huge and it’s so large I don’t have a space onboard big enough to lay it all the way out! But the detail is great and now I can plan on paper our route and then put the waypoints into our chart plotter ahead of time which would have been hard to do without seeing the (literally) big picture!

I had previously downloaded some of the free charts and went to staples and had them enlarged and printed, but not enough readable detail. I already have two working up to date chartplotters as well as a nav system on my iPad so these full size charts are great to lay out our anticipated route if just a little unwieldy

Btw, I updated my avatar to show a picture my neighbor took of my boat at my home dock. I live on the water on a lagoon a few houses away from Barnegat Bay, NJ. The previous picture was from the owner I bought the boat from. But it is the same boat.

Again, thanks to all

Good luck Ls, and keep in touch when you get closer if you have any follow up questions. Not to belabor the point, but if you buy the chart kit or book rather than just a pig paper chart, you'll get many charts of different scales that are more helpful when entering a harbor. Also good info on marinas, mooring, anchorages, etc. If you only plan to pass through LIS to get to RI, maybe you're not interested in that detail. Try to time the currents that run E/W with the tides, especially at points where the sound narrows. They can be significant.

BackInBlue - appreciate the advice, I’ll prob wind up getting a chart kit as well. We already have the most current cruising guide that covers the entire LI Sound too. We intend to make daily stops along the way to explore the various shorelines. We may be accompanied by another trawler who has first hand knowledge of the Sound so my efforts to get familiar ahead of time may not be as needed as I thought but can’t be sure of anything I’ve realized. I plan on about a month to do this trip, stopping at marinas. The cruising guide has some good info. Any recommendations as to absolutely necessary stops and what to see ?

Not sure if you mean a month in the sound or a month for the entire trip but here's a few tips to consider. Feel free to ask if there's more you'd like to know.

Leaving Hell's Gate and entering the sound, your best harbors are on the NY side IMO. Biggest and most popular being Port Jefferson with good anchoring but you can also go farther into the harbor and get a mooring or slip close to town if that's what you are into. There are other good harbors prior to that as well, but would need to know a little more what you are looking for. Once past PJ, you might want to consider crossing the sound as there is really only 1 other harbor on the NY side, being Mattituck. Mattituck is great too, but would take some explaining and again not knowing your cruising style I won't waste time. Good harbors with marinas and anchoring in CT at Milford and Branford. Cedar Island Marina in Clinton is a great stop with best lobster rolls anywhere at the Lobster Hut. After that there are great stops in Essex, Noank, Mystic and Saybrook. Once beyond the race, Shelter Island has some great stops as well as Montauk.

Sorry, that probably doesn't help much, but again depends on what you're looking for. Everything is available from spartan to luxury, pools and restaurants vs. quiet anchorages, etc. You can't really go wrong, plenty of exploring to do.

backinblue said:

Not understanding all the debate. A chart kit or book for LIS can be had new for ~$50 giving you lots of charts of different scales but also info on harbors, marinas, etc. In boat dollars, $50 is esentially free.

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Actually free is better than $50, $50 will then buy something else nice.

But I have given up debating paper charts, some people just love their woobies...

Good info and will keep it in mind. Actually was recently up in Branford for what turned out to be a pretty lame “Boat Show”. It was prob about six months ago. But anyway our daughter lived in Branford awhile ago so we thought we would check out the town and we went to Lenny’s Bar after the “show”. We used to go Lennys for drinks and oysters when our daughter first lived there prob 15 years ago. It is still there and we had a great hot lobster roll lunch, never had even heard of hot lobster rolls, only cold ones! Will update once we know if we are going solo or with another trawler guy.

Lshulan said:

Good info and will keep it in mind. Actually was recently up in Branford for what turned out to be a pretty lame “Boat Show”. It was prob about six months ago. But anyway our daughter lived in Branford awhile ago so we thought we would check out the town and we went to Lenny’s Bar after the “show”. We used to go Lennys for drinks and oysters when our daughter first lived there prob 15 years ago. It is still there and we had a great hot lobster roll lunch, never had even heard of hot lobster rolls, only cold ones! Will update once we know if we are going solo or with another trawler guy.

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Cold lobster rolls thould be outlawed IMO!!!

Lenny's is a good spot. Also try to make it a point to visit these if you can. Both are very close (next door) to good marinas. Both are BYOB and on the waterfront. First one has best lobster rolls I've ever had. Second one is great for all things New England seafood.

https://lobsterlandingct.com/

https://www.abbottslobster.com/